After a wet weekend in East Hawaii, there might be a bit of a reprieve starting today, but it likely won’t last long, according to the National Weather Service.
“In general, the drier air mass should be moving in … until the middle of the week. And with that, it’ll probably help us dry out a little bit. The winds are still supposed to be pretty gusty through (today),” said Gavin Shigesato, a NWS meteorologist in Honolulu.
“It looks like it’s going to be drying out through Wednesday … but it might be a little bit wetter — more like normal trade-wind weather — starting Thursday.”
The forecast for Hilo and vicinity predicts rainfall of 0.10 inches or less for today, tonight, Wednesday and Wednesday night.
That’s in stark contrast to the period between 8 a.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Monday, when rainfall totals for several windward Big Island locales were the equivalent of a year’s worth of rain in some leeward locations.
At Hilo International Airport, 8.6 inches of rain fell in that three-day-plus period.
It was even wetter in upslope Hilo locations. Waiakea Uka received 11.66 inches, while precipitation pounded Piihonua, which recorded 12.76 inches.
In normally rainy upper Puna, the rain gauge in Mountain View measured 11.64 inches, while Glenwood — often the rainiest populated location on the island — was doused with 10.78 inches.
While it was rainy up the Hamakua Coast, it was less so than in Hilo and environs.
The downpour in Laupahoehoe measured 6.98 inches of rain, while Honokaa received 3.44 inches.
Unless it’s renewed, a wind advisory expires at 6 a.m. today, while a high surf advisory for east-facing shores remains in effect until 6 p.m. today.
Forecast to continue for the first week of March — and through the weekend — are chilly nights with the overnight lows dipping into the lower-to-mid 60s.
“You probably want to keep your jacket handy — that windbreaker and the rain jacket,” Shigesato said.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaii tribune-herald.com.