Rainfall has been picking up as of late in East Hawaii, especially after nightfall, and there is daily rain in the National Weather Service’s seven-day forecast for Hilo International Airport.
The airport received 0.38 inches of rain during the 24-hour period ending at 8 a.m. Monday. Some East Hawaii rain gauges measured even more rainfall, with the Waiakea Experimental Station leading the way with 0.9 inches, followed by Laupahoehoe with 0.78 inches and Honolii Stream with 0.75 inches.
Winds are forecast to shift to a more northerly direction on Wednesday night, and John Bravender, the warning coordinator meteorologist for NWS in Honolulu, said the intensity of winds and rain could pick up on Thursday, Thanksgiving Day.
“Something to beware of is a cold front coming through on Thanksgiving and strong trade winds coming in behind it,” Bravender told the Tribune-Herald on Monday. “It’s going to be coming through the Big Island during the day. That’ll give you more rainfall during the day on Thursday. … There are probably some areas of the Big Island that are going to see a wind advisory with gusts of up to 50 miles an hour — the typical areas that get strong trade winds.
“It’s going to be a pretty quick-moving front, with winds dropping off over the weekend.”
The weather service’s website warned of scattered showers on Thursday and Thursday night, with the chances of precipitation pegged at 70%.
According to Bravender, there’s also a chance of warning-level high surf later this week, as well, with waves of 25 feet or higher. He said the source is “a large swell coming in from … the north, building through the day Thursday, peaking Thursday night.”
“With high tides that are occurring just before dawn (Friday), there might be some problems with flooding on Bayfront Highway and areas like that,” he said.
Talmadge Magno, Hawaii County’s Civil Defense administrator, said authorities will keep a watchful eye on weather developments with the holiday weekend approaching.
“We’ve been watching the current system, the one with the high winds and the low relative humidity,” Magno said. “We’ll be getting the county ready, and we’ll be watching the forecast … and pushing that out to the community if the need arises.”
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.