Rainfall Atlas of Hawaiʻi

The Rainfall Atlas of Hawaiʻi is a set of maps of the spatial patterns of rainfall for the major Hawaiian Islands. Maps are available for mean monthly and annual rainfall. The maps represent our best estimates of the mean rainfall for the 30-yr base period 1978–2007.The web site was developed to make the rainfall maps, data, and related information easily accessible. The maps depict rainfall patterns by color and/or by isohyets (lines of equal rainfall). The interactive map allows users to see the patterns of mean monthly and annual rainfall and corresponding uncertainty, zoom in on areas of particular interest, navigate to specific locations with the help of a choice of different base maps, and click on any location to get the mean annual rainfall and a graph and table of mean monthly rainfall. The locations of stations can also be shown on the interactive map. Clicking on a station gives both station and mapped estimates of monthly rainfall along with station metadata.Rainfall maps can be downloaded in various forms. Digital maps show rainfall and uncertainty are estimated for each spatial unit of 234 × 250 m (770 × 820 ft). Alternatively, image files showing rainfall patterns by color and/or by isohyets can also be downloaded.

Funding

The 2011 Rainfall Atlas of Hawai‘i was developed under an agreement between the State of Hawai‘i Commission on Water Resource Management and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Honolulu District under Section 22 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1974. Contract No. W9128A-04-D-0019, Contract Task Order No. 0038 was awarded to Wil Chee Planning, Inc., which subcontracted the work to the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Department of Geography.

Publications

Giambelluca, T.W., Q. Chen, A.G. Frazier, J.P. Price, Y.-L. Chen, P.-S. Chu, J.K. Eischeid, and D.M. Delparte, 2013: Online Rainfall Atlas of Hawai‘i. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc. 94, 313-316, doi: 10.1175/BAMS-D-11-00228.1.(pdf)