Hastings and Napier posted the warmest temperatures in New Zealand on Friday for the second day in a row as the area headed into a busy weekend with several thousand visitors in the twin cities for major sports events.
Top of the order was the Friday night twilight Twenty20 cricket match between New Zealand and England at McLean Park in Napier with temperatures still in the high 20s heading towards the 6pm start.
More of the same was forecast for Saturday with ideal conditions forecast for the morning starts in the IronMaori quarter triathlon along the Ahuriri and Marine Parade beachfronts, but temperatures were forecast for up to 28C later in the day.
The maximum for the area on Friday was 29.4C in Hastings and 29.1C at Hawke's Bay Airport, between Napier and Bay View.
National weather agency MetService reported cooler but still fine conditions elsewhere, with peaks of 24.6C for the Takapau Plains, and 21.6C for Mahia.
