Wet winter wipes out most drought; more rain ahead | News, Sports, Jobs
The Maui News
Recent wet conditions, including a Kona low rain event in December and heavy rainfall in January, have improved severe drought in areas across Maui County, according to the National Weather Service.
At the start of the year, Maui County had very dry areas across Central Maui and Southwest Molokai. At the time, these were considered “the worst conditions in the state,” the weather service said Friday, but these lands have been recently quenched with rain.
Overall, periods of heavy rainfall during late January and early February eliminated significant drought over Hawaii after dry conditions lasted for about a month beginning mid-December.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor as of Thursday, no areas of the state were at or above the moderate drought level. Most of Hawaii island and portions of Southwest Molokai and Central and South Maui were “abnormally dry,” which is the lowest level of drought.
Now, another Kona low is expected to bring widespread heavy rainfall to Hawaii beginning Thursday, starting at Hawaii island and then spreading to the remaining islands on Thursday night through Saturday afternoon, the weather service said Tuesday.
All islands will be under a flood watch from Thursday morning through Saturday afternoon as heavy rainfall rates for an extended amount of time are expected to result in flash flooding, particularly over already-saturated areas, the weather service said.
Significant flooding may also occur due to the overflow of streams and drainage areas. Roads in several areas may be closed, along with property damage in urban or low-lying spots due to runoff.
Landslides may also occur in areas with steep terrain.
The Hawaiian Islands Outlook issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center on Jan. 19 showed probabilities favoring above-normal temperatures and rainfall into the spring season.
The next long-lead outlook will be issued by the Climate Prediction Center on Thursday.
Even with the recent rain, the Maui County Department of Water Supply said that the West Maui service areas remain under a Stage 1 water shortage, the weather service reported Friday.
However, the water supply issues are no longer due to drought conditions, but are the result of other ongoing operational issues.
The Stage 1 water shortage for the Upcountry Maui water system was dropped as of Dec. 27, as reservoir supplies increased to sufficient levels.
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