Drought in Kalawao County, HI: 3.5 years in 10 since 2000

3.5 years in 10

Kalawao County, HI: 9 of 26 full years had 13+ weeks in drought. About as drought-prone as a typical US county.

20002025

Drought years: 2000 (44 wk), 2001 (51 wk), 2008 (16 wk), 2009 (30 wk), 2010 (44 wk), 2012 (22 wk), 2022 (38 wk), 2024 (18 wk) and 2025 (42 wk). Not a single drought week in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2011, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.

Plan for drought as normal: shrink the lawn, go drip and natives

Drought is the normal state of things here. Most of the yard goes to natives and gravel on drip; any grass that stays is a small, tough patch.

If you are replacing turf, plant natives in fall so roots set before the Nov peak, and check your water utility for a turf-removal rebate before you dig.

This is one step drier than the yearly count alone suggests, because 27% of growing-season weeks here were in drought.

Against the rest of HI

3rd most drought-prone of 5 HI counties; the HI middle is 3.5 in 10. Closest on the list: Hawaii County (5.4 in 10) and Honolulu County (2.3 in 10). Driest in HI: Maui County (6 in 10). Least drought: Kauai County (1.5 in 10).

When in the year it hits

Most often in Nov (38% of weeks), then Oct (35%) and Sep (32%). Least in Mar (16%). May to September averages 27%.

26 Jan
21 Feb
16 Mar
17 Apr
19 May
26 Jun
27 Jul
30 Aug
32 Sep
35 Oct
38 Nov
28 Dec

The worst year: 2001

2001: 51 weeks in drought, peaking at D3 extreme. Across 1,401 weekly maps: 26.2% of all weeks at D1 or worse, 7.1% at D2, 1.1% at D3, never any D4. Longest unbroken spell: 55 weeks, Jan 9, 2001 to Jan 22, 2002.

Lately

Last drought year: 2025, 42 weeks. 2016-2025: 3 in 10, against 3.8 in 10 for 2000-2015, about the same. So far in 2026: 5 of 44 weeks in drought, through Nov 3, 2026.