WeatherMatrix (Jesse Ferrell)
Is the Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii dumping feet of rain?
By Jesse Ferrell
7/16/2018, 2:51:13 PM
Share this article:
The Kilauea volcano in Hawaii erupted in early May 2018. Earlier this month, a blog reader pointed out a foot of Doppler-estimated rainfall on the South Shore radar (PHWA) in just over a day. The radar, I assumed, must be overestimating rainfall because of the particles in the smoke and steam from the volcano vent (volcano is off the southwest side of the map). I didn't have time to further investigate, so I put the map aside.
On July 7, it happened again and I compared the estimate to the rainfall amounts reported by the CoCoRAHs network. The amounts roughly matched, with a station 3 miles southeast of Pahoa reporting 11 inches on July 3 and another station 2.7 miles SSE of Pahoa racking up 13.67 inches the same day. Amazing!
Then I remembered that parts of eastern Hawaii are famous for heavy rain and a check of the Rainfall Atlas of Hawaii shows the area receiving between 3,000-7,000 mm (inches) per year.
That averages out to 118-276 inches (10 to 23 feet) of rain per year, or about 1 to 2 feet per month, so these amounts are not unusual at all. As a final sanity check, the June 2018 hydrology summary for the Big Island did not show anything unusual, and Kilauea was not mentioned. It's just par for the course for the southeast part of the island!
The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of AccuWeather, Inc. or AccuWeather.com
WeatherMatrix (Jesse Ferrell)
-
Bomb cyclone greatest hits: Storm delivers record pressures, winds over 100 mph
WeatherMatrix (Jesse Ferrell) - March 19, 2019, 6:43:07 PM EDT
-
Mozambique hurricane history vs. Cyclone Idai
WeatherMatrix (Jesse Ferrell) - March 11, 2019, 3:59:28 PM EDT
-
Before and after photos show Alabama tornado destruction
WeatherMatrix (Jesse Ferrell) - March 11, 2019, 1:59:43 PM EDT
-
How will the early-March cold outbreak compare to others?
WeatherMatrix (Jesse Ferrell) - February 28, 2019, 3:03:43 PM EST
Next week's cold outbreak is not unlike the ones in early March 2014 and 2015 but not quite as severe.
-
February 2019 has been a record wind monster
WeatherMatrix (Jesse Ferrell) - February 26, 2019, 12:06:59 PM EST
Wind records have been challenged from Hawaii to Maine this month.
-
How does 191-mph gust at Mauna Kea, Hawaii, compare to world wind records?
WeatherMatrix (Jesse Ferrell) - February 26, 2019, 12:14:13 PM EST
It's time to update my list of world wind records again after a massive storm swept Hawaii's highest mountain.
-
Some Real Weather Data on Groundhog Day
WeatherMatrix (Jesse Ferrell) - February 02, 2019, 8:55:51 AM EST
No, a rodent can't predict the weather, but I've got some real Punxsutawney weather data.
-
Polar vortex 2019 brings -90 RealFeel Temperatures!
WeatherMatrix (Jesse Ferrell) - January 31, 2019, 3:57:59 PM EST
The polar vortex brought extreme temperatures into Canada and the northern U.S. I've got the greatest hits.
ABOUT THIS BLOG
WeatherMatrix (Jesse Ferrell)
AccuWeather Meteorologist and Social Media Manager pens the WeatherMatrix blog covers extreme weather worldwide with a concentration on meteorology and social media.
-
RealImpact™ of Weather
with Dr. Joel N. Myers
-
Elliot Abrams
Northeast U.S. expert
-
Brett Anderson
Canadian weather blog
-
Astronomy blog
with Dave Samuhel
-
Global climate change
with Brett Anderson
-
WeatherMatrix (Jesse Ferrell)
The WeatherMatrix blog
-
Frank Strait
Southern U.S. weather blog
-
Global weather
with Eric Leister
-
Air Quality Blog
with Faith Eherts
-
Western US weather expert
with Jordan Root
Comments
Comments that don't add to the conversation may be automatically or manually removed by Facebook or AccuWeather. Profanity, personal attacks, and spam will not be tolerated.