Tauranga set for sweltering nights

Family buddies (from left) Charlie Champness 2,Summer Champness 3, and Cruz Champness enjoy a day at the beach yesterday. Photo / George Novak

Tauranga's hot summer is set to get even hotter with humid days and 20C nights ahead.

MetService meteorologist Tom Adams said the temperature hit 29C in Tauranga yesterday - for the second time this summer.

The previous high was on January 9.

From tonight, Tauranga is expected to be 20C or higher every night for the next nine days.

However, Adams said yesterday's high was not in the top five summer temperatures ever recorded in Tauranga. The hottest was 33.7C in 1983, which topped all months.

Adams said 28C was recorded in December last year which was the second highest recorded temperature in Tauranga so far this summer.

Looking ahead, temperatures were only expected to get warmer, with "a little bit of cloud" stopping Tauranga from becoming one of the hottest spots in the country, Adams said.

"It is looking particularly warm next week ... it is still going to feel very humid," he said. "It is going to be 20C or over every night for the next week."

Despite the humid temperatures, a severe thunderstorm watch remains in place for the Bay of Plenty.

Residents have been hitting local ice-cream parlours and beaches to cool off.

Tina Junger, who owns The Big Avocado in Katikati, said the shop had sold about 100 real fruit ice-creams which was more than usual.

"We have our permanent regulars, people passing through regularly, and people who refer people to us because they think we have the best real fruit ice-creams in the country," she said.

"Throughout January and all through the summer period it [ice-creams] is a big part of our business."

Pete Grindrod from Tay Street Dairy said he had been "flat out" selling ice-creams and coffees and had definitely been busier than usual today.

"The weather is pretty extreme," he said. "Being on the beach and being weather dependent it is definitely busy here today. Can't complain."

Grindrod said he had rolled about 9000 ice-cream cones in the past month and had lost count of how many he had sold yesterday. "It has just been a continuous amount."

Simon Cox of Mount Lifeguard Service said about 800 people were swimming and sunbathing on the Mount Main Beach yesterday.

Papamoa Surf Lifesaving Club lifeguard Laura Weston said hundreds of people were enjoying the summer sun.

"The conditions are good too so it is a pretty safe day on the beach," she said.

Weston said it had definitely been a busier day at the beach than usual. "It is really hot, there is heaps of people in the water, swimming, boogie boarding, surfing etc."