Just how rainy is Hilo? (Captain Cook, Volcano: living, airport, to move)

[Ofthesea123]

We are planning to move out to the Big Island in the next 2 years. We have been out to visit several times, staying in Hilo, Kona, Captain Cook, and Volcano. While I have loved every place we've visited something about the Hilo area has really stayed with us! While in Hilo we experienced one rainy day but the other days were nice, just evening rain. We are coming out to stay for 10 days this summer in Hilo so maybe this will give me a better idea but opinions from locals would be very much appreciated! What is the typical weather like in the Hilo area...day to day?

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by Ofthesea123

While in Hilo we experienced one rainy day but the other days were nice, just evening rain. We are coming out to stay for 10 days this summer in Hilo so maybe this will give me a better idea but opinions from locals would be very much appreciated! What is the typical weather like in the Hilo area...day to day?

Are you familiar with Portland, Oregon? Does it seem like it rains a lot in Portland in the winter to you?

To put things in perspective, in a average year - Portland in the winter (the wet season) gets about 5 inches of rain per month.

Hilo on the other hand, the driest average month is about 7 inches of rain, or about 50% more than Portland's wettest month. Really want rain - the wettest average month in the winter gets about 15 inches of rain, or triple Portland's.

However, this summer may not give you a good indication of the weather, it is an El Nino year - so Hawaii in general has been very dry this winter (our wet season) and this summer remains to be seen how it will turn out....

Hilo really has a wet season and a wetter season - never really a dry season.

[McFrostyJ]

Originally Posted by Ofthesea123

What is the typical weather like in the Hilo area...day to day?

Do you remember how lush and green it was in Hilo?
It takes a lot of water to make everything look that way.

[ScottStielow]

Originally Posted by whtviper1

Are you familiar with Portland, Oregon? Does it seem like it rains a lot in Portland in the winter to you?

To put things in perspective, in a average year - Portland in the winter (the wet season) gets about 5 inches of rain per month.

Hilo on the other hand, the driest average month is about 7 inches of rain, or about 50% more than Portland's wettest month. Really want rain - the wettest average month in the winter gets about 15 inches of rain, or triple Portland's.

However, this summer may not give you a good indication of the weather, it is an El Nino year - so Hawaii in general has been very dry this winter (our wet season) and this summer remains to be seen how it will turn out....

Hilo really has a wet season and a wetter season - never really a dry season.

Pretty much right on.

Wikipedia says:

Geography and climate
Hilo is classified by the United States Census Bureau as a census-designated place (CDP), and has a total area of 58.4 square miles (151.3 km2), 54.3 square miles (140.6 km2) of which is land and 4.1 square miles (10.6 km2) of which (7.10%) is water.

Hilo features a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen Af), with substantial rainfall throughout the course of the year. Hilo's location on the eastern side of the island of Hawaiʻi, (windward relative to the trade winds), makes it the fourth wettest designated city in the United States behind the southeast Alaskan cities of Whittier, Ketchikan and Yakutat and one of the wettest in the world. An average of around 126.72 inches (3,220 mm) of rain fell at Hilo International Airport annually between 1981 and 2010, with 275 days of the year receiving some rain.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilo,_Hawaii

[hotzcatz]

Well, an average year's rainfall in Hilo is about thirteen feet. It rains a bit in Hilo, now and then.

But, it's also possible to have a foot of rain fall in one day, so not every day in Hilo is rainy. It's also possible to have rain in the morning and then sun the rest of the day. Or sun first, rain at night. Or sun and rain at the same time. It's also a warm rain, so other than getting wet, there's no real misery to it.

There isn't a lot of difference in the rainfall through out the year, although it does rain a bit more in the fall and winter. I think it's about thirty some odd inches average per season in spring and summer and forty some odd in the fall and winter season. Or maybe it's the winter and spring that's rainier, it's hard to keep track of seasons around here.

Hilo has excellent drainage. It takes some serious rainfall before there's very many puddles in Hilo.

[leilaniguy]

Wow! 54 sq. miles of wetness! Amazing since the entire town is about 3 x 4 square miles, which is only 12 square miles. including including Kaumauna city, Puako and Wainaku, all suburban areas. They must be counting from Honoka'a to Keeau?

[Irish Eyes_Mrs. Z]

I'm not a local, and only visited for 2 weeks in February, but we were in Hilo, either passing through or visiting the city, itself, on about 10 of those days. It rained every single time we were there. Sometimes steady all day, sometimes showers, but I never saw a dry day, there (was never there at night). The plus side was that, unlike the Oregon coast where we live, all that rain was WARM. So even though we got soaked any time we got out of the car, there, at least it felt more like a warm shower than an ice bath :-).

[Arktikos]

Not enough to keep a lid on its population.

If you're not wealthy, or are interested in growing tropical plants (check both for me), then it's the part of Hawaii that's attractive.

After living there for awhile, I've concluded that the joke is on the rich, leeward side folks: Windward sections of the Hawaiian islands have the best climate in the world.

But then, I'm from that area of Alaska that ScottSeidlow identified as being wetter than Hilo.

A wet tropical climate is not comparable to a wet temperate climate though. Not at all.

Think about it: The constant gray skies and drizzle you can get in one Seattle month may add up 4, 5, 6 inches. You could get that in a two or three days/nights in Hilo, and have partly cloudy skies for the rest of the month. That's a gross exaggeration, and not typical of Hilo, but it makes the point.

Frequent showers are the norm for Hilo, with no dry season-as previously mentioned.

[whtviper1]

Originally Posted by Blind Cleric

Not enough to keep a lid on its population.

Well, something is certainly is inhibiting population growth in Hilo whether that be the rain, jobs, frogs, etc....

Since 1990, Hilo has grown roughly 14% while the Big Island has grown roughly 55%

[Arktikos]

Originally Posted by whtviper1

Well, something is certainly is inhibiting population growth in Hilo whether that be the rain, jobs, frogs, etc....

Since 1990, Hilo has grown roughly 14% while the Big Island has grown roughly 55%

Maybe Hilo's growth is confined by its boundaries, I don't know.

However, Puna grew 66% from 2000 to 2010, the fastest growing area of all Hawaii.
Or, so I have heard.