Rain returns to Hawke's Bay, thunderstorms offshore

Predicted thunderstorms are likely to be out to sea, on Tuesday. Photo / Warren Buckland

The Wairoa District again took the brunt of heavy rain falling in Hawke's Bay as a new band swept through the region on Tuesday.

More than 30 millimetres was recorded at some of the sites where near-record rainfalls were gauged in February and March, and which had then faced the threat of more in Cyclone Fili in mid-April.

A near month-long reprieve was partially broken with 35mm by mid-afternoon and mainly within little more than an hour at Ruakituri, northwest of Wairoa and where the farming community is still recovering from devastating damage in the earlier deluges.

There had been 33mm at the Wairoa railway bridge and the Waiau River at Ardkeen, and 30m at Pukeorapa Station, closer to the coast.

By mid-morning several stations from Napier south had had more than 10mm of rain as a front moved through Central Hawke's Bay and into the Wairoa District, but MetService meteorologist Mmathapelo Makgabutlane said from Wellington thunderstorms which been forecast for later in the day were more likely to be off the coast north of Mahia.

By 9am, the heaviest rain for the day was the 23mm at Waipoapoa, there had been 15mm at Waimarama, 11.5mm at Flemington, 13.5mm at Mangaorapa, and 12.2mm at Omakere, where there was over 80mm of rain in 3-4 hours during Cyclone Fili on April 13.

At Te Pohue there had been 15mm, about half in the hour to 9.30am, and around the twin-cities there had be mid-afternoon there had been 11.5mm at the HBRC Napier CBD station, and 7mm at Bridge Pa, with the sun shining again.

The forecast for the rest of the week was for mainly overcast with some showers, with a return to fine weather on Saturday.

As a result of the heavy rain in February and March, rainfall in many parts of the region for 2022, in particular from Napier north, remains more than 60 per cent above average for January-May.