Kauai is the oldest and northernmost island in Hawai’i. Jurassic Park was filmed on Kauai, which receives more than 400 inches of rainfall annually on top of Kawaikini, the highest point on the island.
But it got more than 10% of that total in one day last week — 50 inches in 24 hours. The rain gauge in Hanalei broke at 28 inches within 24 hours. Later, the National Weather Service reported nearly 50 inches of rain fell in 24 hours.
This is the most severe rain event in Hawaii since records started being kept in 1905. We may keep debating whether climate change is real or not but it has already started effecting people all over the world.
Due to Climate Change the warmer atmosphere is holding more moisture and that builds up until it meets with cold dry air, creating this massive unstable system, which causes what some meteorologists are now referring to as a ‘rain bomb’.
People have been describing this latest storm as a 100-year-flood, but it’s more likely that the next one is just a few years off, given the reality of climate change.
“The flooding on Kauai is consistent with an extreme rainfall that comes with a warmer atmosphere. We need to recognize that we’re moving into a new climate, and our communities are scaled and built for a climate that no longer exists.”