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MEDIA RELEASE

Weather Review

Rain gauge totals nearly doubled from the previous week as steady, breezy tradewind weather was present through the week. Mililani, located centrally on Oahu, received nearly two inches of rain, the most rain received in nearly four months. The Drought Monitor indications improved slightly overall, with the central region of Oahu downgraded to no drought conditions. This brought 97.8 percent of the State under some type of drought condition from last week’s 99.6. At the same time, Lanai was pushed into extreme [D3] drought from severe [D2] conditions. Hawaii Department of Agricultural irrigation systems were varied among Islands, with the Molokai irrigation system again experienced a decrease. This continued the trend of the irrigation system slowly loosing water for quite some time.

The latest U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released on August 5th showed no change from July’s outlook. Drought persistence was forecasted for the next two months.

HIGHLIGHTS: A record low temperature of 70 degrees Fahrenheit was set in Honolulu [Oahu] on Friday, August 6th. This tied the old record of 70 degrees set in 1979.

Hawaii County
The Big Island received over two inches of rain in multiple locations. Kealakekua received the largest amount of rain it has had since the beginning of the year, when it received 1.58 inches on Tuesday. The Waimea Irrigation System water level was marked at 50 feet on Thursday, August 5th; no change from the previous week’s reading.

Maui County
The tradewinds were breezy on Maui and brought light showers across the island. The Molokai Irrigation System water level was marked at 15 feet on Thursday, August 5th; a decrease of 3 percent from previous week’s reading of 15.5 feet. In order to forestall a water shortage and consequent emergency, due to Molokai’s rainfall totals at 53 percent of normal on central Molokai, Phase III conservation measures were put into place on Monday, August 2nd. Measures included a MANDATORY 30 percent conservation in usage from all non-homestead users.

Honolulu County
Showers on Oahu were prevalent on the windward slopes as well as central Oahu where Mililani received 1.79 inches of rain. With this amount of rain the Mililani rain gauge has already received 79 percent of its normal August average of 2.4 inches. The Waimanalo Irrigation System water level was marked at 11.5 feet on Thursday, August 5th; an increase of 10 percent from the previous week’s reading of 10.5 feet. Phase III Critical Low mandatory conservation measures remained in effect. Measures included a MANDATORY 30% reduction in use and water service limited to Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays between the hours of 7 am and 3:30 pm.

Agricultural Highlights

Orchards
Orchards were in good condition where irrigated. Those without significant irrigation, especially on the leeward, side continued to do poorly. On the Big Island the coffee belt has been the beneficiary of summer Kona showers.

Vegetables
No significant changes reported.

Livestock and Pasture
Along lower elevation windward slopes on the Big Island, trade showers have been sufficient to fill catchment tanks and have eased drought impacts