PlainHazard

Hawaii drought

Every recorded drought record since 1996 · 4 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 1,685 drought records in Hawaii from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 77 a year since 2000. The costliest was the August 1, 2025 drought ($1.0 million in 2025 dollars). Hawaii ranks 15th of 51 states and territories by count and 1st of 50 per square mile.

Drought in Hawaii, 1996 to 2026

Drought records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.

  • recorded, no damage figure
  • under $1 million
  • $1 million or more
  • $10 million or more
  • $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
  • $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
  • a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
  • a year with a death
Records
1,6851996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000
77average
Deaths
00 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
$2.2Mas filed
Busiest year
2022240 records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.

Are drought records common in Hawaii?

Hawaii averages about 77 drought records a year since 2000, 15th of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2022 (240). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Hawaii records 2624 drought records since 1996, 1st of 50 states and territories by that measure.

  1. 1. Hawaii 2624
  2. 2. New Jersey 1205
  3. 3. Delaware 1062
  4. 4. Oklahoma 971
  5. 5. Georgia 900
  6. 6. Texas 711
  7. 7. New Mexico 528
  8. 8. Alabama 527
  9. 9. Tennessee 477
  10. 10. Iowa 466

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.

Which counties in Hawaii have the most drought records?

Per square mile, Kauai County leads Hawaii: 94 days with a drought record since 1996, 151.7 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Maui County has the most drought records (798 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).

  1. Kauai County 151.7 (161)
  2. Maui County 151.5 (798)
  3. Honolulu County 148.1 (219)
  4. Hawaii County 41.7 (468)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.

When is drought season in Hawaii?

Hawaii's drought records by month. The busiest month is October (201 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 95 · Feb 81 · Mar 111 · Apr 107 · May 103 · Jun 133 · Jul 161 · Aug 168 · Sep 192 · Oct 201 · Nov 187 · Dec 146 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.

The costliest drought records in Hawaii

Hawaii: the most damaging storms since 1993, 2025 dollars
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2025-08-01 DroughtHawaii County · forecast zone Big Island Interior 0 0 $1.0M
2025-07-01 DroughtHawaii County · forecast zone Big Island Interior 0 0 $1.0M

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.

Are drought records becoming more frequent in Hawaii?

Hawaii's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.

Drought: Hawaii and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
DecadeHawaiiUnited StatesHawaii's share
1996-99685,6001.2%
2000s24118,5711.3%
2010s66631,4412.1%
2020-2671030,1472.4%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent drought records in Hawaii

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-01-01 DroughtHawaii County · forecast zone Big Island North 0 0 –
2026-01-01 DroughtMaui County · forecast zone Maui Central Valley South 0 0 –
2026-01-01 DroughtMaui County · forecast zone Molokai West 0 0 –
2025-12-01 DroughtHawaii County · forecast zone Big Island Southeast 0 0 –
2025-12-01 DroughtHawaii County · forecast zone Big Island Interior 0 0 –
2025-12-01 DroughtMaui County · forecast zone Molokai West 0 0 –
2025-12-01 DroughtMaui County · forecast zone Maui Central Valley South 0 0 –
2025-12-01 DroughtMaui County · forecast zone Maui Leeward West 0 0 –
2025-12-01 DroughtMaui County · forecast zone Maui Central Valley North 0 0 –
2025-12-01 DroughtHawaii County · forecast zone Big Island North 0 0 –
2025-11-01 DroughtMaui County · forecast zone Molokai Southeast 0 0 –
2025-11-01 DroughtMaui County · forecast zone Molokai North 0 0 –

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.

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