Drought in Hawaii, May 1 to 31, 2001

Maui CountyIt was another dry month countywide with 9 out of 15 sites reporting rainfall totals at or below 50 percent of average for May. Relatively wet conditions at Kahakuloa (180 percent of average) were largely due to a day of wet trades on 5 May, when 2.89 inches out of a monthly total of 3.79 inches fell. For the Kihei gage, this was the second consecutive month without any rainfall observed. Rainfall totals for 2001 through the end of May remained below 50 percent of average for all but one of Maui County's gages.Island of HawaiiMost of the gages across the Big Island reported rainfall totals below 50 percent of average in May. However, an anomalously high total at Waikii brought welcome relief to upland pastures in the Kohala region of the island that have been suffering drought conditions. On the other hand, the 0.38 of an inch (10 percent of average) recorded at the Kamuela Upper gage, also in Kohala, was the lowest monthly total for this site since January 1998. Rainfall totals for 2001 through the end of May were mostly in the range of 30 to 60 percent of average in leeward sections of the Big Island. YTD May 01 Avg. %Avg. YTD %Avg.Maui Kihei 0.00 0.20 0 0.59 6 Lahainaluna 0.10 0.70 14 1.07 9 Kula 1.06 2.10 50 4.85 30 Ulupalakua 1.90 1.90 100 5.84 32Molokai Kaunakakai 0.12 0.90 13 1.51 15 Kamalo 1.22 2.30 53 7.59 41Lanai Lanai City 1.90 2.90 66 5.65 28Island of Hawaii Honaunau 1.92 7.00 27 8.41 34 Kamuela (Upper) 0.38 3.90 10 9.75 34 Waiaha 3.50 8.50 41 9.16 33 Kahua Ranch 0.67 5.50 12 8.45 21 Kealakekua 3.73 7.70 48 10.88 39