| Waiʻaleʻale | |
|---|---|
Waiʻaleʻale (or 'Rippling Waters') Lake, the namesake of Mount Waiʻaleʻale. |
|
| Elevation | 5,066 ft (1,544 m) |
| Location | |
| Location | Kauai, Hawaii, United States |
Mount Waiʻaleʻale (pronounced [wɛiˈʔɐleˈʔɐle] in Hawaiian, literally, "rippling water" or "overflowing water" (Pukui, Elbert & Mookini 1974: 220) and also often spelt Waialeale in English without the ʻokina) at an elevation of 5,148 feet (1,569 m), is a shield volcano and the second highest point on the island of Kauaʻi in the Hawaiian Islands. Averaging more than 452 inches (11,500 mm) of rain a year since 1912, with a record 683 inches (17,300 mm) in 1982, its summit is one of the rainiest spots on earth.[1]
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The summit of Waiʻaleʻale features a tropical rainforest climate (Koppen Af), with substantial rainfall throughout the course of the year. (Bodin 1978: 272) quotes 11,684 millimetres (460.0 in) per year figure as being the 1912-45 average, an average that quite possibly will have changed since then, while The National Climatic Data Center quotes this figure as a 30 year average.[2] The Weather Network and The Guinness Book of Weather Records (Holford 1977: 240) quotes 11,455 millimetres (451.0 in) rain per year, while (Ahrens 2000: 528) quotes 11,680 millimetres (460 in, 12 m) as the average annual rainfall at Mount Waialeale and (Kroll 1995: 188) claims 13,000 millimetres (510 in) falls here. Similarly, The Weather Network and the Guinness Book of Weather Records quote 335 days with rain here while (Simons 1996: 303) suggests that rain falls on an incredible 360 days per year here.
The local tourist industry of Waialeale has promoted it as the wettest spot, although the 38-year average at Mawsynram, Meghalaya, India is higher at 467.4 inches (11,870 mm). Both Mawsynram and Cherrapunji in Meghalaya are recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as having higher average rainfall. Mawsynram's rainfall is concentrated in the monsoon season, while the rain at Waiʻaleʻale is more evenly distributed through the year.
| Climate data for Mount Waialeale | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 79.9 (26.6) |
81.2 (27.3) |
83.3 (28.5) |
79.6 (26.4) |
82.2 (27.9) |
81.8 (27.7) |
82.6 (28.1) |
83.1 (28.4) |
83.6 (28.7) |
83.4 (28.6) |
81.9 (27.7) |
81.1 (27.3) |
83.6 (28.7) |
| Average high °F (°C) | 77.9 (25.5) |
77.7 (25.4) |
77.6 (25.3) |
78.2 (25.7) |
79.3 (26.3) |
80.5 (26.9) |
81.1 (27.3) |
81.7 (27.6) |
81.0 (27.2) |
78.9 (26.1) |
77.4 (25.2) |
79.0 (26.1) |
79.19 (26.22) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 69.8 (21.0) |
70.2 (21.2) |
70.5 (21.4) |
70.8 (21.6) |
71.6 (22.0) |
72.8 (22.7) |
74.0 (23.3) |
74.4 (23.6) |
74.6 (23.7) |
74.2 (23.4) |
72.6 (22.6) |
70.8 (21.6) |
72.19 (22.33) |
| Average low °F (°C) | 61.7 (16.5) |
62.7 (17.1) |
63.4 (17.4) |
63.4 (17.4) |
63.9 (17.7) |
65.1 (18.4) |
66.9 (19.4) |
67.1 (19.5) |
68.2 (20.1) |
69.5 (20.8) |
67.8 (19.9) |
62.6 (17.0) |
65.19 (18.44) |
| Precipitation inches (mm) | 24.78 (629.4) |
24.63 (625.6) |
27.24 (691.9) |
47.24 (1199.9) |
28.34 (719.8) |
30.65 (778.5) |
35.87 (911.1) |
32.75 (831.9) |
24.14 (613.2) |
31.76 (806.7) |
36.33 (922.8) |
30.10 (764.5) |
373.83 (9,495.3) |
| Source no. 1: NOAA[3] | |||||||||||||
| Source no. 2: Weatherbase [4] | |||||||||||||
Several factors give the summit of Waiʻaleʻale more potential to create precipitation than the rest of the island chain:
The great rainfall in the area produces the Alakaʻi Wilderness Preserve, a large boggy area that is home to many rare plants. The ground is so wet that although trails exist, access by foot to the Waiʻaleʻale area is extremely difficult.
A number of rare local plant species are named for this mountain, including Astelia waialealae, Melicope waialealae, and the endemic Dubautia waialealae.[5]