Ice cream was the order of the day as Hawke’s Bay enjoyed another fine weekend of summer, with Hastings having the nationwide high of 21.7 degrees Celsius mid-afternoon on Sunday.
At the other end of the scale, there were overnight lows were 8-10 degrees at night, perhaps prompting putting away fans and getting the heaters out in anticipation of a cooler spell ahead.
That was mid-range nationwide on a scale on which inland chill-central Twizel dropped to below minus 3deg.
In Hawke’s Bay, with some showers and rain forecast for Monday, temperatures were expected to continue throughout the week with maximums up to 22 degrees and urban centre minimums expected to be no lower than 5 degrees, including what for some will be the first day of winter next Saturday – the start of the club rugby season.
It came after pre-weekend forecasts of some of the lowest temperatures of the year to date.
A year ago, Hawke’s Bay was marking the end of the first month after Cyclone Gabrielle.
The event, and the emergency that interrupted it, underline the service's importance.