{"id":898101,"date":"2026-10-28T23:54:13","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T23:54:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/898101\/"},"modified":"2026-10-28T23:54:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T23:54:13","slug":"hawaiis-2026-dry-season-3rd-wettest-in-30-years-but-wet-season-will-be-opposite-with-increased-wildfire-risk-maui-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/898101\/","title":{"rendered":"Hawai\u2019i\u2019s 2026 dry season 3rd wettest in 30 years; but wet season will be opposite with increased wildfire risk : Maui Now"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\n\"\"\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Forecasters were right: Rainfall turned out to be above average during Hawai\u2018i\u2019s 2026 dry season, which ran May through September.<\/p>\n

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration\u2019s Climate Prediction Center forecast favored development of a strong El Ni\u00f1o with above-normal precipitation for all Hawaiian Islands through early autumn 2026.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s in line with past El Ni\u00f1o impacts, according to an Oct. 22 NOAA news release.<\/p>\n

Overall, the 2026 dry season ranked as the third wettest in the last 30 years (based on average rankings from eight representative sites around the state).<\/p>\n

But the opposite will be true for Hawai\u02bbi\u2019s wet season, which began in October and runs through April.<\/p>\n

\"\"National Weather Service satellite image from midafternoon Sept. 22, 2026.<\/p>\n

The wet season outlook calls for below average rainfall and a higher potential for \u201cout of season\u201d wildfires due to a prolonged period of dry fuels and additional fuel load from several heavy rain events in 2026. Wildfire danger can be exacerbated by strong wind episodes, which are still possible during El Ni\u00f1o winters.<\/p>\n

To slow or prevent wildfire spread, create defensible space by clearing dry vegetation around homes and other structures.<\/p>\n

For the dry season, the majority of rainfall totals were above average across the state, with many areas experiencing twice the average. Although rainfall in some downwind areas of O\u2018ahu, Moloka\u2018i and the Big Island were below average.<\/p>\n

\"Hawaiʻi<\/a>Hawai\u02bbi Island dry season percent of average rainfall for 2026. (Map: NOAA)<\/p>\n

Drought conditions changed little, with about 3% of the state affected as of early May and no official drought statewide through September. Abnormal dryness remains in the Kona and South Kohala Districts of the Big Island.<\/p>\n

As of October, the first month of the 2026-27 wet season that runs through April, El Ni\u00f1o is in the very strong category and is expected to continue strengthening through the end of the year, with a high chance for a historic event.<\/p>\n

An El Ni\u00f1o advisory is in effect.<\/p>\n

The wet season rainfall forecast is consistent with a winter El Ni\u00f1o event, with below normal rainfall statewide likely through early spring 2027. Rainfall amount and distribution can be influenced by the strength of El Ni\u00f1o.<\/p>\n

If the rainfall forecast verifies, anticipate drought conditions to develop in many areas across the state during the second half of the winter and potentially worsen through the spring.<\/p>\n

Despite the below-average rainfall forecast for the wet season, residents should still prepare for isolated heavy rain events. Flash flooding can still happen within a drought.<\/p>\n

Reminders:<\/p>\n

Do not drive on roads with fast-flowing water. Less than two feet of fast-flowing water can sweep most vehicles off a road. Roads may also be severely undercut and collapse.<\/p>\n

Do not walk across flooded streams. Wait for the water to recede.<\/p>\n

If you live in or travel through a flood-prone area, have an evacuation plan and identify alternate routes ahead of time.<\/p>\n

Stay informed of rapidly changing conditions. Wireless Emergency Alerts on mobile phones notify you if you\u2019re in a significant, life-threatening flash flood warning area.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Forecasters were right: Rainfall turned out to be above average during Hawai\u2018i\u2019s 2026 dry season, which ran May…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":898102,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[15229,58629,192,33144,8477,42688,79,6322],"class_list":["post-898101","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-drought","tag-el-nino","tag-environment","tag-hawaii","tag-noaa","tag-rainfall","tag-science","tag-wildfire"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/898101","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=898101"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/898101\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/898102"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=898101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=898101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=898101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}