Pope Electrical line mechanics Bryan Norfolk (left) and Ross Colledge had to quickly cover up the wiring of a light standard on Marine Parade, Napier yesterday.
Pope Electrical line mechanics Bryan Norfolk (left) and Ross Colledge had to quickly cover up the wiring of a light standard on Marine Parade, Napier yesterday.
The rain which has soaked Hawke's Bay may be at an end but the region is now hunkering down for a cold snap.
Rain eased overnight following the region's first douse of decent rain since before Easter, when the region's dry-spell was broken on Wednesday.
While there was 70mm of rainfall experienced in some places, it was less than the forecast of up to 100mm.
Federated Farmers Hawke's Bay provincial president Will Foley said while the rain had been a much-need relief for farmers, he thought unfortunately it might be a little bit late to have any sudden, positive effect farmers had been hoping for.
"I don't think we've had as much rain as forecast, in some ways it's good and will hopefully soak into the ground," he said, "soil moisture levels have been our biggest concern, it's been dryer than ever before."
With the late timing of the rain, Mr Foley said it could be a negative for ground conditions, as it was harder on stock if the ground was wet, and decreased feed utilisation.
Yesterday morning, 80-100mm of rain had been expected, especially about the eastern hills. However MetService Meteorologist Ciaran Doolin said overnight a station in the Wairoa District had received 54mm of rain, with a peak intensity of 12mm at 8pm last night.
Hastings' peak intensity was 5.8mm at 10am yesterday. A station in central Hawke's Bay had 37.6mm, with most of the rain falling at 7pm last night with a measurement of 6mm. The heaviest period of rain was expected to be at 2pm yesterday afternoon for both Napier and Hastings, however the rainfall was less than forecast.
Shoppers hurried through the Napier CBD with their brollies yesterday.
MetService meteorologist Chelsea Glue said northern areas in Hawke's Bay had received the most rainfall, with Mahia Peninsula experiencing 70mm in 24 hours, and 50mm in Wairoa.
By yesterday evening, Hastings had received nearly 20mm of rain, with just over 12mm of rain fallen at Napier airport.
A few showers would be expected today around the region, but most would be clearing this evening.
There could be some rain around Wairoa, but as the rain eased off central areas in Hawke's Bay a cold snap would make its way across the region.
Ms Glue said with a change to the southerlies the rain would be pulled away, as would warmer air. As clouds receded clear skies would mean colder overnight temperatures, with it expected to reach -1C in areas overnight.
The weekend was forecast to be fine, with morning frosts and light winds.
Temperatures during the weekend would be normal, however overnight they were forecast to dip to 0C.
