Kaden Ashby, 12, from Whangārei, and his cousins cool off in the time-honoured Northland way by doing bombs off Matapōuri Bridge. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Northland's scorcher of a summer is set to continue with temperatures due to nudge 30 degrees today and no significant rain on the horizon.
According to MetService, the hottest of the region's main centres today is expected to be Kerikeri with 29 degrees — 4.3C hotter than average for this time of year — followed by Whangārei on 28C and Kaitaia on 27C.
Dargaville's daytime maximum is expected to be a more modest 22C but the Kaipara town has the region's stickiest nights with 19C expected tonight.
Whangārei and Kerikeri are likely to see a modest dip in temperatures on Friday before climbing back to the mid-20s during the weekend.
In Kaitaia, the daily maximum is not expected to budge from 25 from Thursday through to Sunday.
MetService forecaster Kyle Lee said the clear skies and high temperatures were caused by a strong high-pressure system parked over the country.
Water temperatures were also significantly higher than usual, with the sea at Whangārei Heads and the Bay of Islands measuring 21C. Ahipara, on the west coast, is close behind on 20.
While sunny skies and balmy water are great news for holidaymakers, it's not the forecast firefighters battling the huge Kaimaumau wetland fire want to hear.
The fire has covered almost 2400ha since it started on December 18 and has twice forced the evacuation of Kaimaumau village.
Lee said showers were possible on Friday afternoon — possibly even the odd thunderstorm — but there was no significant rain on the horizon.
A front was due to bring rain to the far south of the country on Saturday but the high over the North Island would stop it heading any further north.
At this time of year, the main driver of rain in the upper North Island was weather systems from the tropics.
''But there's nothing in sight at the moment,'' Lee said.
Holidaymakers were taking the heat in their stride yesterday, with many youngsters opting to cool off in the time-honoured Northland way.
In Matapōuri, 12-year-old Kaden Ashby was doing bombs off the bridge with his brothers and cousins.
His aunt, Hellen Ashby-Nathan, of Whangārei, said the whānau had been coming to the Tutukaka Coast to camp on her grandfather's land for the past 35 years.
The adults kept cool by fishing and diving, while the kids barely spent a minute out of the water, doing bombs, swimming and paddleboarding.
''We don't see them until they're hungry. They love it here,'' she said.
Further north, Paihia was also packed with holidaymakers, including Whangārei's Kayla and Jack Robinson and their daughters Myah, 6, and Leah, 4, who were testing the local icecream.
They'd been for a road trip with stops at Cape Reinga, the giant dunes at Te Paki, Taipā, and finally the Bay of Islands.
They had no complaints about the heat.
''We like it hot. We've been cooling off with icecreams and in the water,'' Kayla Robinson said.
For proof of the current heatwave you need look no further than the fan sections of any hardware store.
Ben Leduc, co-owner of Mitre 10 Kerikeri, said the store's stock of fans had all but sold out by New Year's Eve.
All he had left were a few top-end fans but they weren't in everyone's price bracket.
Because fans weren't manufactured in New Zealand, retailers had to import as many as they thought they'd need for the summer season, with no chance — especially with current global supply chain issues — of restocking before summer was out.
Like all seasonal items, it was a case of ''sometimes you win, sometimes you lose'', Leduc said.
In a cool summer, stores could end up with leftover fans which would have to be stored until the following year.
There had also been a run on umbrellas, gazebos and sun protection, Leduc said.
He was hoping a new shipment of those items would arrive in February.
While a stubborn high-pressure system is the immediate cause of Northland's current high temperatures, a number of long-term factors are contributing.
Climate scientist Jim Salinger said one of those factors was New Zealand's second consecutive La Niña, a weather system that brought northeasterly winds, higher temperatures and warmer seas.
Also, the Southern Annular Mode — a ring of climate variability around the South Pole — was in a positive phase, bringing westerly winds over the Southern Ocean but lighter winds and sunnier skies to New Zealand.
''It means we get blocking anti-cyclones across southern New Zealand. That's what we're seeing at the moment,'' he said.
Climate change was another factor, with overall temperatures now 1.5 C higher than in the 1870s.
Meanwhile, MetService is trailing a new system of online alerts as part of a plan to develop an early-warning system for extreme heat.
The alerts take into account not just temperature but also wind, humidity and local weather history to gauge how hot the location will feel.
Alerts are issued if the perceived temperature is forecast to breach a set threshold for two days in a row.
Whangārei is the only Northland location included in the heat alert system so far.
At present there are no water restrictions in Northland thanks to a wetter than average spring, though forecast dry weather will have rural dwellers and farmers eyeing their water supplies nervously.
Most of the region is in an open fire season but that's likely to change given the number of vegetation fires in recent days.
The exceptions are the Aupōuri and Karikari peninsulas and the area north of Kaitaia-Awaroa Rd, including Ahipara, where fire permits are required year-round.
A fireworks ban is also in place on the Karikari Peninsula.
— additional reporting Jamie Morton
Too hot for you? Here's a few tips from the Ministry of Health and MetService for beating the heat.
• Drink plenty of water. Try adding a slice of lemon, lime or mint to a jug of water in the fridge.
• Cut back on alcohol.
• Eat nourishing food with high water content such as salads and fruit. Frozen fruit, such as bananas, makes a cooling snack.
• Dress in light clothing. Cotton and other natural fabrics are best.
• Stay out of the sun. If you have to be outdoors seek shade where possible and remember to slip, slop, slap. (Slip on long-sleeved, collared top; slop on sunscreen that's at least SPF30 — water resistant if you're heading to the beach — and reapply every two hours; slap on a wide-brimmed hat).
• Save exercise and outdoor activities for evenings or early mornings.
• Keep an eye out for your neighbours. Children, the elderly and people with health conditions can find the heat hard to handle.
• Don't leave children or pets unattended in parked cars. On hot days, temperatures inside a vehicle can rise quickly to dangerous levels.
• Keep your house cool with air conditioning or by opening windows on opposite sides of the house to create a cross breeze.
• Spray or sprinkle water on your skin or clothing or place a damp cloth on the back of your neck.
• Put your pillow or sheets in the freezer a few hours before bed.
• If you have any health concerns call Healthline on 0800 611 116 for free advice from trained nurses.
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