Fine Hawke's Bay weather to start spring

The blossoms and bees are out for Hawke's Bay's early spring. Photo / Paul Taylor

Hawke's Bay is looking forward to a bright spring with forecast weather starting to match normal seasonal levels of rainfall and above-average temperatures.

With September 1 a nominal first day of spring – the more climatically-informed point to the start as late as September 21 - Metservice's rural forecast for Hawke's Bay predicts fine weather for Thursday with northeasterlies in the afternoon, with some high cloud on Friday with northwesterlies, easing for a time in the afternoon and early evening.

Occasional rain is forecast for Saturday morning with partly cloudy, westerlies and fresh weather on Sunday.

Some rain and showers feature in longer-range forecasts for early next week, with partly cloudy weather with light winds in early projections for later next week.

Niwa last month forecast a spring of above normal temperatures and average rainfall for the Hawke's Bay and East Coast region.

Amid fine weather in Napier and Hastings on Wednesday, temperatures peaked at 14-15C, about 5C below.

Tui in the trees at Havelock North as a new spring dawns in Hawke's Bay. Photo / Warren Buckland

Features of the early spring in Hawke's Bay apart from the weather include the start of a two-month whitebaiting season starting Thursday, about six weeks shorter than in recent years, and the Central Hawke's Bay Spring Fling, opening with the spring market in Waipukurau on Saturday and linking events through September and October.

The Taniwha Daffodils open days south of Waipukurau start on September 10, also the opening day of the Hawke's Bay Spring Racing Carnivals, including the Tarzino Trophy Daffodil Raceday and culminating, and culminating with the $300,000 Livamol Classic on October 15.

The Hastings Blossom Festival on September 24 and the Hawke's Bay (Spring) Show on October 19-21 are among other features.

Farmers have escaped some of the later winter calamities which devastate lambing on farms, but while forecasts are good, Federated Farmers Hawke's Bay provincial president Jim Galloway notes the region has had its September storms in the past.

Three years ago farmers were near praying for rain to break a drought, and there was a hail storm at the end of the month, and in the first week of September 2018 a storm closed both the Napier-Taupō and Napier-Wairoa roads, and caused widespread damage to rural roads.

Galloway says wet underfoot conditions – the result of regular though not heavy rain – mean lambs survive but don't necessarily thrive, and it's difficult affecting planting schedules in arable farming such as onions.

"It's spring," he said. "It can be four seasons in one day."