Dry conditions continue throughout the entire state, with even Hilo — a city renowned for prodigious rainfall — in severe drought, according to the National Weather Service.
Hilo International Airport received just 2.76 inches of rain in September, 32% of its normal total for the month. For the year, the Hilo airport’s rain gauge has recorded 38.17 inches through September, just 46% of its norm.
Tina Stall, hydrologist for the National Weather Service in Honolulu, said severe drought status was “extended into the Hilo area because of the short-term below-normal rainfall.”
According to Stall, the last time Hilo was in a state of severe drought was between Oct. 24, 2023, and Nov. 28, 2023. It also occurred for a week in January 2023, a few weeks in late September through mid-October 2022, and in November 2020.
“If it happens, it seems to be an autumn thing, which would make sense as that is at the end of the dry season for that area,” Stall said.
Kawika Uyehara, county Department of Water Supply’s deputy manager, said the drought shouldn’t affect county water customers in Hilo.
“We do monitor but, fortunately for Hilo, in our Hilo water system we only have groundwater wells, so we’re basically pumping water up out of the aquifer,” Uyehara said. “So, where we have groundwater wells and we pump water from the ground, we’re generally less susceptible to the immediate impacts of drought and dry conditions. So, we’ll continue to operate as we normally do.”
All of Hawaii island, and the entire state of Hawaii, is currently in various stages of drought.
“I don’t see a lot of change expected in the drought categories for the Big Island right now,” Stall said.
The northern slopes of Maunakea, extending into portions of Waimea, and a sliver of the Kau coastline are in extreme drought, which is worse than severe drought.
Waimea received a scant 1.3 inches of rain last month, 52% of a normally dry September. The North Hawaii town received just 12.48 inches of rain for the first nine months of 2025, a little more than a quarter of its normal rainfall.
Waimea’s situation for county water customers is somewhat different than Hilo’s, according to Uyehara.
“We have wells, but we also use stream water to our processing plant, so rainfall does affect that,” he said. “In Waimea, we have a conservation notice, basically just asking people to use water wisely, not to waste it.
“When we have restrictions or conservation, we do ask people to lessen their use of water that’s for, like, watering their lawn. We ask them to cut back on that. And we ask them to water their lawn at a time when it’s not going to be evaporated up immediately, the evening hours or early morning hours.”
In Kau, Ka Lae — also known as South Point — was bone dry last month, receiving just 0.13 inches of rain in September. That’s just 5% of its September norm of 2.5 inches.
Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keahole, which greets visitors with a sun-kissed tarmac year-round, was even drier than normal, with 0.28 inches, or 52% of its usual 0.54 inches in September.
Only two populated spots, Waiaha in the Kona coffee belt and Pahala in Kau coffee country, received above-average rainfall last month. Waiaha was splashed with 9.41 inches, 175% of norm, and Pahala received a hearty 6.32 inches, 138% of its average.
On Thursday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center declared the Central Pacific to be in La Nina status, with colder-than-normal Pacific Ocean temperatures. Forecasters called it a weak La Nina, with conditions favored to persist at least into December and possibly as late as February.
With the wet season just underway for most of Hawaii, there might be some drought relief in sight, but even with La Nina in the picture, meteorologists are hedging their bets.
“If it’s strong enough, we could see some above- average rainfall … but that remains to be seen,” Stall said.
Source: The Garden Island
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