Wet season starts off with heavy showers, but widespread drought still remains

Heavy rainfall in recent weeks has helped counter widespread drought in Upcountry and South Maui, though the county continues to have some of the driest landscapes in the state as the wet season begins.

Hawaii’s wet season started Oct. 1 with significant drought still in place over portions of the state, according to the National Weather Service’s drought update released Wednesday.

Maui County had some of the worst conditions, with exceptional drought — the highest level — in Maui’s central valley, and extreme drought — a step down — covering most of leeward Molokai from Kaunakakai to Laau Point, portions of Central Maui, the lower Upcountry region and the southern flank of Kahoolawe.

Remaining areas of Upcountry, the lower leeward slopes of West Maui and most of Lanai were suffering from severe drought, which is one level lower than extreme.

Maui County’s Department of Water Supply has maintained water conservation requests for residents of Upcountry and West Maui, where surface water flows have remained low.

Over the past month, however, Upcountry reservoir water levels have increased. Localized heavy rainfall has improved conditions from Ulupalakua to Kihei. Last week, more than 7 inches of rain fell on parts of East Maui, and South Maui endured a rainstorm of its own in early September.

However, pastures and general vegetation conditions remain very poor along many of the other leeward areas of the county, the weather service said. Ranchers operating in these areas reduced their herds many months ago as drought started to worsen. Axis deer in Molokai and Maui continue to aggravate farmers’ operations by competing with livestock for forage and by consuming produce in unprotected farmlands.

On Sept. 20, Gov. David Ige issued a fourth emergency relief period for the axis deer crisis in Maui County.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, meanwhile, has designated all of the counties as primary natural disaster areas due to drought. The designation allows funding to be used for emergency loans and compensation for grazing losses.

Predictions favor above-normal temperatures and rainfall into the middle of the spring, according to the long-lead Hawaiian Islands outlook issued Sept. 15. The next outlook is expected to come on Thursday.

The Maui News MATTHEW THAYER photo A squall dumps rain on Maalaea Thursday afternoon. Recent localized heavy rainfall has helped alleviate drought in parts of the island, though arid conditions were still widespread across Maui, Molokai and Kahoolawe as wet season began this month across Hawaii, the National Weather Service said.