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For Lihue, May has been a wild month of record-breaking heat, followed by unusually heavy dry-season rain Saturday.
The high temperature broke or tied the record for that particular date five times — numbers that in most cases had stood for more than a decade, and in one instance more than 60 years.
On May 2 the high of 86 degrees broke the old record of 85, set last year, the National Weather Service said.
On May 4 the high of 84 degrees tied the old record, also set last year.
On May 5 the high of 84 tied the old record, set in 1961.
On May 19 the high of 84 tied the old record, set in 2005.
On May 23 the mercury hit 85 degrees, tying the record set in 2004.
Meanwhile, the Lihue rain gauge recorded 0.66 inch on Saturday, more than double the old record of 0.31 set in 1955.
Hilo and Honolulu also set or tied high-temperature records in May, but so far only on one day each.
HAWAII ISLAND
Man’s body found floating at cataract in North Kohala
Big Island firefighters recovered the body of a man floating in a natural pool at the bottom of a large waterfall in North Kohala.
Shortly before 11 a.m. Sunday, firefighters responded to a report of a partially decomposed body floating in a pool at the bottom of a waterfall near the coastline south of Honopue Valley. The Hawaii County Fire Department said kayakers found the body and called 911.
Firefighters recovered the body from the scene. Police also arrived to investigate.
Opihi picker stuck on cliff airlifted by rescue helicopter
A Hawaii island opihi picker escaped injury after being stranded on a steep cliff above an area of rugged coastline on the north side of Kawainui Stream.
The man was reported missing at 3 p.m. Saturday after he went missing while rappelling down the cliff to pick opihi.
Hawaii County Fire Department dispatched seven companies staffed with 15 personnel.
A helicopter crew located the man and used a rescue net to safely transport him to a designated landing area.
Skydiver brought to hospital after hitting ground too hard
A skydiver suffered multiple serious injuries in a hard landing on a vacant lot near Upolu Airport in Kohala on Sunday.
Hawaii County Fire Department personnel responding to an 11 a.m. call found the 41-year-old man being attended to by several bystanders.
A skydiving instructor at the scene said the man might have had a malfunction with his parachute.
The man was transported via helicopter to North Hawaii Community Hospital in critical condition with “multi-system trauma injuries,”according to a Fire Department report.
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