In the
Hawaiian language,
kona means
leeward or dry side of the island, as opposed to
ko‘olau which means
windward or the wet side of the island. In the times of
Ancient Hawaiʻi,
Kona was the name of the leeward district on each major island. In Hawai‘i, the Pacific
anticyclone provides moist prevailing northeasterly winds to the Hawaiian islands, resulting in
rain when the winds contact the windward landmass of the islands – the winds subsequently lose their moisture and travel on to the leeward (or
kona) side of the island. When this pattern reverses, it can produce a
Kona storm from the west.
Kona has
cognates with the same meaning in other
Polynesian languages. In Tongan, the equivalent cognate would be
tonga; for windward, the associated cognate would be
tokelau. Kona is the home of the
Ironman World Championship Triathlon, Kona is the home of one of the main bases of the international Christian mission organization
YWAM, and the
University of the Nations, first founded there. == In popular culture ==