Hawke's Bay to warm up for the weekend after cold snaps

Rainfall in parts of the Bay last month was more than three times the June average, according to the Hawke's Bay Regional Council's monthly rainfall report. Image / Supplied

Hawke's Bay is expected to warm up for the weekend after a cold snap which saw overnight temperatures plummet to freezing in some areas.

Minimum temperatures early yesterday included minus 2deg C at Dannevirke, while a minimum of zero was recorded in Hastings, and 2C above zero at Hawke's Bay Airport.

The coldest temperature recorded at the big weather stations in Hawke's Bay this winter is thought to have been the minus 3C at Dannevirke on June 23.

Temperatures in the Napier-Hastings area are expected to range from 9C-18C over the next three days, as part of what is a expected to be a dry July following the big wet of last month.

Rainfall in parts of the Bay last month was more than three times the June average, according to the Hawke's Bay Regional Council's monthly rainfall report.

The most out-of-kilter in a selection of recording sites throughout the region was the 254.4mm at Ngamatea, off the Napier-Taihape road, which has a June average of just 66mm calculated over the last 30 years. It was thus 3.85 times the June average for the site.

The heaviest fall recorded was at Parks Peak in the Ruahine Ranges, with 572.5mm being 2.66 times the average for the recording station.

The next highest variation was at Terapatiki in the Waikaremoana area, where the 242mm was 3.46 times the June average, while the next heaviest fall was at Pukeorapa, inland from Mahia.

The 551.5mm was about double its June average and about one-sixth of the yearly average of over 3000mm, one of the highest annual rainfalls in the region, while MetService figures recorded over 270mm at Mahia, taking the year's total at the peninsula to about 1070mm, just 150mm short of the annual average.

Crownthorpe, which has a June average of 66mm, had 162.4mm last month, the heaviest across the Heretaunga Plains, while according to MetService figures Hawke's Bay Airport had 113mm, compared with the June average of 77mm, and Hastings had 136mm, compared with a June average of 82mm.

Heavy rain inland, which dominated the first half of the month, had major impacts on river levels.

Council principal scientist climate and air Dr Kathleen Kozyniak commented: "June was more than a bit soggy and most of the region got roughly double the month's average rainfall."

Despite the heavy rain, no lightning strikes were recorded over land, and "just a few" took place out to sea.