Glenn James
Hawaii Weather Today
Founder and maintainer for 30 years 

 

The latest update to this website was at 406am Friday (HST)

 

Here are the latest 24-hour precipitation totals (inches) for each of the islands as of Thursday evening:

1.02  Mount Waialeale, Kauai
0.36  Tunnel RG, Oahu
0.15  Puu Alii, Molokai
0.00  Lanai
0.32  Puu Kukui, Maui
0.18  Kawainui Stream, Big Island

The following numbers represent the strongest wind gusts (mph) as of Thursday evening:

27  Port Allen, Kauai – ENE
27  Honolulu AP, Oahu – NE
27  Molokai AP, Molokai – NE
25  Lanai 1,  Lanai – NE
29  Kealia Pond, Maui – NE
27  Kealakomo, Big Island – NE

Hawaii’s Mountains – Here’s a link to the live webcams on the summit of our tallest mountain Mauna Kea (~13,800 feet high) on the Big Island of Hawaii, and atop the Haleakala Crater (~10,023 feet) on Maui. These webcams are available during the daylight hours here in the islands, and at night whenever there’s a big moon shining down. Also, at night you will be able to see the stars, and the sunrise and sunset too…depending upon weather conditions.

 

https://weather.gc.ca/data/satellite/goes_gwdisk11_1070_100.jpg

Big Blue…click twice for largest version

 

https://cdn.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/GOES18/ABI/SECTOR/tpw/13/GOES18-TPW-13-900x540.gif

The high clouds clipping the islands…a cold front far northwest

 

https://cdn.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/GOES18/ABI/SECTOR/hi/GEOCOLOR/20260930540-20260931330-GOES18-ABI-HI-GEOCOLOR-600x600.gif

Low clouds arriving along the windward sides / higher level clouds arriving from the west

 

https://radar.weather.gov/ridge/standard/HAWAII_loop.gif

https://radar.weather.gov/ridge/standard/PHKI_loop.gif

https://radar.weather.gov/ridge/standard/PHKM_loop.gif

  Showers locally 

 

Please open this link to see details on the current Watches, Warnings and Advisories noted above

~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~

 

Glenn’s Thursday comments:  I’m here in Corte Madera, Marin County, California on a working vacation.

512am Hawaii time, I’m here at my friend Linda’s house. It’s clear, with a 42.5 degree low. BTW, when I say Hawaii time, it is 3-hours later here in California.

428pm Hawaii time, it’s been a sunny day, with warm sunshine and yet slightly cool in the shade. Here at the time of this writing, it’s 57 degrees right after sunset.

613pm Hawaii time, it’s very clear with lots of bright shining stars this evening here in Marin County, and as such, the temperature is a cool 48.7 degrees. I’m guessing that we’ll slip down into the 30’s early Friday morning.

 

>>> Highest Temperature Thursday, April 2, 2026 – 99 degrees La Puerta, TX
>>> Lowest Temperature Friday, April 3, 2026 – 1 degree near Manila, UT

 

Hawaii’s Broad Brush Weather Overview…as of 346pm Thursday: Trade winds will be with us through the weekend. There will be the usual showers, mainly windward and mountains. Things start to change Monday as our low level flow will shift to southeasterly, then becoming southerly by Wednesday. Moisture will increase and the potential for heavy rain and flooding may return Tuesday night into Wednesday night, perhaps lasting several days.

 

>>> Please note: the latest models continue to show the potential for a heavy rain event beginning in the middle of next week extending into the weekend. A new round of flooding may occur if these models are accurate. Details (which island(s) may be hit hardest, exact timing, etc) are not available this far out, due to the reality of model accuracy in the tropics. Please stay aware of the evolving forecast because this system may become a serious problem.

Confidence is beginning to increase that an upper level trough will approach from the northwest, with an associated surface low and cold front developing and moving into the region beginning around the middle of next week. This is expected to bring unsettled conditions from mid- to late next week. Gusty southerly (kona) winds are possible with this system, bringing tropical moisture northward across the Hawaiian Islands. Should this scenario materialize, it would increase our chances for moderate to heavy rain, with flooding once again becoming a concern across the state.

