Large swells seen at sunrise from the peak of Mauao (The Mount) on Monday. Photo / Hannah Payton
Tauranga has reported its fourth hottest January temperature since records began there in 1941.
On Monday, the Bay of Plenty town recorded the country's hottest temperature at 31.9°C.
Meanwhile, a large cyclone and eruption-driven swells have started to ease along the Mount Maunganui and Pāpāmoa coasts but beachgoers are still being advised to avoid the water.
Surf Life Saving NZ search and rescue manager Allan Mundy said the water was still too hazardous for swimming.
He said people wanting to swim should consider lakes or harbours until the large and unpredictable swells in the sea had calmed down.
Mundy said it was also important for those walking on the beach to be careful at high tide and walk on dry sand to avoid being knocked over by a large wave.
He urged the public to obey any signage, including regarding whether Moturiki Leisure Island and Mauao were safe for walkers.
Mauao's base track and Moturiki reopened today after closing on Sunday due to rough seas.
Tauranga City Council said it would reassess the reopening an hour before high tide at 8pm tonight and put signs and barriers in place if anything changed.
Metservice meteorologist Ashlee Parkes said the most significant period of swells in the Bay of Plenty has "come and gone" with a 4m swell easing to 3m and continuing to ease from there.
The swells were a combination of Cyclone Cody passing New Zealand and the eruption of underwater volcano Hunga-Tonga-Ha'apai in Tonga on Sunday.
She said Cyclone Cody would have no further impact on the Bay of Plenty's weather with the western edge of the storm over the East Cape.
Tauranga would continue to have clear skies, light winds and high temperatures until mid-Thursday, she said.
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