Drought — West Hawaii Including Leeward Kohala and Kona, Hawaii

2000-06-01 to 2000-06-30 · West Hawaii Including Leeward Kohala and Kona, Hawaii

Wider weather episode

Persistent but weaker than normal trade winds characterized the month of June across the Hawaiian Islands. Ample amounts of shower-bearing clouds embedded within the trade flow helped boost rainfall totals in many of the windward areas of the islands. Upper level lows near the island chain on 13-14 June, 25-27 June, and 29 June also helped destabilize the air mass and triggered heavy localized afternoon showers. These showers somewhat eased the drought situation, especially over the leeward areas of the Big Island and Maui.Island of KauaiIn marked contrast to a very dry May, June saw rainfall totals near or above average at most of the reporting gages on the island of Kauai. Daily rainfall amounts (mainly less than 0.25 of an inch) were generally well distributed throughout the month, though the upper level low on 29 June pushed up 24-hour amounts to between 1 and 2 inches at Hanalei, Wailua, and Kalaheo. The highest rainfall total recorded for the month came from the Wainiha gage at 5.94 inches (97 percent of average), while the highest positive anomaly was from the gage at Wailua (5.88 inches, 137 percent of average).Despite the wet conditions during June, rainfall totals for the year across Kauai remained below average, with five gages below 50 percent of average.Island of OahuWhile Kauai benefitted from widespread rainfall during June, precipitation over the island of Oahu was much more erratic with anomalies ranging from 6 percent of average at Honolulu Airport (0.03 of an inch) to 232 percent of average at Waialua (2.09 inches). Nearly half of the month's rainfall at Waialua can be accounted for by one hour of rainfall on the afternoon of 14 June, triggered by the previously mentioned upper level low.For the year-to-date, all gages on Oahu were still below average, with windward gages mostly within the 30 to 60 percent of average range and leeward gages within 20 to 40 percent of average.Maui CountyRainfall in the month of June helped bring much needed drought relief to portions of Maui. Two of the gages in Upcountry Maui recorded above average rainfall, with the Kula site at 167 percent of average (1.84 inches) and Ulupalakua at 174 percent (3.30 inches). The islands of Lanai and Molokai, and much of Maui, saw another month of below average rainfall, thus worsening the existing drought conditions.In terms of rainfall for the year, the islands of Maui County continued to fare the worst of all the islands statewide. Most of the gages showed year-to-date totals below 50 percent of average.Island of HawaiiLike Kauai, the Big Island went from a very dry May to a wet June where most of the gages reported totals near or above average. Rains were especially welcome in parched areas of the Kau and South Kohala districts. Noteworthy was the 1.83 inches at the Kamakoa gage, an amount well above the June average of 0.30 of an inch, and the highest amount since May 1997. Active trade showers supported by an upper level low brought 3 to 5 inches of rain over the windward areas of the island on 25 June. These rains helped push windward totals into the 100 to 130 percent of average range.Year-to-date totals for all gages were still below average at all sites. Windward locales were mainly 50 to 70 percent of average, while leeward areas were 20 to 40 percent of average.The following list contains rainfall statistics for selected locations from around Hawaii. The first column is the observed rainfall for June. The second column is the 30-year average for that location, while the third column lists the percent of average for the month. The fourth and fifth columns are the year-to-date total and the percent of average, respectively. YTD Jun 00 Avg. %Avg. YTD %Avg.Kauai Kokee 2.67 2.40 111 22.56 44 Hanalei 5.87 5.30 111 33.30 54 Anahola 1.70 1.60 106 9.26 35 Lihue VS 2.09 3.60 58 11.24 32 Lihue Airport 1.12 1.70 66 8.12 37 Hanapepe 0.56 1.00 56 4.97 31Oahu Honolulu Airport 0.03 0.50 6 2.24 20 Manoa Lyon 8.32 11.70 71 63.50 85 Waimanalo 0.62 1.50 41 8.79 31 Waihee Pump 4.07 4.00 102 20.87 38 Kahuku 1.38 1.80 77 8.58 36 Waianae 0.17 0.30 57 0.75 7 Kunia 0.66 0.50 132 4.48 29Maui Kahului 0.09 0.30 30 2.80 22 Hana 3.96 3.80 104 M M Kihei 0.02 0.10 20 0.15 2 Lahainaluna 0.10 0.20 50 0.57 5 Wailuku 0.21 0.40 52 5.20 30 Kula 1.84 1.10 167 4.34 25 Ulupalakua 3.30 1.90 174 5.97 30Molokai Kaunakakai M 0.30 M M M Kamalo 0.48 1.30 37 M MLanai Lanai City 1.04 1.40 74 5.07 23Island of Hawaii Hilo Airport 8.19 6.20 132 43.00 66 Pahala 1.60 2.20 73 9.01 29 Honaunau 4.55 7.00 65 11.44 36 Kamuela (Upper) 2.82 3.00 94 24.92 78 Glenwood .60 7.30 118 58.01 65 Laupahoehoe 3.67 6.20 59 45.57 55 Kamakoa 1.83 0.30 610 2.41 24 Kapapala 2.16 2.20 98 7.03 20

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5155102. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.