Precipitation
Rain:
Offshore, the rainfall is about 25 inches a year.
As the warm, moist air
passes over the islands, it must rise and cool as it passes over the
hills
and mountains. As it cools, water condenses. Therefore, the
amount of rain
depends strongly on location.
The winds usually come from the Northeast.
As those trade winds rise,
they drop water on the land beneath them. Therefore, the windward
side
of the islands have much more rain than the leeward sides. In
general,
the closer you are to the mountains on the windward side,
( usually the northeast ), the wetter it is.
The air, having lost much of its water
on the windward side, and warming again as it travels
down the leeward side of the mountains, clears up. It's clouds
dissipate and the rainfall diminishes.
Areas close to the ocean on the
southwest and western side of most islands are your best bet
if you want to stay dry
The
rainiest part of the year is November through March. These seasonal differences are greatest
at elevations above 2000 feet.
Hawaii's
tropical rain may be very heavy at times.
Usually the downpours of of short duration, but during winter
storms, serious flood occur near rivers
on the windward side of islands. Be very cautious about camping
in gorges with even small streams at the bottom.
Snow
is rare, but does occur at very high
elevations, above 8000 feet. People actually ski at the very high elevations on Mauna Kea
and Mauna Loa. |
