DROUGHT INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 1030 AM HST THU OCT 9 2008 ...DROUGHT CONDITIONS WORSEN OVER KAUAI AND THE BIG ISLAND... SYNOPSIS... A CONTINUED LACK OF SUFFICIENT RAINFALL OVER THE LEEWARD SIDE OF THE BIG ISLAND HAS RESULTED IN A SOUTHWARD SPREADING OF EXTREME AGRICULTURAL DROUGHT INTO PORTIONS OF THE NORTH KONA DISTRICT. THIS ADDS TO THE EXISTING EXTREME DROUGHT AREAS...OR D3 CATEGORY IN THE U.S. DROUGHT MONITOR...ALREADY COVERING THE NORTH AND SOUTH KOHALA DISTRICTS AND THE UPPER PORTIONS OF THE HAMAKUA DISTRICT. AGRICULTURAL DROUGHT HAS ALSO WORSENED OVER KAUAI...WHICH IS NOW UNDER A SEVERE DROUGHT...OR D2...CLASSIFICATION OVER THE NORTHEAST CORNER OF THE ISLAND AND D1...MODERATE DROUGHT...OVER THE REMAINING EASTERN SLOPES. EXISTING EXTREME AGRICULTURAL DROUGHT CONDITIONS REMAIN OVER EAST OAHU...WEST MOLOKAI AND CENTRAL MAUI. SEVERE AGRICULTURAL DROUGHT ALSO CONTINUES IN THE UPPER SLOPES OF THE SOUTH KONA DISTRICT...MOST OF THE KAU DISTRICT AND THE UPCOUNTRY REGION OF MAUI. ALL OF LANAI AND THE WINDWARD SLOPES OF THE BIG ISLAND REMAIN UNDER A MODERATE DROUGHT CLASSIFICATION. THERE HAVE BEEN NO AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT STATEWIDE AND THE LATEST U.S. DROUGHT MONITOR...RELEASED ON OCTOBER 9...DEPICTS DROUGHT CONDITIONS OVER MORE THAN THREE-FOURTHS OF THE STATE OF HAWAII. ALL COUNTIES IN THE STATE REMAIN UNDER A PRIMARY NATURAL DISASTER AREA DECLARATION BY THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE DUE TO LOSSES CAUSED BY THE ONGOING DROUGHT. THIS DECLARATION ENABLES FARMERS TO RECEIVE LOW INTEREST EMERGENCY LOANS TO COPE WITH THE DROUGHT EMERGENCY. SUMMARY OF IMPACTS... KAUAI. PASTURES HAVE BEEN SEVERELY IMPACTED BY THE DROUGHT OVER THE WINDWARD SECTIONS OF THE ISLAND. THE RESULTING LOSS OF FORAGE HAS FORCED RANCHERS TO REDUCE CATTLE STOCKING RATES BY OVER 50 PERCENT IN SOME AREAS. OAHU. NO CHANGES SINCE SEPTEMBER 18. USERS OF IRRIGATION WATER FROM THE WAIMANALO RESERVOIR REMAIN UNDER A MANDATORY 30 PERCENT REDUCTION IN CONSUMPTION DUE TO VERY LOW WATER LEVELS. THE CITY AND COUNTY OF HONOLULU BOARD OF WATER SUPPLY REQUESTED A VOLUNTARY 10 PERCENT REDUCTION IN PUBLIC WATER USE FOR CUSTOMERS IN THE WINDWARD SIDE OF THE KOOLAU RANGE. MOLOKAI. NO CHANGES SINCE SEPTEMBER 18. USERS OF IRRIGATION WATER FROM THE KUALAPUU RESERVOIR IN WEST MOLOKAI REMAIN UNDER A MANDATORY 20 PERCENT REDUCTION IN WATER USE. NON-IRRIGATED PASTURE CONDITIONS IN THE WESTERN SIDE OF THE ISLAND ARE ALSO VERY POOR. LANAI. NO CHANGES SINCE SEPTEMBER 18. PASTURE CONDITIONS REMAIN POOR ON THE ENTIRE ISLAND. MAUI. NO CHANGES SINCE SEPTEMBER 18. 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. PASTURE CONDITIONS ARE VERY POOR ACROSS CENTRAL MAUI. BIG ISLAND. AN AGRICULTURE OFFICIAL RECENTLY REPORTED SEVERELY DEGRADED PASTURE CONDITIONS IN THE NORTH KONA DISTRICT. SIGNIFICANT DROUGHT IMPACTS TO THE RANCHING INDUSTRY CONTINUE ON THE BIG ISLAND...ESPECIALLY IN THE LEEWARD KOHALA AND UPPER HAMAKUA AREAS. SOME RANCHERS HAVE REPORTED LIVESTOCK DEATHS...SEVERE FORAGE LOSS AND A REDUCTION OF CATTLE STOCKING RATES BY 50 PERCENT OR MORE. BRUSH FIRE DANGER IS EXTREME IN THESE AREAS. THE KAU DISTRICT AND PORTIONS OF THE SOUTH KONA DISTRICT ALSO HAVE POOR PASTURE CONDITIONS. FOR PUBLIC WATER SUPPLY...PORTIONS OF THE SOUTH KOHALA AND HAMAKUA DISTRICTS REMAIN UNDER A 10 PERCENT VOLUNTARY REDUCTION IN DAILY WATER USE. WATER CATCHMENT SUPPLIES FOR RESIDENTIAL USE ARE ALSO BEING IMPACTED BY THE REDUCED DAILY RAINFALL. CLIMATE SUMMARY... ACCORDING TO THE NOAA CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER...ENSO NEUTRAL CONDITIONS EXIST IN THE EQUATORIAL PACIFIC AND SHOULD PERSIST INTO EARLY 2009. PRECIPITATION/TEMPERATURE OUTLOOK... THE LONG-LEAD HAWAIIAN OUTLOOK ISSUED ON SEPTEMBER 18 BY THE NOAA CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER PROJECTS BELOW NORMAL PRECIPITATION IN THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS THROUGHOUT THE REST OF 2008...FOLLOWED BY ABOVE NORMAL RAINFALL FROM JANUARY THROUGH MAY 2009. THE NEXT OUTLOOK WILL BE ISSUED ON OCTOBER 16. HYDROLOGIC SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK... U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY DATA INDICATE STREAMFLOW CONTINUING AT BELOW NORMAL LEVELS ACROSS THE STATE. THE FORECAST FOR LOWER THAN NORMAL RAINFALL MEANS THAT THE PROBABILITY FOR STREAMFLOW RECOVERY DURING THE REMAINDER OF 2008 IS LOW. NEXT ISSUANCE DATE... THE NEXT DROUGHT INFORMATION STATEMENT WILL BE ISSUED ON NOVEMBER 6 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