“There is overall a warm air mass moving over the whole country, developing a northwesterly flow, bringing warm air from the Tasman Sea.”
O’Connor said it would be a “good recipe” to fetch the higher temperatures predicted and Saturday in Hastings and Napier was expected to be 20C.
She said the warmer weather also came with higher overnight temperatures of about 13C and patches of rain were expected.
The weather was expected to shift on Sunday night and the region would see a southerly change, which was likely to bring rain.
She said looking ahead to Sunday night and Monday, temperatures would be “chillier, below 10C, but we are not talking freezing - more around 8C to 9C.”
A strong wind watch had also been issued for the region from 11pm Saturday to 6pm Sunday for the northwesterly wind.
She said there would be possible gusts of wind up to 100km/h, however, that would not be felt in the urban areas of Hastings and Napier.
“If you are out and about in an exposed hilltop it will be gusty.”
Looking ahead, the start of the week the temperatures are expected to be about 15C on Monday and 12C on Tuesday with overnight frosts.
“It is going to feel colder, especially in comparison to what you might be seeing on Sunday.”
Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings and Central Hawke’s Bay newsrooms. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and has a love for sharing stories about farming and rural communities.