DROUGHT INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 930 AM HST THU AUG 21 2008 ...DROUGHT CONTINUES TO WORSEN FOR THE AGRICULTURE SECTOR... SYNOPSIS... LEEWARD AREAS...ESPECIALLY ON MAUI AND THE BIG ISLAND...CONTINUE TO BE VERY DRY AND RECENT REPORTS FROM THE AGRICULTURE SECTOR INDICATE WORSENING DROUGHT CONDITIONS. SOUTH CENTRAL MAUI AND THE LEEWARD KOHALA AND UPPER HAMAKUA SECTIONS OF THE BIG ISLAND ARE NOW RATED AS AGRICULTURAL D3 AREAS...EXTREME DROUGHT CATEGORY...ON THE U.S. DROUGHT MONITOR MAP. MODERATE AGRICULTURAL DROUGHT...D1 CATEGORY...HAS ALSO TAKEN HOLD ON THE ISLAND OF LANAI. ELSEWHERE...SEVERE DROUGHT...OR D2 CATEGORY CONDITIONS CONTINUE TO AFFECT THE KAU DISTRICT AND UPPER SLOPES OF THE SOUTH KONA DISTRICT ON THE BIG ISLAND FOR AGRICULTURE. UPCOUNTRY MAUI AND THE REST OF CENTRAL MAUI ALSO REMAIN UNDER D2 CONDITIONS. EAST OAHU ALSO REMAINS UNDER THE D3 DROUGHT CATEGORY FOR AGRICULTURE DUE TO VERY LOW IRRIGATION RESERVOIR LEVELS IN WAIMANALO. ON AUGUST 1...THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE DESIGNATED ALL HAWAII COUNTIES AS PRIMARY NATURAL DISASTER AREAS DUE TO LOSSES CAUSED BY DROUGHT. SOME AREAS HAVE IMPROVED OVER THE PAST 4 WEEKS. THE RETURN OF PERSISTENT TRADES AND EMBEDDED TRADE WIND SHOWERS DURING THE PAST MONTH HAS HELPED EASE DROUGHT CONDITIONS ALONG THE WINDWARD SLOPES OF THE STATE. AS A RESULT...EXISTING MODERATE DROUGHT AREAS HAVE BEEN REPLACED BY THE ABNORMALLY DRY CATEGORY...D0 RATING...OVER THE WINDWARD SLOPES OF MAUI...MOLOKAI AND THE BIG ISLAND ON THE LATEST DROUGHT MONITOR MAP. NORTHEAST KAUAI IS THE MAIN WINDWARD EXCEPTION WHERE THE TRADE WIND SHOWERS HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO REMOVE MODERATE DROUGHT CONDITIONS. SUMMARY OF IMPACTS... KAUAI. NEAR TO ABOVE NORMAL JULY RAINFALL ALONG THE WINDWARD SLOPES HAVE NOT COMPLETELY IMPROVED CONDITIONS ON KAUAI. IRRIGATION RESERVOIRS NOW HAVE ADEQUATE WATER LEVELS BUT PASTURES AND NON-IRRIGATED CROPS REMAIN STRESSED DESPITE THE PRESENCE OF TRADE WIND SHOWERS. OAHU. NO CHANGE IN STATUS SINCE JULY 18. USERS OF IRRIGATION WATER FROM THE WAIMANALO RESERVOIR REMAIN UNDER A MANDATORY 30 PERCENT REDUCTION IN CONSUMPTION DUE TO CONTINUED VERY LOW WATER LEVELS. MOLOKAI. NO CHANGE IN STATUS SINCE JULY 18. USERS OF IRRIGATION WATER FROM THE KUALAPUU RESERVOIR IN WEST MOLOKAI REMAIN UNDER A MANDATORY 20 PERCENT REDUCTION IN WATER USE. MAUI. ACCORDING TO AGRICULTURE OFFICIALS...PASTURE CONDITIONS OVER SOUTH CENTRAL MAUI ARE VERY POOR. ALTHOUGH WINDWARD RAINFALL HAS HELPED INCREASE RESERVOIR SUPPLIES...UPCOUNTRY MAUI REMAINS UNDER A MAUI COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF WATER SUPPLY REQUEST FOR A 5 PERCENT REDUCTION IN PUBLIC WATER USE. A VOLUNTARY 10 PERCENT REDUCTION IN WATER USE ALSO REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR CENTRAL MAUI RESIDENTS. BIG ISLAND. CONTINUED LOW RAINFALL TOTALS EXACERBATED BY WARMER TEMPERATURES AND WINDY CONDITIONS HAVE RESULTED IN A WORSENING OF PASTURE CONDITIONS OVER PORTIONS OF LEEWARD KOHALA AND THE UPPER HAMAKUA DISTRICT. SOME RANCHERS HAVE REPORTED