Hawke's Bay fruit grower spends $100k in single night battling to save crops from 'monster frost'

A harsh frost has hit Hawke's Bay, putting some crops at high risk. Photo / NZME

"When they are sitting at the beach having a chardonnay, they can thank us then."

That is the message from one helicopter business in Hawke's Bay, which had its entire fleet of five choppers operating through the night into Wednesday morning - battling a "monster frost" which threatened orchards and vineyards.

One stone fruit grower says his company probably spent $100,000 battling the frost through preventative measures like operating frost fans and paying for two helicopters, one of which operated for nine consecutive hours.

Frost fans (also known as wind machines) and helicopters push a layer of warm air downward to prevent frosts from destroying crops.

MetService reported Wednesday morning was officially the coldest morning of the year at its weather station in Hastings, which reached a low of -1.8C.

Unofficial reports had the temperature plummet as low as -3.5C a few kilometres further south.

Hawke's Bay boasts a huge horticulture and viticulture industry, which is susceptible to spring frosts.

Hawke's Bay has been hit by a cold blast - pictured is a frosty road in Waipukurau. Photo / Paul Taylor

The frost on Wednesday morning came at a particularly harsh time for stone fruit such as nectarines, apricots, peaches and plums - as well as some early varieties of grapes.

Fortunately, apples and most grape varieties were not at high risk, as they develop later.

Paul Paynter, owner of The Yummy Fruit Co, based near Hastings, said it was a "monster frost".

"That was a ripper. It won't affect the apples, even the early apples, but stone fruit is pretty well in full bloom for most varieties," he said.

"If you had a block of stone fruit with no frost protection, and a lot of people do have a little block of stone fruit, that will be cooked."

He said his company probably spent $100,000 on frost-fighting measures over that one night.

"Hopefully the $100,000 we spent on frost-fighting last night will pay back a dividend.

Paul Paynter from The Yummy Fruit Co. Photo / NZME

"They are scary frosts. It is the biggest one I have known for a long time," he said.

"We had a couple of choppers and several wind machines going.

"One of our wind machines even caught fire [during the night] which was a bit of excitement. It is completely burnt out."

He said they had over 50 wind machines across all their orchards.

He said one of the helicopters they used was operating for nine hours straight, and it was "a very long frost" at temperatures of zero or below.

The Yummy Fruit Co grows a huge amount of apples, but also a large amount of stone fruit.

The stone fruits which may have been badly damaged in the region will be harvested and are extremely popular around the end of the year into January, when the impact will be better known.

Helicopters Hawke's Bay owner Jimmy Guerin said all five of his helicopters were in high demand, starting from Tuesday night through to sunrise on Wednesday.

"We had them all in the air last night ... it was quite widespread."

He said the seasons were unpredictable in recent years and it was hard to pick when a harsh frost might hit.

Frost-fighting measures including fans and helicopters can be noisy for residents, and Guerin said they did apologise to anyone who was impacted overnight.

However, he added it was an important job for the region.

"When they are sitting at the beach having a chardonnay, they can thank us then."

MetService meteorologist Karl Loots said there was a chance of further frosts in Hawke's Bay on Thursday and Friday.

"For the next two days there is frost potential, but it will not be as cold as we saw last night."

He said the forecast was for lows around one or two degrees and "there is potential to get a bit of a frost".

He said temperatures would rise "quite significantly" from Friday onward.

The harsh frost on Wednesday morning followed snowfall at low levels on Tuesday morning.

Despite spring marking the traditional lambing and calving season, Federated Farmers Hawke's Bay president Jim Galloway said frosts were mostly a danger to livestock when they were coupled with continuous windy and wet conditions.

Fortunately, he said most farmers seemed to have got off quite light, as it appeared to be a one-off harsh frost.