Online rainfall atlas of Hawai'i

Thomas W. Giambelluca, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Qi Chen, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Abby Frazier
Jonathan P. Price, University of Hawaii at Hilo
Yi Leng Chen, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Pao Shin Chu, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Jon K. Eischeid, University of Colorado Boulder
Donna M. Delparte, University of Hawaii at Hilo

Abstract

The Rainfall Atlas of Hawai'i is a set of digital maps of the spatial patterns of 1978-2007 mean monthly and annual rainfall for the major Hawaiian Islands. For every map of mean rainfall, a corresponding map of uncertainty is also provided. Access to the rainfall maps, data, and related information is available via the Rainfall Atlas of Hawai'i website. The monthly rainfall database compiled for the new Rainfall Atlas of Hawai'i includes 1,067 stations, with 517,017 station-months of data over the period 1874-2007. For the purposes of the Rainfall Atlas, with a base period of 1978�2007, and ongoing analysis of temporal rainfall trends, gap filling was done for as many stations as possible for the period 1920�2007. Hawai'i's rainfall pattern is spectacularly diverse Annual means range from 204 mm near the summit of Mauna Kea to 10,271 mm near Big Bog on the windward slope of Haleakala, Maui. This pattern is explained by the main controls on Hawai'i's rainfall. The maps comprising the new Rainfall Atlas of Hawai'i give an up-to-date picture of normal rainfall amounts and patterns.