Farmers across Hawaiʻi are reeling from a winter of historic rainfall and storms that have flooded fields, devastated crops and destroyed equipment. Many don’t have insurance and will shoulder the cost of the recovery themselves. Some are among those whose homes are also in rough shape.
But the historically wet winter has significantly alleviated one of farmers’ biggest challenges in recent years. All this rain has helped decrease drought in parts of the state that were seeing some of the driest conditions in a century.
“We had the second driest year on record, last year. We’ve gone from this incredible extreme to potentially one of wettest months we’ve ever had,” said Ryan Longman, a climate scientist with the University of Hawaiʻi.
From One Of The Driest Years To The Wettest
Last year was the second driest year on record in Hawaiʻi since 1920, according to the annual climate report by the Hawaiʻi Climate Data Portal and Hawaiʻi Mesonet, a statewide weather monitoring portal. The islands had their driest August in more than three decades. It was the driest year on Maui and the second driest on the Big Island in more than 100 years.
But 2026 has, so far, brought a wet season for the history books. Storms in February and March brought record-breaking rainfall across the state. Some places on Maui got as much as 49 inches during the first Kona low from March 10 to 16, according to National Weather Service data. More than 25 inches of rain dumped onto parts of the Big Island during that same storm.
The last storm that pummeled Oʻahu, the second Kona low which reached a peak on March 19 and March 20, brought 25 inches in Kaʻala, 17 inches in Maunawilli and 11.65 inches in Dillingham from March 19 into March 24.
Drought Conditions Getting Better
In 2025, almost two-thirds of the state was abnormally dry or experiencing varying levels of drought, based on the rainfall levels accumulated over the year. Almost half of the state was in a moderate drought – or worse.
Some islands felt the heat more than others. The entire island of Molokaʻi was abnormally dry or in a drought last year. More than 51% of Maui was in a severe drought or worse, and large swaths of the island that weren’t quite that bad were still abnormally dry. On the Big Island, more than a third of the island was in a severe or extreme drought.
But the heavy rain so far this year has helped reverse drought conditions substantially.
This time last year, more than 55% of the state was facing at least a moderate drought. Now it’s just 7%.
Data Dives are Civil Beat’s quick takes on numbers and data sets with a Hawai‘i angle.
Maui and Hawaiʻi counties are particularly feeling the relief. At the start of this year, more than 80% of the Big Island was in a drought. The last two storms have dropped so much rain that it’s now just about 11% of the island. The entirety of Maui County was in a drought in January. After Kona lows battered the island with historic levels of rainfall, none of the county is currently in a drought, according to the National Drought Mitigation Center.
Still, it’s not a complete reversal. About 45% of the state is still at some level of concerningly dry conditions. Almost two-thirds of the Big Island is still at least abnormally dry.
Civil Beat’s coverage of climate change and the environment is supported by The Healy Foundation, the Marisla Fund of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation and the Frost Family Foundation.
Our coverage of environmental issues on Hawaiʻi island is supported in part by a grant from the Dorrance Family Foundation.
And “Data Dive” is supported in part by the Will J. Reid Foundation.
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