Mr Griffin said winds of this strength had the potential to cause damage and make driving hazardous; especially for tall-sided vehicles and motorcycles.
"The strong winds could definitely do some damage to trees, power lines and unsecured structures."
He said tonight's overnight could drop as low as 1 degree; setting the region up for a decent frost tomorrow morning.
Unison Networks reported numerous unplanned power outages last night in the Hastings area which left more than 50 customers affected. It was estimated those homes would be without power for up to two hours but one of the outages was fixed within an hour.
Talking from her home in Otane last night, author and storyteller Mary Kippenberger said she was concerned about how her animals would cope in the "awful" weather.
"It's very noisy here because I"ve got a tin roof and things keep falling on it."
Busy baking meringues for a morning tea at Central Hawke's Bay College today, Ms Kippenberger said the weather had made the task "very intense" as she rushed to finish them in case the power went out.
"I'm expecting the power to go out any minute and to wake up tomorrow morning to find trees down," she said.
Further South in Central Hawke's Bay, Mangaorapa Road was blocked last night by a fallen tree which had cut power to nearby homes.