Drought in Hawaii, February 1 to 29, 2000

February 2000 proved to be one of the driest Februarys since 1983 when Hawaii was in the midst of an El Nino-induced drought. This despite the presence of a La Nina in the Pacific, which has been loosely correlated to wetter than normal conditions in the state. All 73 first-order and hydronet sites reported rain totals at less than 50 percent of the February average, and 69 sites were less than 20 percent of average.In terms of the synoptic scale pattern, the month began with a cold front pushing toward the islands from the northwest. As the front approached the state, the subtropical ridge moved southward over the island of Hawaii. The front stalled north of Kauai on 3 February before dissipating and did not produce significant rainfall over the island chain. The subtropical ridge straddled the islands through 7 February before moving northward, restoring trade wind flow over the state. However, trade wind strength remained in the light to moderate range through 17 Febraury, after which it strengthened to moderate to fresh. Throughout the period from 1 to 17 February, mainly light winds allowed land- and sea-breeze circulations to become established over all the islands, though the air mass was too stable to allow for significant shower development.The remainder of the month saw persistent trade winds, mostly in the moderate to fresh range with occasional periods of strong trades. Upper level ridging and its attendant subsidence near the state, however, kept conditions very stable and relatively dry.Maui CountyAll of Maui County's gages reported less than one inch of rain for the month. These totals were less than 10 percent of average at 12 out of 15 gages. Four sites (Waikapu, Pukalani, Kihei, and Kula) reported zero rainfall for February. The first-order station at Kahului Airport recorded 0.06 of an inch in February and broke an all-time low monthly rainfall record (0.07 of an inch) last set in 1983. For the hydronet site at Hana Airport, the monthly total of 0.61 of an inch broke the record of 0.88 (1978) from the co-located cooperative observer rain gage. While the hydronet value is considered unofficial, the cooperative observer's total should break the record as well. A similar situation occurred at Lanai City where the hydronet total of 0.32 of an inch broke the cooperative gage record of 0.36 set in 1931.Island of HawaiiJanuary and February 2000 rainfall totals for the island of Hawaii were as different as night and day. Back in January, 9 out of 19 sites reported above average totals, with 6 of 9 being greater than 150 percent of average. In February, all sites were below normal, with 15 out of 19 having totals less than 10 percent of average. The most dramatic change was at the Waiakea Uka gage where the January total of 24.89 inches was followed by a February total of 0.47. The first-order site at Hilo Airport recorded a February total of 0.52 of an inch, which broke the previous low record of 0.58 set in 1986.Conditions for agriculture on the leeward side of the island continued to deteriorate, and impacts to pastures and orchards in the area were increasing in severity. According to agriculture officials, cool temperatures have helped reduce the effects of the rainfall deficits. However, with the warm summer months looming on the horizon, a continued lack of precipitation will result in greater and more widespread drought damage.The following list contains rainfall statistics for selected locations from Maui County and the island of Hawaii. The first column is the observed rainfall for February. The second column is the 30-year average for that location, while the third column lists the percent of average rainfall for the month. The fourth and fifth columns are the year-to-date total and the percent of average, respectively. YTD Feb 00 Avg. %Avg. YTD %Avg.Maui Kahului 0.06 2.90 2 1.06 15 Hana 0.61 6.80 9 6.94 43 Kihei 0.00 2.20 0 0.03 0 Lahainaluna 0.02 2.70 1 0.16 2 Wailuku 0.12 3.80 3 2.33 26 Kula 0.00 3.70 0 1.19 14 Ulupalakua 0.14 4.40 3 0.66 7Molokai Kaunakakai 0.27 2.60 10 0.70 12Lanai Lanai City 0.32 4.10 8 0.99 10Island of Hawaii Hilo Airport 0.52 10.30 5 18.39 91 Pahala 1.05 6.10 17 2.11 15 Honaunau 0.36 3.20 11 1.43 21 Kamuela (Upper) 0.50 5.10 10 10.35 91 Glenwood 1.03 14.50 7 24.09 73 Laupahoehoe 0.10 13.20 1 21.10 79 Kamakoa 0.00 2.30 0 0.07 1 Kapapala 0.93 6.60 14 2.21 16Ranchers in Maui and on the island of Hawaii were affected by the low rain amounts in February, as this continued the dry conditions prevalent in some areas for the past two to three years. On the Ulupalakua and Kula ranches in Maui, grass, trees, and springs were drying up. The worst conditions were below 2500 feet elevation, where vegetation was withering away at an accelerated rate.On the Big Island of Hawaii, the Parker Ranch had adequate rain in January, but pastures dried up again in February. Fields literally went from green to brown in one month's time.The U.S. Farm Service Agency said it had 27 ranches applying for federal grants to pay for drought losses. The larger ranches--those with annual revenue over $2.5 million--are not eligible, but even the smaller ranches were reporting losses as high as $100,000.