El Niño lingers into Hawai‘i’s wet season; drought conditions to persist

The Hawaiian Islands are entering this year’s wet season drier than usual following several months of severe to exceptional drought — and conditions don’t appear to be changing. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s climate models favor below-average rainfall through the entire wet season, which runs October through April 2024. With 16% of the state already severely parched, experts say that could grow to 40% by the end of February. This morning, Kevin Kodama, senior service hydrologist at the National Weather Service’s Honolulu Forecast Office, hosted a press conference discussing...