LIVESTOCK DEATHS...70 PERCENT FORAGE LOSS AND A REDUCTION OF CATTLE STOCKING RATES BY 50 PERCENT OR MORE. BRUSH FIRE DANGER REMAINS VERY HIGH IN THESE AREAS. THE KAU DISTRICT AND PORTIONS OF THE SOUTH KONA DISTRICT ALSO HAVE DEGRADED PASTURES. FOR PUBLIC WATER SUPPLY...PORTIONS OF THE SOUTH KOHALA AND HAMAKUA DISTRICTS REMAIN UNDER A 10 PERCENT VOLUNTARY REDUCTION IN DAILY WATER USE. ON THE WINDWARD SIDE...THE RESUMPTION OF TRADE WIND RAINFALL HAS IMPROVED WATER CATCHMENT SUPPLIES AND SOIL MOISTURE CONDITIONS IN THE LOWER ELEVATIONS OF THE SOUTH HILO AND PUNA DISTRICTS. CLIMATE SUMMARY... ACCORDING TO THE NOAA CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER...ENSO NEUTRAL CONDITIONS EXIST IN THE EQUATORIAL PACIFIC AND SHOULD PERSIST THROUGH FALL 2008. PRECIPITATION/TEMPERATURE OUTLOOK... TRADE WIND RAINFALL SHOULD CONTINUE TO MITIGATE DROUGHT CONDITIONS OVER THE WINDWARD AREAS OF THE STATE. HOWEVER...THE LONG-LEAD HAWAIIAN OUTLOOK ISSUED ON AUGUST 21 BY THE NOAA CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER CONTINUED TO PROJECT BELOW NORMAL PRECIPITATION IN THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS THROUGH THE REST OF THE SUMMER. THE OUTLOOK ALSO KEEPS THE BELOW NORMAL RAINFALL FORECAST THROUGH DECEMBER 2008...WHICH IS DEEP INTO THE NORMAL WET SEASON. HYDROLOGIC SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK... U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY DATA INDICATE STREAMFLOW IS BELOW NORMAL ACROSS MOST OF THE STATE. THE EXCEPTION IS THE WINDWARD BIG ISLAND AREA WHERE HONOLII STREAM HAD NORMAL FLOW DURING JULY. THE FORECAST FOR LOWER THAN NORMAL RAINFALL MEANS THAT THE PROBABILITY FOR STREAMFLOW RECOVERY DURING THE NEXT 3 MONTHS IS LOW...ESPECIALLY OVER THE LEEWARD SECTIONS OF THE STATE. NEXT ISSUANCE DATE... THE NEXT DROUGHT INFORMATION STATEMENT WILL BE ISSUED ON SEPTEMBER 18 2008 OR SOONER IF NECESSARY IN RESPONSE TO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN CONDITIONS. RELATED WEB SITES...
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON CURRENT DROUGHT CONDITIONS MAY BE FOUND AT THE FOLLOWING WEB ADDRESSES... U.S. DROUGHT MONITOR...
http://www.drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html
HAWAII DROUGHT MONITOR...
http://www.hawaiidrought.com
USGS HAWAII RECENT CONDITIONS...
http://hi.water.usgs.gov/recent/
CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER LONG-LEAD HAWAII OUTLOOK...
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/90day/fxhw40.html
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS... INFORMATION FOR THIS PRODUCT WAS COMPILED FROM A NUMBER OF SOURCES INCLUDING THE COUNTY BOARDS AND DEPARTMENTS OF WATER SUPPLY...US AND STATE OF HAWAII AGRICULTURE AGENCIES...THE US GEOLOGICAL SURVEY AND THE MEDIA. QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS... IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ABOUT THIS DROUGHT INFORMATION STATEMENT...PLEASE CONTACT... KEVIN KODAMA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE 2525 CORREA RD. SUITE 250 HONOLULU HI 96822 PHONE...808-973-5276 Kevin.Kodama@noaa.gov