Hawke's Bay shrugs off wet week

While Hawke's Bay landscapes are usually dry and brown, Federated Farmers president Jim Galloway says the region has never been so green. Photo / Paul Taylor

Hawke's Bay may be off to a damp and drizzly week, but the region seems to have embraced the rain, especially its farmers.

Showers will remain for most of the week and MetService meteorologist Mark Bowe said hail might even be on the cards throughout the next few days.

"There's a front moving over the country at the moment and with that comes showers and they will remain into Tuesday as well. They may be possibly heavy but maybe confined to the ranges."

Bowe said although still warm, temperatures would remain slightly cooler this week, with highs between 22C and 23C.

"In regards to these showers there is a low pressure system to the northeast of the North Island, so that's what is really driving the showers into the Hawke's Bay region.

"So right now the region is experiencing the front and then you'll be getting that flow on Tuesday which will see more showers popping up in the region."

Wednesday would be a damp day, but Thursday looked to be a sunnier with the cloud breaking up, finally exposing blue skies and sunshine.

"Friday will be fine with the possibility of the odd shower in the ranges but the urban areas should miss out on all of that.

"It's not just Hawke's Bay that's experiencing this bad weather, it's pretty much all over the North Island."

While not so good for holidaymakers, farmers and crop growers were making the most of the drizzle.

Federated Farmers president Jim Galloway said Hawke's Bay farmers usually prepared for hot, dry summers and found the current weather pattern "fairly unusual".

"It's phenomenal for this time of year, I'm based at Raukawa and it's green and not brown like normal," he said.

"I think most people are pretty happy and the area that normally gets the rain has been getting it up into the hills, but then on to the Heretaunga Plains, it's greener than normal, let's put it that way."

Galloway said he had heard very few complaints but said some farmers were struggling with too much grass growth.

"We're used to having very little grass at this time of the year, if you get plenty of grass, your quality can go and trying to get that back under control is never easy. It can be a bit of a double-edged sword at times, but I've had very little people complain."

Galloway said there had been less irrigation as the region experienced an extremely wet November and December.

"I was walking to a guy who didn't have to turn the irrigator on once for his pea crop.

"Farmers haven't really had to use them as much because we've had so much rain during the past few months."