Several inches of rain poured over Hilo and other windward parts of the island this weekend, bringing lagging East Hawaii rain counts a little closer to normal.
Several inches of rain poured over Hilo and other windward parts of the island this weekend, bringing lagging East Hawaii rain counts a little closer to normal.
Between Friday and Monday morning, the Hilo International Airport rain gauge measured about 2.48 inches of rain, preliminary data from the National Weather Service shows, bumping the site’s month-to-date total to a little more than 50 percent of historical averages.
Piihonua recorded 6.31 inches during that same three-day window, bringing the rain count to 74 percent of average for the month. More than 4 inches fell at Piihonua between Saturday and Sunday morning alone, data show, and the site recorded more rain in the 24-hour period beginning Friday afternoon than it did in the entire month of February.
Waiakea Uka recorded 3 inches during the weekend, but the site is still at about 37 percent of its month-to-date average.
Mountain View is now at 41 percent of its typical amount for the month so far, after getting about 2.79 inches this weekend.
The weekend downpour came after months of drought-like conditions that experts attributed to El Nino.
The U.S. Drought Monitor showed the vast majority of Hawaii Island under a “moderate drought” as of March 8, the most recent day the report was updated, and several pockets of the island — mostly on the leeward side — were under a “severe drought.”
“We’ve been dry the last several months, which is consistent with what we’ve been expecting since last summer,” said National Weather Service Hydrologist Kevin Kodama. “It’s been following the El Nino playbook very well, so we’re not surprised at all.”
Kodama did not have leeward month-to-date averages immediately available, but data show West Hawaii remained dry.
The Kona International Airport rain gauge did not measure any rain during the weekend, nor did Waikoloa. South Point had recorded .05 inches as of Monday morning.
More rain is in the forecast this week. North and east parts of the Big Island show a 50 percent chance of rain today and tonight, according to Monday’s National Weather Service forecast.
The possibility of rain is expected to remain through the week and into early the following week.
Email Kirsten Johnson at kjohnson@hawaiitribune-herald.com.