The National Weather Service yesterday said that while persistent trades during March helped erase drought conditions for most windward areas of the state, leeward sides of the major islands received only limited amounts of rain and remain parched.

O'ahu is the only major island without any areas under a drought classification, the weather service's drought information statement said.

On other islands, the weather service listed:

• Exceptional drought conditions (classified as D4 on the U.S. drought monitor map) in South Kohala and extreme (D3) conditions for most of Ka'ū, North Kona and South Kona on the Big Island.

• Extreme conditions for the lower elevations of leeward Maui and the western third of Moloka'i, and severe (D2) conditions for Lāna'i.

• Moderate conditions (D1) for windward areas of Kaua'i.

The weather service said many pastures and general vegetation throughout Hawai'i remain in degraded states.

The weather service also noted that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Prediction Center says probabilities favor below-normal rainfall in Hawai'i through this spring.