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Hawke’s Bay’s sizzling weekend weather that peaked at 37C was hot enough to close walking tracks and even shut a brewery.

According to MetService, the region baked through one of its hottest days of the season, with Hastings reaching 36.5C and Napier 37.2C. Overnight temperatures offered little relief, staying above 20C in many areas.

At GodsOwn Brewery, an outdoor venue set among dry farmland in Maraekakaho, owner Rachel Downes said temperatures reached about 45C, prompting the call to close early on Sunday.

“We opened for the day already considering how long we would be able to stay open as the temps were still going to be rising,” Downes told Hawke’s Bay Today.

“We cook wood-fired pizza, so the pizza chef’s workstation gets very hot. We are used to this but yesterday was particularly hot coupled with some gusty wind.”

By mid-afternoon, Downes said the thermometer inside the pizza kitchen station was reading 45C.

“We decided that conditions were pretty uncomfortable for both staff and customers so took the opportunity to close early.

“It was the right decision given the circumstances.”

A thermometer at GodsOwn Brewery showed temperatures reaching about 45C near the pizza oven on Sunday.

She said it was the first time the site had been closed because of heat.

“Our customers know our venue and also know that it is hot work for our pizza chef on a normal day, so we got messages of support for our decision.

“There are many great venues to enjoy a beer in Hawke’s Bay, so no one was let down.”

The heat and dry conditions also prompted precautionary closures elsewhere.

Te Mata Park was closed from Friday night until Monday morning because of extreme fire risk, driven by strong winds, low humidity and very dry ground following weeks without significant rain.

Meanwhile, Splash Planet had a surge in visitors.

A Hastings District Council spokesperson said attendance has been between 1500 and 2000 every day since Wednesday, with 1729 on Sunday.

MetService meteorologist John Law said the official numbers didn’t fully reflect how hot it felt.

“We take our temperatures in the shade, so it would feel hotter in the direct sunlight,” Law said.

He said humidity and light winds can make it harder for the body to cool down, while inland areas often feel hotter than coastal spots.

Looking ahead, Law said conditions would ease in the following days.

“Temperatures this week, while still a few degrees above average for the time of year, will be cooler than we saw last week.”

He says the January average maximum temperature for Hawke’s Bay is around 25C. Highs of 28-29C are expected in Napier and Hastings early this week before gradually easing toward the weekend.

While the warmer weather did lead to an increase in electricity demand compared with other summer weekends, Unison said it posed no risk to the network.

“Despite the weekend’s heat and higher electricity demand, our network continued to operate well within normal limits, with no heat-related outages,” operations manager Ed Brown said.

An unplanned outage affecting 26 customers on Waitara Rd was carried out at Fire and Emergency New Zealand’s request, as crews worked near a vegetation fire in Te Haroto.