Drought in Hawaii, September 1 to 30, 2011

Name: Drought in Hawaii, September 1 to 30, 2011
Start: 2011-09-01T00:00
End: 2011-09-30T23:59
Location: Hawaii

September 1 to 30, 2011 · NWS HFO · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

Drought conditions worsened over parts of Maui and the Big Island. Water restrictions were newly instituted, or were continued, for these areas.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 5

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.

Drought conditions worsened over parts of Maui and the Big Island. Water restrictions were newly instituted, or were continued, for these areas.

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 Aug 31, 8:30 PM HST, 3 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 31, 8:30 PM HST, 3 hours 30 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI
830 PM HST WED AUG 31 2011

.SYNOPSIS...
LIGHT TO MODERATE TRADE WINDS WILL DIMINISH LATE IN THE WEEKEND.
SHOWERS WILL FAVOR WINDWARD AND MAUKA SECTIONS. DANGEROUS SURF WILL
CONTINUE ALONG SOUTH FACING SHORES THROUGH THURSDAY.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
A SURFACE HIGH CENTERED FAR NORTHEAST OF HAWAII WILL MAINTAIN LIGHT
TO MODERATE TRADE WINDS THROUGH SATURDAY. A DEEPENING LOW IN THE
GULF OF ALASKA WILL ERODE THE HIGH AND PUSH A WEAK RIDGE SOUTHWARD
TO JUST NORTH OF THE ISLANDS ON SUNDAY. THE SLACK PRESSURE GRADIENT
SOUTH OF THE RIDGE WILL RESULT IN LIGHTER WINDS THAT WILL LINGER
OVER THE STATE WELL INTO NEXT WEEK.

ALOFT...A MIDDLE AND UPPER LEVEL LOW NORTH OF KAUAI IS MOVING AWAY
TO THE NORTHWEST...AND AN UPPER LEVEL RIDGE IS SNEAKING IN FROM THE
NORTHEAST IN THE WAKE OF THE LOW. PRESSURE RISES OVER THE PAST 24
HOURS AND A LARGE AREA OF STABLE STRATOCUMULUS HEADING WEST TOWARD
THE ISLANDS ARE CLUES THAT THE STABILIZING PROCESS IS IN PROGRESS.
THE UPPER RIDGE WILL REMAIN OVERHEAD THROUGH NEXT WEEK...KEEPING US
IN MOSTLY DRY WEATHER.

&&

.AVIATION...
WINDWARD TERRAIN/TERMINALS MAY SEE ISOLATED MVFR CONDS AFT 08Z...
OTHERWISE VFR CONDS WILL PREVAIL. A LARGE BKN-OVC SC FIELD WITH CIGS
ABV 030 AND TOPS BLO 060 WILL MOVE W ACROSS THE STATE OVERNIGHT.

LGT-MOD TRADES CONTINUE AOB 070-080. A DEPARTING UPPER LOW TO THE NW
IS MAINTAINING WSW FLOW ABV 080.

&&

.MARINE...
THE SOUTH SWELL CONTINUES TO LOWER. THE PROCESS IS SLOW HOWEVER...
SO ADVISORY LEVEL SURF WILL PERSIST THROUGH THURSDAY. THE SURF WILL
DROP BELOW THE 8 FOOT ADVISORY THRESHOLD THURSDAY NIGHT.

A WEST SWELL GENERATED BY DISTANT TROPICAL CYCLONE TALAS WILL REACH
WEST FACING SHORES THURSDAY. TALAS HAS BEEN A SLOW MOVER FOR A LONG
TIME...SO THE SURF WILL LINGER AT LEAST THROUGH THE WEEKEND.

&&

.HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
HIGH SURF ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM HST THURSDAY FOR SOUTH FACING SHORES
OF ALL ISLANDS.

&&

CRAIG

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 drought. Local standard time, as filed.

Drought, Leeward Haleakala

When: September 1, 12:00 AM HST to September 30, 11:59 PM HST
Where: Leeward Haleakala forecast zone
Reported by: Other Federal Agency

Drought, Kona

When: September 1, 12:00 AM HST to September 30, 11:59 PM HST
Where: Kona forecast zone
Reported by: Other Federal Agency
Coordinates: 19.602, -155.523 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, South Big Island

When: September 1, 12:00 AM HST to September 30, 11:59 PM HST
Where: South Big Island forecast zone
Reported by: Other Federal Agency

Drought, Kohala

When: September 1, 12:00 AM HST to September 30, 11:59 PM HST
Where: Kohala forecast zone
Reported by: Other Federal Agency
Coordinates: 19.602, -155.523 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Big Island Interior

When: September 1, 12:00 AM HST to September 30, 11:59 PM HST
Where: Big Island Interior forecast zone
Reported by: Other Federal Agency
Coordinates: 19.602, -155.523 (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

Every storm in Hawaii in 2011 Every state in 2011 This day in weather history Warnings in Hawaii, September 2011

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: 340084, 340085, 340086, 340087, 340088.