Hawaii’s wet season, which runs from October through April, was on the dry side this year, the National Weather Service in Honolulu said Wednesday.
Overall, it was the driest wet season in 30 years, Kevin Kodama, a senior hydrologist for the service, said during a news conference at Hawaii State Civil Defense headquarters.
“October and November of 2012 ended up being very, very dry,” he said “We had several monthly records that were broken in both October and November from various areas across the state.”
Oahu and Kauai counties pulled out of drought conditions, but Kodama said several leeward areas in Maui and Hawaii counties have not.
Kodama said the first flash floods of the wet season typically occur in October, but the past season’s first warning wasn’t issued until December.
Cold fronts usually start pushing in around October as well, he said. But this season’s first cold front was in late November, and it was fairly weak.
In Hawaii County, extreme drought conditions have persisted for five seasons, Kodama said, and on Maui for seven.
The past few summers have seen an average number of rainy days, Kodama said, but on those days it rained only half as much as usual. This summer is expected to follow that trend, he said.
Drought conditions are expected to worsen in leeward areas of Maui and Hawaii counties, while Kauai and Oahu will experience at least seasonal dryness in leeward areas.
“The next realistic chance of any significant improvement for the state will be the next wet season, and we’ll see how that plays out in October,” Kodama said.
