The anomaly of shortly cut lawns, in rainy Hilo, on google maps! (buying, landlord)

[Tiger Beer]

Just an observation on google maps. But rainy Hilo seems to have an awful lot of lawns that seem shortly cut.

With all the rain, I'd expect to see plenty of overgrown lawns, without many chances to cut it.

Is there something about the lawn grasses in Hawaii? Or just some strange google coincidence or anomaly?

[Jungjohann]

Well,,,, you see,, It being Hilo and all, and with the semi constant torrential downpours they get down there ALL the time,, (don't believe anything else, it's just realtors trying to con you into buying a semi arid piece of swamp land), the grass NEVER really gets a chance to grow much taller than about an inch or so. It tries, but the nonstop rainfall keeps knocking it back down. Either that or the cannibals use it as a garnish for their buffets.. Take your pick.

Alooha

(have I ever lied to you?)

[HiloDiver]

I don't know about Hilo, but my former uber-rainy-wet-floody lawn got its cut every two weeks like clockwork, pretty much. I suppose the professional equipment can do a cut rain or shine.

It rained nonstop down here for two weeks, the sun just came out on Sunday, and the lawn guy is scheduled for Wednesday, thank goodness because the grass is higher than my dogs!

[mdand3boys]

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

Just an observation on google maps. But rainy Hilo seems to have an awful lot of lawns that seem shortly cut.

With all the rain, I'd expect to see plenty of overgrown lawns, without many chances to cut it.

Is there something about the lawn grasses in Hawaii? Or just some strange google coincidence or anomaly?

The type of grass used here actually doesn't grow that tall or that fast. Plus, it really doesn't rain as much as some would have you to believe.

[OpenD]

From the National Weather Service:

Within the city of Hilo, average rainfall varies from about 130 inches a year near the shore to as much as 200 inches upslope. The wettest part of the island, with a mean annual rainfall exceeding 300 inches, lies about 6 miles upslope from the city limits.

Hilo, Hawai`i first order observing station information.

The last couple of years have been uncharacteristically dry. Last year, for instance, Hilo Airport only reported 94.9" of rain, practically a drought.

HILO AIRPORT Rainfall graphs

[mdand3boys]

The annual rainfall amounts are misleading. Hilo can get 1" + in 30 minutes, then be sunny the rest of the day. It also rains a lot at night or early morning. It generally does not rain all the time during the day. Plus, the rainy season is considered to be November thru April.

[Tiger Beer]

Originally Posted by mdand3boys

The type of grass used here actually doesn't grow that tall or that fast.

The way lawns should be!!

Maybe someone should market that to the mainland!

[winkosmosis]

Originally Posted by Tiger Beer

The way lawns should be!!

Maybe someone should market that to the mainland!

My landlord grows this really short grass, but the sprinklers water it every night at 4am.

What people need, pretty much everywhere, is grass that takes little water and also doesn't grow tall.

[OpenD]

Originally Posted by OpenD

From the National Weather Service:
...
The last couple of years have been uncharacteristically dry. Last year, for instance, Hilo Airport only reported 94.9" of rain, practically a drought

The obvious followup question is: "130" per year, 100" per year, whatever, is that a lot of rain?"

And the answer is, "Yes, that's a lot of rain." The worldwide average is 33" per year, and the following precipitation atlas shows that the majority of US states receive no more rain than that, and that only a relatively small portion of the country gets as much as 50" annually. No wonder Hilo is widely referred to as the "wettest city" in the US.

http://www.eduplace.com/ss/maps/pdf/usclim.pdf

But in terms of the OP's question, it's not just the amount of rain that falls, it's also the frequency that matters. And in this category too, Hilo excels.

Looking at the daily rainfall distribution on the following NWS chart, one can see that there has been measurable rainfall in Hilo 309 days out of the last 365, or 85% of all days. Whether a typical overnight light rain, or a quick torrential downpour, most days some rain is going to fall sometime, which is why everything growing is generally green and lush in the area.

Hilo (Big Island) Temperature and Rainfall graphs

Anyway, the weather facts support the OPs premise that more grass should be overgrown, and do not explain why that grass appears short in the satellite photos. I can't prove it, but my personal theory is that the invisible cows come down from Saddle Road at night and graze on Hilo lawns, keeping them shorter than expected.

[Tiger Beer]

Originally Posted by OpenD

The obvious followup question is: "130" per year, 100" per year, whatever, is that a lot of rain?"

And the answer is, "Yes, that's a lot of rain."

Which begs another question...isn't the lawn always way too saturated with water, to really do anything on it?

Or is it volcanic rock just below the surface enough, that it dries fairly quickly or something?