Glenn James
Hawaii Weather Today
Creator, Author, and Administrator for 30 years

 

The latest update to this website was Tuesday morning at 1225pm HST


Here are the latest 24-hour precipitation totals (inches) for each of the islands Tuesday afternoon:

9.79  Mount Waialeale, Kauai
0.99  Moanalua RG, Oahu
0.17  Puu Alii, Molokai
0.00  Lanai
1.34  Puu Kukui, Maui
2.24  Spencer, Big Island


The following numbers represent the strongest wind gusts (mph) Tuesday afternoon:

17  Lawai, Kauai – NE
27  Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu – ESE
30  Makapulapai, Molokai – E 
27  Lanai 1, Lanai – NE
32  Na Kula, Maui – ESE
28  South Point, Big Island – NE


Hawaii’s Mountains – Here’s a link to the live webcam on the summit of our tallest mountain Mauna Kea (~13,800 feet high) on the Big Island of Hawaii. Here’s the webcam for the (~10,023 feet high) Haleakala Crater 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

 

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Thunderstorms in the deeper tropics…cold front far northwest 

 

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Variably cloudy, with a mix of low and high level clouds 

 

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Localized showers

 

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




~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~

 

Glenn’s Tuesday comments:  I’m at home here in upper Kula, Maui, Hawaii

It’s mostly clear with low clouds around locally here in Maui County, with calm winds at my place, with a low of 53.5 degrees and the relative humidity is 85%


>>> Highest Temperature Monday, May 18, 2026 – 109 degrees at Rio Grande Village, TX
>>> Lowest Temperature Tuesday, May 19, 2026 – 5 degrees at Peter Sinks, UT

 

Hawaii’s Broad Brush Weather Overview…as of Tuesday afternoon: An unstable and somewhat wet trade wind pattern will continue through tonight, with brief downpours possible. From Wednesday into early next week, an area of high pressure north of the islands will push drier air into the region. Trades are expected to become windy by Thursday and Friday, then will gradually ease back to locally breezy levels this weekend.

Short Term Update…as of Tuesday afternoon: Isolated showers were moving west over mainly windward and mountain areas, and skies were partly to mostly cloudy over most of the state. Winds were averaging 5 to 15 mph with a few higher gusts in the usual windy spots. Look for a few moderate to briefly heavy showers this afternoon, but probably not as heavy as yesterday as moisture is a little less today.

Weather Details for the Hawaiian Islands…as of Tuesday afternoon: Local radar imagery shows just a few light scattered showers moving into the islands, on locally breezy easterly trade wind flow. Similar to yesterday, the heavier showers that occurred at select spots quickly diminished during the late afternoon and evening, leaving only light, isolated showers favoring windward areas overnight.

Regional satellite imagery early this morning does show a few bands of moisture upstream of the state, however, and although moisture content has decreased from the previous couple of days, the early morning 12z soundings from Lihue and Hilo still show ample precipitable water available to help in the production of potential showers here and there.

Drier air is forecast to arrive from tonight into Wednesday night, as high pressure north of the state strengthens. In the meantime, expect a relatively wet trade wind weather pattern to continue, with moderate to briefly heavy rain from showers that will generally favor windward and mountain areas, as well as the Kona slopes of the Big Island during the afternoon.

From late Wednesday onward, precipitable water values are anticipated to decrease back down to around 1 inch, and this drier air will persist into next week. Increased stability and stronger trade winds are expected by Thursday. Latest model guidance remains in good agreement with the high to our north strengthening, which should result in windy conditions across our area. Winds could potentially reach Wind Advisory levels Thursday into Friday for some areas, then decreasing back to locally breezy levels during the second half of the weekend.


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


Here’s a near real-time Wind Profile of the Pacific Ocean – along with a Closer View of the islands / Here’s the latest Weather Map / Looping Surface Precipitation…through the next 8-days / Vog Map

 

Marine Environmental Conditions…as of Tuesday afternoon: The pressure gradient back from a surface high centered about 1,400 nautical miles northeast of the islands, remains tight enough to support moderate to locally fresh trades the next couple of days. The high will expand and strengthen through mid to late week. The resultant very tight gradient back across the Central Pacific will produce fresh to locally strong to near gale force nearshore winds during the later half of the week. A Small Craft Advisory (SCA) is currently in effect over the windier waters surrounding Maui County and Big Island. The SCA will likely be expanded in area later this week, to account for more area wide strengthened trades.

A small size, short to medium period, north-northwest swell is expected to fill in through the day. A gale low skirting the Aleutian Islands of Alaska the next couple of days, will send the tail ends of small north-northwest swells through late this week.

A series of small, long period, south-southwest swells will provide near summer average size surf along south-facing shores throughout the week. Strengthening trades later this week will keep short period, elevated eastern wind wave chop alive well into the weekend.

 

Poipu Beach Kauai


World-wide Tropical Cyclone Activity


>>> Here’s a link to the latest Pacific Disaster Center’s Weather Wall


>>> Atlantic Ocean: There are no active tropical cyclones

Tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 7 days.

>>> Caribbean Sea: There are no active tropical cyclones

Tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 7 days.

>>> Gulf of America: There are no active tropical cyclones

Tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 7 days.

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

 

>>> Eastern Pacific: There are no active tropical cyclones

Tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 7 days.

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

 

>>> Central Pacific: There are no active tropical cyclones

Routine issuance of the Tropical Weather Outlook will begin on June 1, 2026.

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

 

>>> Northwest Pacific Ocean:  There are no active tropical cyclone

>>> Southwest Pacific Ocean: There are no active tropical cyclones

>>> North and South Indian Oceans / Arabian Sea: There are no active tropical cyclones

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



Interesting:  Warmer Waters Bring Great White Sharks to Southern California

Southern California has seen a spike in great white shark sightings amid a spate of unseasonably warm spring weather. Experts expect to see more unusual heat, and more sharks, in the months ahead.

Weather forecasters expect a warming El Niño to shape over the summer, and according to some experts, it may be one of the strongest ever recorded.

“The last time we had a strong El Niño was in 2015 and 2016, and we had a lot of juvenile white sharks hanging around early,” Chris Lowe, head of the Shark Lab at Cal State University, Long Beach, told the Los Angeles Times. “So I’m expecting this year to be a sharky summer.”

Read More: Yale Environment 360