Hawke's Bay may be in for a heatwave, but wet and windy elsewhere

 

Hawke's Bay is set to bask in extreme heat this weekend, while other parts of the country are in for heavy downpours.

The MetService is forecasting five days of above-average temperatures in Napier, which could meet heatwave criteria.

Napier is expected to reach 27 degrees Celsius today, although MetService says it may be cloudy with a little rain at times. The overnight low in Napier is forecast to be 22C, which is 12 degrees above average.

Last month, Napier experienced its hottest October day in more than more than 20 years, hitting 29C.

On Friday, Timaru became the first centre to reach 30C this spring. But that is set to plunge to 15C on Saturday. 

MetService meteorologist Aidan Pyselman said the North Island's east coast would be this weekend's hot spot. 

After cracking 30°C yesterday, temps in Timaru only forecast to reach the mid-teens today

The Hawke's Bay leads the pack with another day of temps in the upper 20s expected

See temps for your town at http://bit.ly/metservicenz

"Definitely a lot warmer in the east, but it looks likely that rain is fairly widespread apart from those spots like Gisborne and Hawke's Bay, who probably aren't going to see quite as much."

MetService has issued orange warnings for heavy rain and severe gales for many parts of the country.

Some have already started and most are in force through to late Sunday.

Orange warnings signify people need to be prepared and take action as appropriate.

In the North Island, that includes Mount Taranaki with up to 140 millimetres of rain forecast, the ranges of Bay of Plenty east of Ōpōtiki and inland Gisborne ranges, where up to 100mm of rain is expected, and Tararua range, where up to 140mm of rain is forecast.

In the South Island, up to 190mm of rain is forecast for the Westland ranges south of Ōtira.