It was a dry July in Hawaii County, despite a brief uptick in rain brought by the remnant of the former Tropical Cyclone Bonnie and the passing of Tropical Storm Darby south of the Big Island.
“It was kind of dry, even in Kona,” said Kevin Kodama, senior service hydrologist for the National Weather Service in Honolulu, noting the Kona coffee belt’s rainy season occurs during the summer.
“At least the Hilo side was able to get some rain,” he continued. “When you look at the numbers, there were several sites that were over 10 inches. So it’s certainly not drought level, but for July it was below average.”
Among populated areas receiving more than 10 inches of rain in July are Piihonua and Waiakea Uka — both mauka of Hilo — with 12.29 inches and 19.15 inches, respectively. That’s only 73% of the normal July rainfall for Piihonua and 55% of Waiakea Uka’s July average.
Also above 10 inches of rainfall were two upper Puna villages, Mountain View and Glenwood, with 10.89 inches and 10.33 inches, respectively. For Mountain View, that’s 71% of its July average. For Glenwood, that’s just 51% of norm.
“In terms of impacts, or sufficient amounts of rain, 10 inches is a pretty good amount,” Kodama said.
Windward locations with less than 10 inches of rain and below-average rainfall in July included: Hakalau, with 3.6 inches; Pahoa, with 7.99 inches; Laupahoehoe, with 8.79 inches; and Hilo International Airport, with 5.39 inches.
Although they may not be facing a drought, many people with rain catchment systems have been affected by the reduced rainfall.
Beverly Medeiros of JB Water Hauling LLC estimates that “at least 70% of Puna” is on catchment and most have not received enough rainfall to keep water flowing in the household.
“Parents come home in the afternoon, the kids have used up the water. You want water when you get home …,” she said. “Because of inflation, everything’s gone up. We raised our rates $50 to $100 per load, depending on where it’s being delivered to.”
“There are customers that have not bought water in 10 or 15 years that are having to buy water,” Medeiros’ husband, John, added.
While many East Hawaii residents have found themselves calling a water hauler, the situation in West Hawaii is worse.
“For the Kona side, especially compared to recent trends —where it had been wet earlier in the summer and the late spring — it’s dried out pretty good. It certainly has been a change, recently,” Kodama said.
Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport, where sunny skies greet almost all daytime visitors, was even sunnier last month, with just 0.1 inch of rain, or 20% of its norm.
Of the four Kona coffee belt rain gauges, only Honaunau, with 3.56 inches, has received more than half its average July rainfall, at 53%. The others, Kainaliu, with 2.48 inches, Waiaha, with 2.22 inches, and Kealakekua, with 2.19 inches, all received less than half the rainfall during a typical July.
According to Kodama, drought areas “have been localized to the usual suspects, portions of Ka‘u, especially towards South Point, then up in the South Kohala district.”
In his monthly drought statement, Kodama mentioned brush fires affecting range lands, including a large brush fire that started in Pohakuloa Training Area Aug. 10 and continued to burn into the weekend.
As of Sunday evening, the blaze, dubbed the “Leilani Fire” by authorities, was about two miles from Highway 190, had burned an estimated 16,800 acres of brush land and was about 65% contained.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.