East Hawaii residents are surfing the crest of a heat wave that has been thrashing high-temperature records.
Luckily, expected rainfall could provide a brief respite today and tomorrow, according to the National Weather Service.
A review of the National Weather Service’s preliminary climate data for the summer reveals that the past three weeks produced 10 days that broke or tied previous high-temperature records set at Hilo International Airport.
The string of record-breaking highs began June 28, when temperatures hit 88 degrees, beating the previous record of 87 set in 1980. Two days later, another high of 88 tied the previous June 30 record set in 1980.
July kicked off with a high of 88 degrees, matching a record set in 1980, followed by three record-setting days in a row from July 3-5, with highs of 87, 88 and 87, respectively. Hilo also tied a record high set in 1980 of 88 degrees on July 7.
Another three-day spate of records began on Friday, when Hilo’s thermometer registered a high of 87 degrees, tying a record set in 2008. It was followed on Saturday by a high of 87, tying a record set in 1974. Then on Sunday, the former record high of 88 degrees set in 1965 fell when Hilo put up a high of 90 degrees.
No new record temperatures were recorded since then, according to the information available Thursday on the National Weather Service’s website, but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t been unseasonably hot, according to NWS hydrologist Kevin Kodama.
“It’s definitely not normal,” he said of current weather conditions. “Especially since July 1, we haven’t had much in the way of solid trade winds. It’s been so unusual, we’ve had such clear skies. And how often do you really get that in July in Hilo? It’s supposed to be one of the wettest months of the year in Hilo, second only to March.”
In addition to a lack of cooling rain, ocean temperatures around the Big Island currently are between 1 and 2 degrees higher than average, he said.
“That’s going to contribute to make things warmer, too,” Kodama said.
A typical July will see daily maximum temperatures of about 83 degrees, he said, and so far Hilo hasn’t had a daily high below 86 degrees.
“That’s quite a bit higher,” he said. “Even the low temperatures, the average daily minimum is 69 degrees, but now you’re seeing a lot of 72s, 73s, a few 70s,” he said.
The high temperatures and relative lack of rainfall has served to dry up pasture lands around Ka‘u and Waimea, he said.
“They’re still rated as moderate (drought) right now,” he said. “But we’re probably going to go up to a D2, or severe drought, within a few weeks. Unless we get a tropical cyclone dropping a lot of rain, I can’t think of a realistic drought buster, especially up north. On the South Point side, sometimes you can get tropical disturbances that can come by and kick up some rain in the Ka‘u District, which has a higher potential for improving drought situation there. But in the leeward ares, South Kohala and Waikoloa and Kawaihae areas, how are you going to get rain up in those areas this time of year?”
For East Hawaii, showers were expected to move on shore today and Saturday, he said, providing some relief.
“For the short term, the next couple days should be more cloudy and rainy,” he said Thursday afternoon. “But it’s still gonna be humid. We’re still not gonna get rid of that warm pocket of water. That’s not going away.”
Kodama added that Hawaii is in the midst of an El Nino year, and should be seeing more rain than it is. That fact is starting to worry some forecasters that the coming winter could be a dry one. “Especially with this kind of a year we’ve been having, we might be seeing something significant,” he said.
Shortly after noon Thursday, Fono Masoe was working with members of a Hawaii County road crew to fill in a new slab of sidewalk concrete near the Hale Nene Apartments on Wainaku Street in Hilo.
Shouting over the loud grumblings of the cement mixer, Masoe said in his 17 years working with the roads department, he’d never experienced heat like he’s felt in the past month or so.
“It’s been very, very hot,” he said. “It never was like this. It’s like the sun is more close to us.”
As he took a big swig from an oversized water bottle, Masoe said that he planned to lower his internal thermostat as soon as his shift was over by heading to Ice Pond or Four Mile beach.
“After work, I’ll take a dive,” he said.
Email Colin M. Stewart at cstewart@hawaii
tribune-herald.com.
