Giving thanks for a dry spell
It looks like picture-postcard perfect weather for both East Hawaii and West Hawaii over the unofficial four-day Thanksgiving weekend, especially during daylight hours.
According to the National Weather Service’s forecast, the daytime high temperatures in Hilo will be in the upper 70s. Overnight lows are forecast in the mid-60s. There could be light scattered showers at night, with the NWS website indicating a 70% likelihood of showers Friday night, but the forecast is for less than a tenth-of-an-inch of rainfall.
“There was a little patch of clouds and some light showers (Wednesday) morning, but the outlook is for — in the short term — a little bit of an increase in the trade wind flow that might bring a few windward showers. But we’re really not expecting much,” said Tom Birchard, a forecaster for the NWS in Honolulu.
“And then, over the weekend, we’re expecting the winds to diminish again. But instead of being light and out of the north, like they’ve been the last couple of days, they’ll be light and out of the south. So, it might be a little bit warmer.”
In West Hawaii, it will be warmer than East Hawaii, with thermometers peaking in the lower- to mid-80s during the day and cooling to the upper 60s at night.
“I don’t see any rainfall for Kona except maybe a little upslope sprinkles in the afternoons. It looks pretty dry for the next week,” Birchard said.
It could be an eventful long weekend for surfers, as well, according to Birchard.
According to Birchard, Hilo’s monthly rainfall total, to date, is slightly above average. He noted, however, the island has been “fairly dry recently.”
“I was talking to our hydrologist, Kevin (Kodama) about it, and he said, ‘They may be grateful for it because they took some cracks Nov. 4,’” Birchard said.
Kodama’s humorous take on that day’s rainfall was on the money.
In the 24-hour period ending at 8 a.m. Nov. 5, Waiakea Uka received 10.63 inches of rain, while the Waiakea Experiment Station reported 10.28 inches of rainfall.
Hakalau, north of Hilo, had 7.3 inches. Glenwood, in the upper Puna rainforest, measured slightly more than 9 inches, while Pahoa was doused with just over 5 inches. And the official gauge at Hilo International Airport tallied 4.1 inches.
It also was wet in Ka‘u that day, with Kapapala Ranch checking in with 6.91 inches, Pahala with 5.8 inches and Lower Kahuku, 4.53 inches.
The Kona coffee belt gauges all registered measurable rainfall totals, with Honaunau’s 1.28 inches leading the way, followed by Kealakekua with 0.98 inches and Waiaha Stream at 0.67 inches.
Even Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keahole, where it’s almost always arid, received 0.31 inches of rain on Nov. 4, a higher total than it reports most months.
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
