Marine heatwave warms river and ocean temperatures just in time for a bit of summer fun in the New Year. Photo / Paul Taylor.
Marine heatwave warms river and ocean temperatures just in time for a bit of summer fun in the New Year. Photo / Paul Taylor.
Hawke's Bay is starting the New Year on a high with warmer weather than normal predicted for the first month of 2022.
The first few days of the New Year will have a little break from the humid heat with lows of 24 and highs of 26 degrees, turning into showers late on Wednesday.
Niwa principal scientist, for forecasting and media Chris Brandolino said this three day cool snap is the exception to the warmer than average January he is predicting for the region.
A marine heatwave has been sweeping across the majority of New Zealand's coastal towns for the past few weeks warming the water and the air temperature.
Beaches around the region are steadily warming, as of December 28 the region has been recording water temperatures two to three degrees higher than average.
Along with warmer water for swimmers, the heatwave is also bringing bigger fish closer to shore and has the potential to create wilder weather.
The warming water will also have a warming effect on the air, meaning humid heat stick around and cooler evenings will be far and few between this month, Brandolino said.
Hawke's Bay is to have a dry summer while also receiving the average rainfall in January.
"Plan for less rain for long periods of time and heavy rainfall in short time periods," Brandolino said.
While the region is experiencing a marine heatwave, it is still in an open fire season.
For the first time in five years, Hawke's Bay will enter the New Year without the region-wide fire restrictions that would be commonly put in place by late November or early December in the past.
Hawke's Bay Fed Farmers president Jim Galloway warns that it is the season for mid-summer fires similar to the Matarua Rise, Waimarama Road fire in February 2021. Photo / Warren Buckland
Fire and Emergency NZ Hawke's Bay district manager Ken Cooper confirmed on Friday that the region remains in "open fire season".
"Certainly in the last five years we would have been in restrictions by now," he said. "This is unusual."
Federated Farmers Hawke's Bay president Jim Galloway couldn't recall the last time restrictions hadn't been in place somewhere in Hawke's Bay by Christmas.
Galloway and Cooper have warned of the mounting risk as the grass growth - which is a boon to farmers but a bane to urban lawn-mowers and home gardeners - creates a buildup that can become highly combustible in dry weather.
"It could happen in just a couple of weeks," Galloway said, recalling past mid-summer fires of Mahia, Raukawa and the road to Waimarama over the last couple of decades.
Weekly meetings have been ongoing to assess the fire risks in the region, Cooper said.
Current data has shown conditions remain "within the threshold" for an "open" fire season, but with the prospects of some restrictions early in January.
