Napier is hit by heavy rain, with thunderstorms possible later on Tuesday afternoon. Video / Paul Taylor
Sustained wet weather across Hawke's Bay caused localised flooding, road closures and minor slips, and more rain could be on its way.
MetService issued a heavy rain and big swell watch for Hawke's Bay on Tuesday and said the weather pattern was expected to continue until Wednesday evening.
NZTA asked motorists to avoid travelling on SH2 near Tangoio and SH5 Napier-Taupo Rd if possible due to the number of reported slips.
They said that contractors had confirmed minor slips along SH5 Napier-Taupo Rd, and SH2 near Tangoio but were not significantly impacting the road and to only travel if necessary.
When it rains, it pours. Hang on to your umbrellas Hawke's Bay the worst is yet to come. Photo / Paul Taylor.
A slip on State Highway 5 near Te Haroto blocked the inside lane of a passing lane, a police communications spokesperson said. Police were notified of the slip at 10.30am and a contractor was sent to the scene to help clean it up.
There were also reports of patches of localised flooding along the road.
Police were also called to a slip on State Highway 2 in Tangoio at 5.45pm on Tuesday.
Two slips caused partial road blokes along SH2 cutting traffic around the slips down to one lane.
Flooding at Makahu Rd, near Puketitiri, 56km northwest of Napier, resulted in the closure of Makahu Rd ford on Tuesday until further notice.
MetService issued a swell watch for the Cape Kidnappers north to Clive, with swells set to average about 3.2m.
High tide was set to arrive between 7pm and 8pm on Tuesday night.
MetService meteorologist Kyle Lee said on top of periods of heavy rain, thunderstorms were possible for the region.
For a warning criteria to be put into place there needs to be either 120mm of rainfall in a 24-hour period or the rainfall intensity needs to be 10mm in an hour, he said.
In the 24 hours to 4pm on Tuesday Napier CBD had 30.5mm of rain and Hastings had 37.5mm of rain.
It was sweater weather in Napier, Hawke's Bay. Photo / Paul Taylor.
Wind gusts accompanied the dark clouds, whipping up the whitecaps off the Napier coast.
Braving the conditions was local kite surfer Jack Stobart who said he and a couple of others in the community had tried to give it a go on the water near Waitangi Regional Park but the conditions were too hairy.
The conditions didn't kill everyone's mood though.
The falling rain was a welcome sight for most farmers, said Federated Farmers Hawke's Bay provincial president Jim Galloway.
"Rain at this time of the year does more good than harm.
Braving kite-surfing in stormy weather near Waitangi Regional Park. Photo / Paul Taylor.
"But it could slow down the planting of some vege crops like peas, sweetcorn, squash and other crops due to be planted now because the ground would be too wet to plant them.
"It may mean there is a lull at the factory come harvest time, but unless we get a lot more rain, it's more good than harm."
Galloway said the rain would help with grass growth which was always welcome.
