Big Island Drought Eases Along The Kona Coffee Belt.
(BIVN) – Drought conditions on Hawaii Island are improving, according to the latest Drought Information Statement issued by the National Weather Service in Honolulu.
Forecasters say Big Island drought recovery following the wet condition in late April “continued to a point where severe drought, or the D2 category in the U.S. Drought Monitor map was downgraded to moderate drought, or the D1 category on May 16.
Since then, the Kona slopes have been receiving ample rainfall which resulted in the removal of drought on June 15.” The rest of the moderate drought area on the Big Island has remained in place, forecasters say, with “spotty rainfall preventing a worsening of conditions but not enough to produce significant improvements.” Although the Kona coffee belt region “has continued to receive ample rainfall based on rain gage and farmer reports,” there were still reports of dry pastures in the South Point and South Kohala areas, the NWS reported.
U.S. Geological Survey data shows streams across the state had 30-day flow levels in the near normal range, forecasters said, with the exception of streams in the Kohala area, where flow levels were below normal.
According to the NOAA Climate Prediction Center, the Pacific Ocean is experiencing ENSO-neutral conditions (El Niño/Southern Oscillation) which are expected to persist through at least the northern hemisphere 2017 fall season.
There is a decreasing chance for El Niño development through the remainder of the year, NOAA says.
The Long-Lead Hawaiian Islands Outlook issued on June 15 by the NOAA Climate Prediction Center “did not show any probabilities favoring above or below normal precipitation for the state through the summer,” the forecasters reported.
“The probabilities favor above normal temperatures across the entire state through the summer.”

The Aberdeen area accumulated 2.98 inches in Tuesday’s storm which was added to make a total of 3.18 inches of rainfall since June 1, according to the National Weather Service in Aberdeen.
The rainfall will also make little difference for this week’s drought monitor.
"We may not see a whole lot of difference in the drought monitor," Vipond said.
While any amount rainfall is good more will be needed to help farmers and ranchers in the midst of the drought conditions.
According to Jim Kanable, of North Central Farmers Elevator in Ipswich, a dry planting season means the lack of soil moisture has made the crops in the area come up slow and spotty.
The same worry and waiting is being seen in the livestock industry throughout the drought area, which is currently estimated to impact 201,555 people, according the United States Drought Monitor.
The Pierre area has seen half the amount of rain it saw last year from March to May and only 1.78 inches in June, according to the National Weather Service.
Friday’s sale will bring yearling and feeder cattle to auction, the sale is projected to be twice the size of a normal year.
Saturday’s sale will auction pairs and bred cattle.
However, there are buyers from areas "where there is rain."

Wind, rain bring some drought relief to Pierre, Fort Pierre; tornadoes in NE South Dakota.
No more rain fell in Pierre Tuesday after 5 p.m. A report of 1.64 inch of rain came in from southwest of Pierre.
There were two confirmed tornadoes in northeast South Dakota, with the highest wind speed of 92 mph reported near Clark, Wise said late Tuesday.
One near Groton and one in north Hand County.
At 8:20 p.m., two cabins were destroyed nine miles south of Rosholt, one by wind and one by a large tree that fell on it, according to the weather service… No injuries were reported in the state due to the storms, Wise said.
But fires near Milbank were blamed on downed power lines and trees fell on homes in several locations in northeast South Dakota.
No significant damage was reported in the Fort Pierre area, other than erosion caused by heavy rains.
In Pierre, city officials said the stormy weather did some damage, including downed branches and trees, wind damage to one of the shelters in the softball complex, a blown-down wall at a private building under construction, and water damage to the insulation and the building of a Fire Station 4, which is under construction.
Wednesday’s temperatures are expected to reach the lower 80s, with the remaining work-week expected to see upper 80s and the weekend temps in the mid-to-upper 70s.
“This initial rain in June will help, but it certainly doesn’t take us out of drought,” said Troy Kleffman of the weather service office in Aberdeen.

Recent rains brought some relief to areas of the state in severe drought, but not nearly enough.
More than a half inch of rain was recorded by noon Tuesday in most of these areas, including Sioux, Emmons, Grant, Morton and Burleigh counties.
That number moved to about 2.75 inches below average after the recent rain.
This follows .04 inches in 1901, .09 inches in 1934 and .12 inches in 1936.
The forecast shows a daily chance of showers through Friday.
There will be some localized thunderstorms that will be a "hit or miss" with some areas receiving heavier rain than their neighboring towns.
There will be some cool, seasonable temperatures Wednesday, with highs in the 70s and maybe 80s in the eastern part of the state, according to NWS meteorologist Alex Edwards.
Multiple power outages were reported in the eastern part of the state as a result of the storm Tuesday.
Last week, Morton County also banned fireworks.
The U.S. Drought Monitor places most of Morton County and a small portion of Burleigh County in severe drought.

