The unusual sound of rain on windscreens across the Bay of Plenty has sparked a reminder from police about sensible wet weather driving.

Overnight Tauranga received just 0.4ml of rain and a slight reprieve from the summer heat, but more importantly it turned the region's roads into areas of 'heightened risk” for the authorities.

Police are urging motorists to take extreme care on wet roads after a lengthy fine spell. Photo: File.

After a long period of hot, dry weather even light rain can make road surfaces slippery, bringing with it the potential for serious crashes if drivers don't adjust to the conditions.

Such light rain forecasts could create unusual and potentially dangerous driving conditions known as ‘summer ice'.

'The risk is heightened and we have got to adjust our driving to those conditions,” says Western Bay of Plenty road policing manager Senior Sergeant Ian Campion.

'People need to take extreme care in the wet and make sure they respect their following distances and keep speeds down.

'Generally, it's about being aware that the roads will be slippery and it will take more time to stop.”

This weekend police attended two single vehicle crashes after drivers were driving too fast in the wet. The first happened on Whakamarama Road on Sunday at 11.08am, with a second incident at 11.27am at the State Highway 29/36 roundabout in Tauriko.

'Fortunately no injuries came out of these but the potential was there,” adds Ian.

'I guess we talk about this on a regular basis but for some people the environment just doesn't trigger a response in them.”

Ian says this pair of crashes highlights the need for a higher level of caution, particularly in the coming days until the slippery film on road surfaces has been washed away.

He adds the majority of motorists are up to speed, which is pleasing to see.

'There is only a small minority that aren't paying attention,” he adds, 'but it's important to remind people that after a long fine dry spell, a little bit of rain will make the roads a bit slipperier because of the road film coming to the surface.

'Once we have a couple of days of good rain on those roads we are back to normal. That doesn't mean to say that we shouldn't take care when they are wet but they won't be as bad as they are after a long dry spell.”

Metservice meteorologist John Law says 0.4ml of rain fell overnight following about 10ml in the Kaimai Range yesterday afternoon.

Looking ahead to the rest of the week, the occasional heavy shower will pass over today before easing in the evening. The next forecast spell of decent rain isn't until Friday.

'You will see some showers start to spring up more than anything else, and maybe a few sharp ones here and there,” says John.

'Over the next couple of days it's really that sort of idea of a mixture of sunshine and showers through the week.”