Sleepless and sweltering in Nelson as heatwave rolls in

Monday, 28 January 2019

Back to back days of 30-plus heat has sent Nelsonians to the beach and air conditioned refuges, with a cool change still days away.

Nelson officially reached 31 degrees on Sunday, with a number of thermometers in various parts of the region measuring up to 37 degrees.

There was no let up on Monday, with Nelson Airport recording 32 by mid-afternoon and sending hundreds to the beach or a suitably air-conditioned location. The temperatures have closed forests across Tasman and on Monday the Nelson City Council closed tracks in the Grampians and warned of water restrictions.

Tyler Rolleston, 7, cools down at Nelson's Tahunanui Beach.

* Australian heatwave will push New Zealand temperatures into the 30s

* Heat stays on for much of North Island as many return to work**

Tucking into a hokey pokey ice cream at Nelson's Tahunanui Beach, Guernsey visitors Garry and Judy Wade said luck had been on their side weather-wise as they escaped the gloom of the northern hemisphere winter.

'One of my sons is up in Glasgow and I spoke to him this morning – he said it was going to be minus 2°C there tomorrow,' Garry said.

'We had a pretty good summer but it doesn't get as hot as this - we get that maritime climate where 27-28°C is your absolute maximum, but normally it's about 22°C – you're right on the edge of the Atlantic so there's 2,500 miles of wind hitting you all the time.'

Both agreed the heatwave was stifling – but they've had worse.

'The tramping and horse riding have had to be put to one side, but the river walks have been lovely,' Judy said.

'We were once in Desert Springs in California and it was 142°F (61°C) the day we got there, it got to the point you'd get out of the car and just run inside,' Garry said.

Dispensing some cold treats from the Appleby Farms airstream caravan, vendor Jackson Harvey said the demand for ice cream was a welcome by-product of the hot weather.

'It's been amazing hasn't it - I think I've only been rained off one day this whole summer.'

'Yesterday was great, but today has been steady – probably the chocolate vanilla and boysenberry have been the crowd pleasers.'

Harvey said he'd found his own methods of getting to sleep in the evening, despite the overwhelming heat.

'I work hard during the day and usually that knocks me out at night.'

MetService Meteorologist Tui McInnes said with warm air moving east over the Tasman Sea combined with a high over New Zealand causing calm and settled conditions, the sun was able to knock temperatures up a few more degrees.

Unfortunately, it isn't just the days that are set to be hot, with overnight temperatures set to stay in the mid to high teens for most, but a few will see overnight minimums of around 21°C.

In the early hours of Monday, temperatures were 25°C, causing sleep problems for many. One worker said she had to resort to sleeping on the couch in front of the air conditioning unit.

Some respite is on the cloudless horizon though, with a relative cold change set into the weekend.

McInnes said temperatures aren't forecast to drop drastically in the coming days, but most Kiwis can expect warm temperatures rather than 'hot' for some relief from the heatwave.

Metservice's 10-day forecast for the region, which covers the Nelson Anniversary long weekend and Waitangi Day, anticipated temperatures to hover between 22 and 26°C with the only rain expected on Friday and the Wednesday public holiday.

St John South Island Region communications advisor Gerard Campbell said so far there had not been a larger than usual number of call-outs in relation to the heatwave.

However, he recommended people to slip,slop, slap if they were planning to go out in the sun as well as drinking plenty of fluids and keep an eye on the elderly, young children and those with pre-existing conditions.

'People can lose a lot of fluids through sweating and heat so maintain hydration throughout the day, rather than drinking a lot all at once then nothing for a long time.'

The fire risk caused by the hot dry conditions resulted in a number of forest trails being closed to recreational users until further notice.

Tasman Pine Forest shut off recreational access to a number of trails over the weekend, while all Tasman District council-owned forest areas, including Tunnicliff and Kingsland forests, will also close.

Rabbit Island's internal and perimeter tracks and all of Rough Island have also been closed to the public.

With the city due to host around 300 riders for the Aorere Enduro mountain biking event next week, organisers of the four-day round of the Asia Pacific Continental Enduro Series were confident that the conditions would ultimately pose little threat to the event going ahead.

Some areas of Nelson registered higher temperatures than others on Monday, but finding a spot below 30 degrees celsius proved elusive.

'We can make a call from next Monday but we have plans in place for this eventuality and as far as we are concerned right now the event will still be going ahead, even if it needs modifying slightly,' said Nelson Mountain Bike Club spokesman Paul Jennings.

'We're monitoring the situation closely and working with the landowners and managers. A good dump of rain would be helpful though, that's for sure.'

Following consultation with the Principal Rural Fire Officer, Nelson City Council have temporarily closed all tracks on the Grampians Reserve.

'The key risk is around the safety of people being caught on the hill should a fire break out. With the dry conditions, prevailing winds, slope and nature of the vegetation, a fire would spread uphill extremely quickly, making evacuation difficult,' it said in a statement on Monday afternoon.

The council strongly advised users to remain in the lower areas of the Roding Water, Maitai Water, Marsden Valley and Brook Conservation reserves for ease of evacuation in the case of a fire.

The red band of hot temperatures across the top of the south on Monday morning.

The council has also asked all residents to play their part and use water wisely as the hot dry weather continued.

At the current rate of water use, without any significant rainfall, Stage One water restrictions could be introduced in Nelson as early as the end of this week.

Water restrictions are already in place for those who take water directly from streams and wells.