Hastings will likely celebrate its 150th anniversary weekend under dark clouds, with a rain watch issued for Hawke's Bay by MetService. A historical photograph, courtesy of the HB Knowledge Bank, coloured by C Ropitini. Photo / Hastings District Council
Hastings is likely to get some heavy rain - along with much of the rest of Hawke’s Bay - on its 150th anniversary weekend celebrations.
MetService issued a heavy rain watch for Hawke’s Bay, south of State Highway 5, on Friday morning.
The watch period is for 33 hours, from 6am Saturday to 3pm Sunday.
MetService meteorologist Ngaire Wotherspoon said weather conditions would bring rain to the east coast overnight on Friday.
“We start to get that heavier rain from [Saturday morning]. We are expecting some periods of rain might approach warning criteria so definitely keep an eye out for the next [update] issued tonight,” Wotherspoon said.
“it is quite a long watch period going into the Sunday as well, that low is sort of spiralling to the east for quite a while before it starts moving away in the evening.”
She said it would get a bit more showery later in the day on Sunday before it eases off overnight.
“It looks like it will be getting better next week as we shift back into that southwesterly flow that we’ve been getting quite a lot recently, that classic winter stuff.”
She said daytime temperatures for urban areas like Napier and Hastings would likely be similar to what they had been during the week and the two centres would likely be within one degree of one another.
“We are sticking around 14 or 15 degrees during the day time, but the night time temperatures will be getting quite a lot warmer,” she said.
“You are looking more at eight or nine degrees over the next few days.”
She said Saturday morning winds could be gusty.
A series of free events to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Hastings on July 8 includes some outdoor activities that could be affected by the likely sodden conditions.
Starting Friday, there will be a light show projection of historic photographs running in the evenings from 5.30pm to 10.30pm on the exterior walls of Toitoi – Hawke’s Bay Arts and Events Centre.
Saturday has an official tree planting and plaque reveal ceremony at Cornwall Park near the playground off Roberts St at 1pm, which includes a time capsule of letters written by school students being buried.
Sunday has live music, dance performances, face painting, giveaways, games and more at the Big 150th Family Day Out at Civic Square from 11am to 2pm.
Hastings mayor Sandra Hazlehurst says there is something for everyone to enjoy over the weekend.
“It’s been a very tough time for our Heretaunga Hastings residents over the past few months as we deal with the consequences of the cyclone,” Hazlehurst said.
“Such events have struck our region before and our forebears built back. This commemoration is not only a celebration of all that has been achieved in the last 150 years, it’s also a reminder that our community has shown great resilience over the years, a trait we call on now as we recover and move forward.”
A fuller programme of the events can be found on the Hastings District Council website.
Napier has an outdoor Matariki celebration planned for the weekend, A Magical Matariki Light Show.
From 5.30pm to 8.30pm on Friday and Saturday, the night sky and surrounding buildings in the Napier CBD near the MTG building will be illuminated by a light show, with food and music on offer.
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