The statewide dry pattern that started in February continued through the first half of March.  A ridge of high pressure remained in place over, or just north of, the island chain resulting in light winds that allowed local land-sea breeze circulations to develop.  These local circulation patterns did not produce significant interior showers due to the very stable air mass over the region.The second half of March saw a shift to a wet pattern with the resumption of trade winds and troughing in the upper levels of the atmosphere.  Moderate to fresh, and occasionally strong, trades helped bring in showers on a daily basis.  The onset of rainfall also brought welcome relief to windward areas of the state that were dry since early February.  Upper level troughing was deep enough to help trigger thunderstorms over the island of Hawaii on 27 March, and over south Kauai on 29 March.  The thunderstorms over south Kauai brought enough rain to produce minor flooding.  These rains were followed by a late-season cold front that pushed across the island chain from Kauai to Maui on 31 March.  Rains associated with the front fell over some of the drought-stricken leeward areas around the state, but much more is needed to overcome substantial rainfall deficits that have been accumulating since as far back as 1997.Maui CountyOverall, most of Maui County remained in a drought condition, with most sites reporting well below average totals for both March and the year-to-date.  The cold front was able to bring much needed rainfall to portions of Upcountry Maui on 31 March, but these areas need much more rainfall to be considered back to normal.  For example, over the last 12 months, rainfall deficits at Ulupalakua Ranch have grown to the point where another 23 inches of rain would be needed to bring totals back to the average.  The highest totals for March were 2.84 inches at Pukalani (86 percent of average) and 2.79 inches at Waikapu Golf Course (87 percent of average).  For the Waikapu GC site, 2.75 inches of the monthly total fell on 31 March.Island of HawaiiMarch rainfall totals for the Big Island were within the range of 30 to 50 percent of average at 12 of 19 sites.  For the windward sites, a good portion of this rain occurred on 27 March in heavy showers and thunderstorms triggered by an upper-level trough near the isle.  Although the cold front failed to reach the Big Island, moist pre-frontal southeasterlies brought showers to the Puna and Kau areas, with the gage at Pahala recording 3.73 inches on 30 March.  The highest Big Island total for March was 9.28 inches at the Glenwood gage, though this amount was well below the average of 20.10 inches.The following list contains rainfall statistics for selected locations from Maui County and the island of Hawaii.  The first column is the observed rainfall for March.  The second column is the 30-year average for that location, while the third column lists the percent of average rainfall for the month.  The fourth and fifth columns are the year-to-date total and the year-to-date percent of average, respectively.                                                                                                                                                                   YTD                                       Mar 00                      Avg.                      %Avg.                  YTD                      %Avg.Maui Kahului                             0.34                      2.70                           13                     1.40                          14 Hana                                2.53                       9.50                          27                      9.47                          37 Kihei                                 0.05                      2.10                            2                       0.08                           1 Lahainaluna                     0.14                      2.40                             6                      0.30                           3 Wailuku                            0.96                      3.60                           27                      3.29                         26 Kula                                  0.87                      2.80                           31                      2.06                         18 Ulupalakua                       1.43                       4.00                          36                       2.09                        15Molokai Kaunakakai                      0.48                      1.80                           27                      1.18                        15Lanai Lanai City                        1.34                      3.70                            36                      2.33                        17Island of Hawaii Hilo Airport                       5.81                    13.90                           42                    24.20                        71 Pahala                             4.60                      6.30                           73                      6.71                          33 Honaunau                        2.22                      5.10                           44                      3.65                          30 Kamuela (Upper)             2.53                      6.70                           38                    12.88                         71 Glenwood                         9.28                    20.10                          46                     33.37                         63 Laupahoehoe                   5.00                    19.50                          26                     26.10                        56 Kamakoa                          0.22                     1.90                           12                       0.29                           4 Kapapala                          2.04                     7.00                           29                       4.25                         20The scarcity of rainfall for the third consecutive year has been taking a toll on farmers and ranchers, especially in those parts of Maui and the Big Island of Hawaii that were recently declared disaster areas.Macadamia nut growers complain that the drought has shortened the growing season by two months, while ranchers are suffering from a lack of feed for their livestock.  Costs have been rising for these groups as their incomes fall.One ranch owner said that the current drought is the worst one since the ranch started keeping rainfall records in 1925.  Also, with the lack of precipitation, irrigation systems are becoming more and more stressed.

Drought in LANAI, HAWAII
From 01-MAR-00 00:00:00 to 31-MAR-00 23:59:00 (HST)
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Drought in MAUI, HAWAII
From 01-MAR-00 00:00:00 to 31-MAR-00 23:59:00 (HST)
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Drought in MOLOKAI, HAWAII
From 01-MAR-00 00:00:00 to 31-MAR-00 23:59:00 (HST)
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Drought in SOUTH HAWAII INCLUDING KAU, HAWAII
From 01-MAR-00 00:00:00 to 31-MAR-00 23:59:00 (HST)
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Drought in WEST HAWAII INCLUDING LEEWARD KOHALA AND KONA, HAWAII
From 01-MAR-00 00:00:00 to 31-MAR-00 23:59:00 (HST)
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.