Snow blankets Hawke's Bay ranges after winter blast

Snow on the Ruahine Range in Central Hawke's Bay on Monday afternoon. Photo / Paul Taylor

A wintry blast has dumped a blanket of snow on the mountains around Hawke's Bay, but the freezing temperatures that accompany it aren't set to last long for those on the plains.

The Napier-Taihape Rd was closed overnight on Tuesday as snow fell on both the Ruahine and Kaweka Ranges.

Temperatures dropped to 0 degrees Celsius in Hastings overnight, but it remained mild in Napier, with residents waking to a less bitter 7C.

MetService says fine skies, and highs in the mid teens are anticipated across the region on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, with overnight temperatures around 5C.

It's a return to conditions that saw NZ, and parts of Hawke's Bay, hit near-record average July temperatures.

Waipawa's July, with an average temperature across the month of 9.1C, was its hottest in 74 years of recorded history.

Hastings had an average temperature in July of 10.4C, 2.2C above its July average and the city's second warmest on record.

Mahia recorded its third warmest July on record.