Waitangi weekend saw scorching temperatures across the region, with heart alerts issued for some areas.
MetService said, Friday saw the weekend off to a hot start with Whakatāne at 27.6°C, Ōpōtiki at 24.7°C, and Kawerau the hottest at 28.3°C.
Saturday saw temperatures get even hotter.
In Whakatāne, temperatures for the weekend peaked on Saturday at Whakatāne 30.9°C.
MetService said Whakatāne's average maximum temperature for this time of year is 24.7°C.
It said it was 6°C hotter than average on Saturday, so a heat alert was issued.
In Ōpōtiki it was slightly cooler at 25.1°C, and Kawerau had a high of 31.2°C.
On Sunday, temperatures dropped to 29.2°C in Whakatāne.
However, temperatures peaked for both Ōpōtiki and Kawerau, with highs of 27.2°C and 32.4°C respectively.
The Kawerau high of 32.4°C was only 3.2°C cooler than the towns' hottest temperature on record.
MetService said last year, on December 7th, Kawerau reached 35.6°C, which was the hottest day in the town since records began in 1954.
Today temperatures have returned to average for Whakatāne with a max temperature of 25°C.
Ōpōtiki and Kawerau are both forecast to reach 25°C also.
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