East Hawaii residents can expect rainy conditions to persist through at least Wednesday as moisture remnants left over from Tropical Storm Ulika pass by the Hawaiian Islands.
The storm, which dissipated to a small cloud about 150 miles south of the Big Island by Sunday, soaked some windward sites during the weekend with more than 5 inches of rain.
The rain gauge at Hilo International Airport measured 3.06 inches of rain between Friday and Monday morning, according to the National Weather Service. The gauge at Glenwood registered 5.86 inches, Mountain View received 5.34 inches and Waiakea Uka recorded 5.26 inches.
The Saddle Quarry received 12.3 inches, Honokaa saw 1.22 inches, and even some leeward sites saw spotty showers. Honaunau recorded 3.13 inches during the weekend, with 3.04 inches dropping Friday night alone.
Forecaster Derek Wroe said the weekend rain “hasn’t caused any problems.” However, the NWS issued a flash flood watch in effect through this afternoon, warning about the “combination of abundant moisture and an upper level disturbance” that could result in continued rainfall and isolated thunderstorms around the island.
“It’s going to stay a little unstable and moist the next couple days … through at least Wednesday and possibly Thursday,” Wroe said. “That’s courtesy of what was left from Ulika.”
October marks the start of the traditional wet season. However, much of East Hawaii has already experienced more rain than what’s seasonally normal. The Hilo airport registered 24.68 inches in August, more than two-and-a-half times the monthly average and the highest total since 1991, according to a September NWS report.
The airport registered 10.74 inches in September, up slightly from the 9.94 average, Wroe said. Remaining rainfall totals for September weren’t available Monday, but Wroe said the rainy weather in recent months helped replenish below-normal year-to-date totals around the island caused by strong El Nino conditions this year.
“It’s been a year of extremes,” Wroe said. “We were very, very dry in the early part of the year, and then we kind of flipped a switch and went wetter than normal.”
“Usually, we’re heading out of the dryer time of the year, but Mother Nature had different plans for us this summer,” he added.
The islands are now experiencing “neutral conditions,” Wroe said, which is predicted to remain or gradually develop into “weak La Nina conditions” or “just shy of La Nina conditions” in the coming months. In the past, La Nina translated to above-normal rainfall totals.
Island residents can expect “a higher chance of seeing near or above-normal rainfall heading into the wet season,” Wroe said.
He said Monday there are no impending storms expected to impact the islands during the next week. However, hurricane season runs through November and the NWS reminds residents to remain vigilant.
“We’re definitely past the peak, but we’re still in hurricane season,” Wroe said. “So, we’re reminding people to remain prepared and keep an eye out on what’s going on.”
Email Kirsten Johnson at kjohnson@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
