Drought in Hawaii, July 1 to 31, 1998

Rainfall amounts were generally less than average across the state. This was after two months of near to above average precipitation in many locations. This is a dry time of year in most areas, with the main exception being the Kona section of the Big Island of Hawaii where July is usually one of the wetter months. The Kona area was the place in July, however, having the greatest negative precipitation anomaly in the state. Since this a drier time of year for most locales in Hawaii, it does not take too much rainfall to make average. Therefore, those sections that were below average were often receiving very small amounts of rain. Also, in those areas where dependence on catchment water is critical, such as windward parts of Maui and the Big Island, below average rainfall occurred. Reports from other locations, however, indicated that sufficient precipitation fell to avoid serious short term water deficits.During the month, a ridge of high pressure remained strong north-northwest of the state. The position of the high was more to the northwest than average for July, and this kept Hawaii in an average, to slightly above average, trade wind regime for the month. Some locales received higher the average amounts of rainfall, while others were missed by most of the precipitation. One tropical system, the remnants of Hurricane Darby, moved by about 100 miles north of the islands as a disturbance. This increased showers in the state, with Kauai receiving the most rain.Below are rainfall statistics for selected locations from around the state. The first column is rainfall for July. The second has the 30-year average for each location, while the third column is the percent of average rainfall for the month of July. July 98 Avg. %Avg.Oahu Honolulu 0.19 0.59 32 Waianae 0.03 0.3 10 Hawaii Kai 0.80 0.8 100 Manoa Lyon A. 6.59 13.2 50 Waialua 0.19 1.3 15 Ahuimanu (windward) 3.45 4.9 70Maui Kahului 0.18 0.4 45 Hana M 5.6 M Kihei 0.02 0.1 20 Lahainaluna 0.00 0.3 0 Wailuku 1.32 1.5 88Island of Hawaii Hilo 6.09 9.7 63 Pahala 0.01 2.1 0 Honaunau (Captain Cook) 2.49 7.3 34 Kamuela (Higher Elev.) 9.08 4.4 206 Kamuela 6.02 3.7 163 Laupahoehoe M 10.0 MMolokai Kaunakakai 0.09 0.2 45