ABERDEEN, S.D. All the sunshine we’ve been seeing is almost a cause for celebration that summer is finally here, but it’s not a good sign for everyone. Cattle producers across the Northeast region are praying for moisture soon to keep as much of their herd as they can. The hot weather is hurting more than helping for cattle producers and meteorologists in the area say it’s going to be long-term. Those at the National Weather Service office in Aberdeen know that the drought will end soon, but there are no real indications over the next couple of weeks to a month of it diminishing. This type of weather isn’t normal for May and June, which are usually the wettest months of the year. “For us to see a pretty good…

Unusually Wet Conditions Bring Drought Relief To Montana.
Drought is not expected to be a major factor this year in Montana.
Here’s something Montanans don’t frequently hear this time of year: “It’s very unusual for most of Montana to be as wet as it is at this point," says National Weather Service Meteorologist Bruce Bauck.
Bauck’s echoing the encouraging news recently delivered by the Governor’s Drought and Water Supply Advisory Committee: “Last October we had record rains in northwest Montana.
We had way above-normal rainfall in central Montana.
This last winter we had normal to above-normal snowpack almost everywhere – even in the valleys.
We’ve put a lot of moisture in the ground.
We’ve really charged the ground well.
We have a lot of water in the system right now.” Until recently Butte and Anaconda were slightly drier than normal, but that’s changed: “Because of late spring snowfall.
But barring any significant rain storms, meteorologist Bruce Bauck isn’t expecting any major floods this spring.

More than 24 percent of the state state, in a swath stretching across the mid-section of Connecticut and including most of Hartford County, is still listed as "abnormally dry by federal experts.
Last week, U.S. Drought Monitor scientists considered almost one-quarter of Connecticut to still be suffering from "moderate drought" conditions.
"A cool and wet week allowed for improvements to the remaining areas of drought and dryness in the region," the climate experts reported Thursday.
"There are still some indicators of long-term dryness in the region, but the most recent wet pattern has eliminated all drought concerns for the time being."
A working group of Connecticut state agencies last week lifted the drought watch that it has issued in October 2016 when the lack of rainfall was causing serious concerns about low levels in drinking water reservoirs.
Numerous communities and water companies around the state issued voluntary – and some mandatory – water use restrictions.
The only exception is the New London Water Department, which listed its reservoir at 89 percent of normal.
Similar drought advisories were issued by the state in 2002, 2007 and 2010.
NWS monitors at Bradley International Airport showed precipitation there was more than 13 inches below normal for all of 2016.
The drought had all sorts of major impacts on agricultural crops in this state.

To avoid drought, Round Rock promotes year-round voluntary water conservation.
The NWS defines a drought as a deficiency in precipitation over an extended period, normally a season or more.
In 2011, Texas had an average of 14.8 inches of rain for the year.
The majority of Round Rock’s conservation effort focuses on educating city water users on best practices.
“I’m a licensed irrigator, so I do irrigation evaluations and that basically means going out to somebody’s house and teaching them how to use an irrigation system, running through the system, explaining any problems, talking to them about solutions and about the rebates,” Woods said.
Currently, Round Rock uses a tiered water rate system, which is implemented May 1 of each year.
The city is evaluating this system through a water rate study that is set to end in June and may move to a tiered system throughout the entire year for residential use, while issuing a flat system for commercial use.
“As a customer, you would be able to log in and see your usage in almost real time,” Thane said.
“Right now, they get a bill once a month, but with this they can be more aware of it.” Thane said that since the drought in 2011, people have been more conscious about monitoring their water consumption.
Although the conservation effort is implemented on a voluntary basis, the city does have measures in place in case there is reckless use.

Hide caption Part of the Yantic River near McGrath Lane in Lebanon.
[Aaron Flaum/ NorwichBulletin.com] All the rain we’ve had recently has eased the drought in Eastern Connecticut considerably Drought conditions in the far easternmost part of the state have lifted, weather experts say, thanks in part to a spate of recent spring rains.
In Bristol, for example, the reservoir is at 90 percent capacity, DePrest said.
Statewide, reservoirs averaged 93 percent full in March and 97 percent in mid-April, according to the National Drought Mitigation Center in Lincoln, Neb., while groundwater levels are also near normal.
While recent rainfall has helped, DePrest said conditions could change again quickly.
“I want to caution, if we go right into a hot, dry summer, we could be right back where we were,” he said.
Last year, those totals for the same time frame stood at 12.71 inches.
“As we started this year, we were running significantly below normal,” Thompson said of regional rainfall totals in January.
Three months ago, 100 percent of the state was experiencing drought conditions at some level, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
The Connecticut River is continuing to run low, Furbush said, with levels of 3.6 feet recorded at a measuring site in Haddam.

April ended with record heat and only a trace of rain for the month, intensifying a drought for the Sarasota-Bradenton area, but the National Weather Service forecast more seasonable temperatures and chances for rain this week. The forecast calls for a 40 percent chance of rain Tuesday, with a high of 85 — close to the normal of 83 degrees for this time of year. Thursday’s forecast calls for a 50 percent chance of rain, followed by a high Friday of just 78 as a cold front moves through the area. By…