Next month will mark a year of "extreme drought" conditions, and Hawaii has become the driest state in the nation, according to the National Weather Service.
Below-normal rainfall is expected for the remainder of the summer, the National Weather Service says.
Most of the state is ranked between abnormally dry (D-1) and exceptionally dry (D-4), the weather service said.
Hawaii was last drought-free April 15, 2008, according to a drought information statement issued yesterday. "The ongoing episode of extreme drought began nearly a year ago on July 27, 2009," the statement said.
Jim Weyman, metorologist-in-charge of the Honolulu Forecast Office, said, "Hawaii is the only location with D4 (exceptional drought) or D3 (extreme drought) at this time. We’re the driest location in the entire United States."
