High winds to blow in region

Alyzae-Rose Brown (left), 3, and Haami Brown, 4, from Havelock North, enjoy the sunshine at the skatebowl in the Havelock North Domain. Photo / Duncan Brown

High winds and toasty temperatures are on the cards for the region with a strong front expected to hit Thursday, Metservice says.

Meteorologist Tom Adams said this weather was a "case of classic spring conditions" and that the front will weaken as it moves up the eastern side of the country but the wind will remain strong.

He said warm blustery winds and cold snaps were typical for this time of year.

"Places in Hawke's Bay get quite windy where it [the wind] squeezes between gullies between the hills," Mr Adams said.

A high of 24C is expected to warm Thursday A&P show-goers, just two degrees short of last year's 26C, and four degrees short of a 28C record in 1998.

Locals planning a day at the show on Friday should take a raincoat as showers are expected to creep in throughout the day.

Federated Farmers Hawke's Bay provincial president Will Foley said he was anxious about farmers planning ahead for the expected El Nino conditions.

El Nino typically brings strong summer winds from the west, causing drought to eastern New Zealand regions and more rain in the west.

The winds can rapidly dry out farmland which affects pastures and feed supply. They were also a fire risk.

"Hopefully nobody will be doing any burning off or burning any rubbish," Mr Foley said. "The main thing is that farmers can see an end in the wind.

"I would rather not see these conditions, just a lot of farmers commenting on the drying out of the land."

After rainfall of more than 400mm in September, October has been particularly dry. Just 2.6mm of rain was recorded at Hawke's Bay Airport compared with a 63.2mm average. Hastings recorded 5.2mm compared with a 55mm average.

-Metservice launched a Twitter account yesterday for people to follow so they can keep on top of the latest weather.