Whangarei sizzles at 30C in hottest day so far

Father and son, Scott and Max Moyse, cool off on one of the hottest days of summer with an ice cream at the Whangarei Town Basin. Photograph by John Stone

Ice creams melted and dogs panted in sweltering conditions that saw the mercury rise to the highest temperatures Whangarei has seen all summer.

The official temperature for the district yesterday was recorded at 30C, knocking the previous summer high of 28C on January 17 off top spot, MetService meteorologist David Miller said.

But with the official temperature recorded in a louvred, shaded box at Whangarei Airport, the real temperature will be much higher elsewhere.

An unscientific Advocate temperature testing saw the mercury peak at 31.1C in the shade at the Town Basin yesterday afternoon.

Three generations of the Moyse family sought shelter under Town Basin trees, trying to quickly eat their rapidly melting maple and walnut and dutch chocolate-flavoured ice creams.

"It's pretty hot - we just did the loop walk around the Town Basin with the dog and we got halfway and she was in pretty bad shape," Onerahi resident Scott Moyse said.

"We were going to do some more gardening in the afternoon but we will probably jump off the Onerahi wharf instead."

Scott's father Chris was visiting from the UK and described the hot weather as "beautiful".

"It is a bonus for me - from one extreme [winter] to the other."

Whangarei man Allan Pivac was also eating ice cream at the Town Basin with his grandson, 13-year-old Nikau Wrathall, from Sydney. Nikau said it was on a par with Sydney temperatures, although much more humid.

The high temperatures were due to a warm tropical air mass combined with a northwesterly flow, Mr Miller said.

The wind is expected to change to south westerly today, turning to westerlies tomorrow, with the odd morning shower.

The showers and westerly winds are anticipated to continue to Thursday, changing to south westerlies on Waitangi Day with isolated showers, he said.

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