Drought, Lanai Makai
- When
- February 16, 6:00 AM HST to February 28, 11:59 PM HST
- Where
- Lanai Makai forecast zone
- Reported by
- Other Federal Agency
Drought in Hawaii, February 16 to 28, 2010
Conditions worsened on the isle of Lanai, where little rainfall resulted in a D2 drought designation.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 2
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS HFO wrote it up.
Conditions worsened on the isle of Lanai, where little rainfall resulted in a D2 drought designation.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Honolulu, HI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 16, 4:00 AM HST, 2 hours earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 16, 4:00 AM HST, 2 hours before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 400 AM HST TUE FEB 16 2010 .SYNOPSIS... LIGHT TO MODERATE TRADE WINDS WILL DIMINISH TODAY. STRONGER NORTHERLY WINDS WILL ARRIVE TONIGHT...BEFORE TURNING INTO WET TRADES BY WEDNESDAY. FROM THURSDAY INTO THE WEEKEND...BOTH TRADES AND SHOWERS WILL DIMINISH AGAIN SLOWLY. WINDWARD SHOWERS MAY INCREASE SLIGHTLY BY NEXT MONDAY. && .DISCUSSION... LOCAL OBSERVATIONS AROUND THE MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS REPORTED LIGHT TO MODERATE TRADE WINDS. GAUGES TALLIED LITTLE RAIN ACROSS THE STATE...WITH MOST ACCUMULATION OCCURRING ALONG WINDWARD SHORES FROM OAHU TO THE BIG ISLAND. THE LIHUE SOUNDING SHOWED A DRY AIR MASS UNDER A VERY LOW INVERSION BASE. AT HILO...THE MIXED LAYER ALSO WAS DRIER THAN USUAL...BUT LESS SO...AND THE INVERSION BASE HAD RISEN TO NEAR THE TYPICAL HEIGHT OVERNIGHT. ALOFT...A DEEP TROUGH TO THE NORTHEAST EXTENDED TOWARD THE STATE... BUT PERSISTENT RIDGING TO THE SOUTH KEPT THE TROUGHING SHALLOW LOCALLY. STILL...EVEN WEAK TROUGHING WILL PROVIDE SOME SUPPORT FOR THE FADING FRONT APPROACHING FROM THE NORTHWEST. LIKEWISE... INCREASING LOW CLOUD COVER TO THE EAST OF THE ISLANDS HINTED AT MOISTURE CONVERGENCE AHEAD OF THE FRONT. GUIDANCE PREDICTS THIS FRONT TO DISPLACE THE SUBTROPICAL RIDGE ONTO THE STATE AND WEAKEN IT FURTHER THIS MORNING...REDUCING THE TRADES SLIGHTLY...AND PERHAPS TURNING THE PREVAILING WINDS SOUTHEASTERLY BRIEFLY. THE UPPER SUPPORT PROBABLY WILL NOT PROVE SUFFICIENT TO KEEP THE FRONT FROM DISINTEGRATING BEFORE REACHING THE STATE. HOWEVER...MOISTURE FROM ITS REMNANTS...TOGETHER WITH ANY CONVERGED AHEAD OF THE FEATURE...WILL MOVE ASHORE ON STRENGTHENING TRADES FROM TONIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY AS THE SUBTROPICAL RIDGE REBUILDS...LEADING TO WET TRADES ACROSS MOST WINDWARD SLOPES...AND PROBABLY A FEW SHOWERS LEEWARD AS WELL. WINDS HAVE PICKED UP ACROSS THE BIG ISLAND SUMMITS...AND THE RSM SUPPORTS FURTHER INCREASES TODAY. THE FORECAST HAS BEEN ADJUSTED TO INCLUDE THIS EFFECT...BUT A WIND ADVISORY MAY BE NEEDED FOR THE SUMMITS BY TONIGHT. SIMILARLY...STRONGER WINDS BEHIND THE FRONT LIKELY WILL REQUIRE A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY FOR WATERS AROUND KAUAI TONIGHT...AND THESE CONDITIONS WILL SPREAD SOUTHEAST WITH TIME. FROM WEDNESDAY ON...TRADES WILL PERSIST THROUGH THE WEEKEND...THOUGH MOST SOLUTIONS SUGGEST A STEADY DECREASE IN WIND SPEED WITH TIME AS THE RIDGE SLOWLY SHIFTS CLOSER TO THE ISLANDS. ANOTHER FEEBLE FRONT DISINTEGRATING NORTH OF THE AREA BY SUNDAY NIGHT MAY PROVIDE A SECOND BURST OF MOISTURE FOR SLIGHTLY WETTER TRADES INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. GUIDANCE PREDICTS YET ANOTHER...STRONGER FRONT TO APPROACH THE STATE BY NEXT TUESDAY...TURNING WINDS SOUTHEASTERLY AGAIN...BUT SOLUTIONS STILL DIFFER ON THE TIMING AND INTENSITY OF THIS EFFECT... SO THE CURRENT SCENARIO OF WEAK TRADES SEEMS APPROPRIATE. && .MARINE... DEVELOPING LOWS IN THE GULF OF ALASKA WILL PROVIDE A LENGTHENING FETCH DIRECTED TOWARD THE MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS...PRODUCING THE NEXT BIG SWELL THAT SHOULD PUSH SURF ABOVE THE HIGH SURF ADVISORY CRITERIA ALONG NORTH SHORES FROM THIS EVENING THROUGH THURSDAY...AND POSSIBLY INTO FRIDAY. THIS SWELL WILL ARRIVE FROM A MORE NORTHERLY DIRECTION THAN USUAL...SO IT MAY REACH SOME EASTERN SHORES WITH NORTHERN EXPOSURE...BUILDING SURF UP TOWARD THE SURF ADVISORY THRESHOLD...WHICH IS ONLY 8 FEET ALONG EAST SHORES. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && RYSHKO
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
2 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Drought, Lanai Mauka
- When
- February 16, 6:00 AM HST to February 28, 11:59 PM HST
- Where
- Lanai Mauka forecast zone
- Reported by
- Other Federal Agency
- Coordinates
- 21.027, -156.788 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Drought
- A drought reaching severe (D2) or worse on the US Drought Monitor, or with notable impacts.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Heavy Snow in Massachusetts, February 16 to 17, 2010
- Winter Weather in New York, February 16, 2010
- Heavy Snow in New Hampshire, February 16, 2010
- Winter Weather in Vermont, February 16, 2010
- Heavy Snow in New Hampshire, February 16 to 17, 2010
- Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Connecticut, February 16, 2010
- Winter Weather in Massachusetts, February 16, 2010
- Heavy Snow in New York, February 16, 2010
- Dense Fog in Colorado, February 16 to 17, 2010
- Dense Fog in Utah, February 16 to 17, 2010
- Dense Fog in Utah, February 16, 2010
- Heavy Snow in Connecticut, February 16, 2010
More
Every storm in Hawaii in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Hawaii, February 2010
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 209919, 209920.