East Hawaii received much-needed rainfall Sunday and Monday, helping offset recent drier-than-normal weather.
East Hawaii received much-needed rainfall Sunday and Monday, helping offset recent drier-than-normal weather.
On Monday morning, the Hilo International Airport rain gauge had recorded 1.34 inches of rain for the previous 24 hours. During the same period, Pahoa received 1.05 inches, Mountain View 2.41 inches and the gauge at Saddle Quarry showed 4.7 inches.
Between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. Monday, the Hilo airport received another 0.62 an inch of rain, Pahoa 0.48 of an inch and Mountain View 0.66 of an inch. Saddle Quarry got 1.8 inches during that time frame.
Drenching rain continued late Monday afternoon throughout East Hawaii.
Even modest amounts of extra rain help. In March, the airport received just 3.4 inches of rain for the entire month. The normal amount for March would be closer to 15 inches.
Almost all gauges on the Big Island were below average for rainfall in April, the National Weather Service reported. Hilo received 5.08 inches in April compared with an average April rainfall of 11.44 inches.
The National Weather Service told the Tribune-Herald this month that the 2016-17 rainy season (October to April) was ranked 15th out of the past 30 years for rainfall.
The NWS issued a flood advisory Monday afternoon, cautioning motorists and pedestrians to watch for pooled water and “turn around, don’t drown.”
And a small craft advisory covered most of the island, with a high surf advisory posted for all of East Hawaii. A winter weather advisory also was posted for mountain summits.
NWS forecaster Peter Donaldson said from Honolulu that the concept of a “rainy season thing is sort of arbitrary.”
The weather “doesn’t necessarily work that way,” he said. Instead, weather behaves the way it does based on a variety of factors.
A band of showers moving east to west caused the Sunday-Monday rain, Donaldson said, with a remnant of an old frontal boundary adding instability to the air. The two combined made conditions ripe for rain.
Donaldson said the weather should begin changing today, although showers are still possible. A trough will remain aloft today, continuing to keep the atmosphere unstable.
Shower bands will move off to the south today and the trough to the east.
The weather will transition slowly to trade winds; however, the winter-like weather pattern will linger.
Summits were expected to dip below freezing this morning, with ice from fog coating exposed surfaces.
No hurricanes are in the forecast — the official start of hurricane season in the Central Pacific doesn’t begin until June 1.
However, Donaldson said, “it doesn’t hurt for people to stock up on food and water and other emergency supplies.”
The NWS typically gives a 48-hour notice when a hurricane is expected.
But by then, Donaldson said, “the stuff that you may want to stock up on may be gone.”
That’s why he advises getting stocked up at this time of year instead.
David Tan, executive director of the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden in Papaikou, said the past couple of winters have been drier than normal.
“We were very happy to have the rain,” he said.
Despite Sunday’s weather, more than 200 people visited the garden, bringing moms along, on Mother’s Day.
Email Jeff Hansel at jhansel@hawaiitribune-herald.com.