05-23-2026, 10:50 PM
(This post was last modified: 05-23-2026, 10:55 PM by Punaperson.)
Sorry to be so vague about the exact years ( farm records from the time are boxed and not easily accessible this soon after lunch ! ), but there have been much longer droughts than 6-8 weeks here in Puna.
One year in the early 2000's there was a major storm at the beginning of November that dumped 27" at the Hilo airport, 31" at my house ( OLE, 750' elevation, usually about 150"/year ), and 36" at Wood Valley. Then it was like someone turned off the spigot - not a single drop of rain until the end of April, for a total time of just under 6 months. It was the only time I ever had to buy a truck of water, just to keep the plants in my nursery alive. That's when I got into the habit of conserving every drop if it hasn't rained for a few days.
2 quick side notes:
This was when I found out that the Hilo Airport rain gauge was a yard stick taped to the inside of a 5 gallon bucket.
By about January we drove into Hilo every other day to shower at the Kawamoto Pool. We often saw other Puna people there doing the same.
One year in the early 2000's there was a major storm at the beginning of November that dumped 27" at the Hilo airport, 31" at my house ( OLE, 750' elevation, usually about 150"/year ), and 36" at Wood Valley. Then it was like someone turned off the spigot - not a single drop of rain until the end of April, for a total time of just under 6 months. It was the only time I ever had to buy a truck of water, just to keep the plants in my nursery alive. That's when I got into the habit of conserving every drop if it hasn't rained for a few days.
2 quick side notes:
This was when I found out that the Hilo Airport rain gauge was a yard stick taped to the inside of a 5 gallon bucket.
By about January we drove into Hilo every other day to shower at the Kawamoto Pool. We often saw other Puna people there doing the same.