Hawke's Bay weather: Forecast rain to clear by Sunday in Bay

Hawke's Bay had a cloudy morning at Ātea a Rangi and rain is ahead for the region. Photo / Warren Buckland

Rain is forecast for Hawke's Bay but heavy rain watches and warnings issued for parts of the North Island on Wednesday are unlikely to affect the region.

After a sunny start to the week rain will begin to develop locally on Thursday.

It will likely continue throughout Friday and Saturday before scattered rain clears on Sunday afternoon.

The rain is likely to be the heaviest in the ranges, MetService meteorologist Mmathapelo Makgabutlane said where there could be between 20mm and 30mm on the heaviest days.

Throughout the rest of the region the broad estimate of rainfall is between 5mm and 15mm, she said.

Easterly winds begin to develop on Wednesday and will become strong and gusty on Friday.

Temperatures remain in the mid to upper teens throughout the region with Napier reaching highs of 15C on Thursday and Friday before getting up to 17C on Saturday and 18C on Sunday.

Hastings and Wairoa will be slightly cooler at 14C on Thursday and Friday, 16C on Saturday and 18C on Sunday.

Waipukurau is colder again at 12C on Thursday, 13C on Friday, 15C on Saturday and 16C on Sunday.

There are heavy rain watches and warnings in place starting today for the upper North Island and parts of the East Coast northwards from Gisborne.

The conditions are due to get worse from later tonight through to tomorrow and Friday.

A spokesman said a low-pressure system over the Tasman Sea, and its associated fronts, are forecast to move southeastwards on to the North Island over the next few days - bringing with it bad weather.

"The weather system should bring rain to much of the North Island by the weekend, but especially northern and eastern regions."

At this stage, this is unlikely to affect Hawke's Bay too much, but there is a possibility of heavy rain in the ranges, Makgabutlane said.

She advises that people continue to check the weather warnings online throughout the day.