The extent of any potential flooding threat will depend upon how the system evolves, and how quickly it moves through the region. Also note that this weather system, and its southerly winds, also coincide with the window for the next potential episode of the Kilauea eruption (April 6-14) provided by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

 

Weather Details for the Hawaiian Islands…as of 345pm Thursday: Radar and satellite show lots of high clouds passing quickly over the state, along with isolated mostly light showers, mainly over the Kona district on the Big Island. Winds were typical trades, out of the NE through ESE at most locations, averaging 10 to 15 mph with occasional gusts 20 to 25 mph.

In the short term, we continue to have a solid trade inversion set up around 5,500-6,500 feet. This, along with relatively dry air at low levels, will keep us mostly dry through the weekend. Early next week, the first of a potential series of upper level troughs will move by north of the state. This will shift low level winds around to SE and start to bring increased moisture from the south.

Tuesday into Wednesday, the moisture appears to increase enough to significantly raise the chance of moderate to heavy rain over the area, and winds may become southerly. There is still a good deal of model spread on how strong this next potential system will be, and how much rain may be headed our way. However, the potential for heavy rain and flooding is there, and this will be watched carefully. Confidence in the forecast will increase, as always, as we get closer in time. Please keep yourself updated through the weekend for the latest forecasts.

 

Here’s a near real-time Wind Profile of the Pacific Ocean – Zoom Earth – along with a Closer View of the islands / Vog map animation / 8-Day Precipitation model

https://www.weather.gov/images/hfo/graphics/npac.gif 

 

Hawaii’s Marine Environment…as of 345pm Thursday: Weakening high pressure north of the islands will shift eastward over the next few days, leading to a weakening of the trade winds into the moderate to fresh range. Winds begin to veer east to southeast early next week ahead of a front approaching from the northwest. A Small Craft Advisory remains in effect for the typically windier waters around Maui County and the Big Island through Friday morning. Periods of locally strong winds are possible for the windier waters through at least Saturday.

The short period northeast swell will continue a gradual decrease through the weekend as the northeast trade winds slowly diminish. As a result, surf along north- and east-facing shores surf will gradually decline through the rest of the week, but will still retain a little size and chop due to the moderate to locally breezy trades. A small, medium period northeast swell is also possible mid-next week.

North- and west-facing shore surf will remain small to tiny until the arrival of a small, medium-period west-northwest (310 degree) swell Friday night and a second small, medium-period northwest (340 degree) swell late Saturday. A small to moderate medium-period west- northwest swell looks to arrive early next week and fills in by mid- week. Along south facing shores, expect small reinforcements to provide periods of small surf through the weekend until a slightly larger long period south swell fills in early next week. However, veering local winds may lead to increasingly choppy conditions through the week.

 

May include: A paved road winds through a lush green tropical forest, leading towards a mountain range in the distance. The sky is blue with white clouds.



World-wide Tropical Cyclone Activity

 

Atlantic Ocean:  There are no active tropical cyclones

Caribbean Sea:  There are no active tropical cyclones

Gulf of America:  There are no active tropical cyclones

Here’s the link to the National Hurricane Center (NHC)

 

Northeastern Pacific:  There are no active tropical cyclones

Here’s the link to the National Hurricane Center (NHC)

North Central Pacific: There are no active tropical cyclones

Here’s the link to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC)

 

Northwest Pacific Ocean: There are no active tropical cyclones

Southwest Pacific Ocean:  There are no active tropical cyclones

North Indian Ocean:  There are no active tropical cyclones

South Indian Ocean: 

Tropical Cyclone 29S (Indusa)…is located approximately 335 NM south of Diego Garcia

https://www.metoc.navy.mil/jtwc/products/29S_021800sair.jpg

 

Arabian Sea:  There are no active tropical cyclones

Here’s a link to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC)

 

>>> Here’s a link to the Pacific Disaster Center’s (PDC Global) Weather Wall website

 

Interesting:  Studying Bird Flu in the Air to Protect People, Agricultural Operations in Michigan and Beyond

Discovering how the bird flu virus degrades in the air around livestock and how engineering solutions can effect that degradation quickly and efficiently are core aims of a new University of Michigan Engineering-led project funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This work could help prevent or mitigate future outbreaks.

Detection of bird flu infection within flocks and herds leads to the mass culling of animals, which disrupts food supply chains. The ongoing outbreak of HPAI H5N1 that began in 2022 in the U.S. has led to the loss of 175 million birds and, as of late 2024, has cost the industry roughly $1.4 billion.

The $2 million grant from the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service aims to answer two fundamental questions about bird flu:

Read more at: University of Michigan