Glenn James
Hawaii Weather Today
Founder and maintainer for 30 years


The latest update to this website was at 4pm Wednesday


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

0.10  Waiahi RG, Kauai
1.43  Hawaii Kai GC, Oahu
0.87  Puu Alii, Molokai
0.63  Lanai City, Lanai
7.47  Hana AP, Maui
16.56  Kealakomo, Big Island!


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

09  Lawai, Kauai – NNE
12  Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu – SSE
15  Makaena, Molokai – ESE
20  Lanai 1,  Lanai – SE
17  Kula 1, Maui – SSE
18  Kealakomo, 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

 

https://cdn.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/GOES18/ABI/SECTOR/tpw/13/GOES18-TPW-13-900x540.gif
A deepening area of low pressure northwest


https://cdn.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/GOES18/ABI/SECTOR/hi/GEOCOLOR/20260981540-20260982330-GOES18-ABI-HI-GEOCOLOR-600x600.gif

Multi-level clouds

 

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…some heavy

 

https://www.weather.gov/wwamap/png/hfo.png

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




~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~

 

Glenn’s Wednesday comments:  I’m here in Bend, Oregon on a working vacation.

332am Hawaii time, I’m here at my friend Bob’s house. It’s clear with high cirrus clouds, with a 36degree low. BTW, when I say Hawaii time, it is 3-hours later here in Oregon.

1257pm Hawaii time, Walked over to the Commons and I had another dirty Chai, which is cup of Chai with a shot of espresso mixed in. We then walked over to our favorite lunch time cafe, Active Culture, and I had a big salad with a potato leek big cup of soup.

345pm Hawaii time, We just got back from our final walk of the day, and are about to start cooking our dinner, which hopefully will be enough to have the leftovers for your lunch on the road tomorrow.

Bob and I have this last full day here in Bend, before we drive up to Vancouver, BC, Canada tomorrow. We rented a place there for a week, and apparently it has a great view of the surrounding area…I’m sure it will be big fun to visit there!

 

>>> Highest Temperature Wednesday, April 8, 2026 – 101 degrees near Tecopa, CA
>>> Lowest Temperature Wednesday, April 8, 2026 – minus 2 degrees at Mount Washington, NH

 

Hawaii’s Broad Brush Weather Overview…as of 3pm Wednesday: Low pressure west of the islands will draw tropical moisture northward leading to periods of heavy rainfall, thunderstorms, and an increased flash flooding risk. Strong and gusty south to southeasterly winds are also expected Thursday and Thursday night. Unsettled conditions linger into next week.

Weather Details for the Hawaiian Islands…as of 3pm Wednesday: Notable moisture gradient in place over the islands as precipitable water values at Hilo sounding hover around 2″, while Lihue is closer to 1″. Southerly flow aloft will lift this moisture across the remainder of the forecast area tonight. At press time, imagery shows a potent mid-latitude shortwave low anchoring the base of a trough that extends NE toward Alaska. Pressure falls in advance of this feature have allowed a trough to develop west of the islands, causing winds across the state to veer to SE. As tonight progresses, a slug of moisture will lift through the area, bringing widespread showers, some of which will be heavy.

At the same time, a deep, mature frontal system develops, resulting in increasing intensification of showers and thunderstorms west of Kauai during the day Thursday. As the upper low advances east, this line of intense rainfall will sweep eastward reaching Kauai late Thursday evening, Oahu early Friday, and then Maui County and the Big Island during the second half of Friday. Southwesterly moisture aloft combined with onshore flow in the lower levels, may also prove favorable for persistent heavy rainfall over the SE slopes of the Big Island on Friday.

Confidence in intense and significant rainfall capable of producing considerable flash flooding increases with westward extent, meaning it is the highest for Kauai. Cyclonic flow aloft looks to barely squeak in over the middle of the state, suggesting moderate-high confidence for Oahu and then decreasing confidence for Maui County and the Big Island. Going forward, the moisture band left behind by this system will gradually become less active Friday night through Saturday, as upper ridging builds overhead and subsidence increases.

On Sunday, the southern periphery of another mid-latitude wave will graze the area. It appears increasingly likely that a band of moderate to heavy rain will develop over the islands late Sunday into Monday. Heavy rain potentially necessitating a Flood Watch for a portion of the island chain is not out of the question during this time period.

The High Wind Watch for favored portions of Kauai and Oahu will remain in place as downsloping potential over less traditional downslope-prone areas remains unchanged. The watch will be converted to High Wind Warning or a Wind Advisory tonight. The Flood Watch remains upgraded one category to “considerable” mainly due to expectations for particularly heavy rainfall within the eastward-advancing frontal rain band late Thursday through Friday. As noted above, confidence decreases further eastward.

The Winter Wx Advisory for the Big Island summits remains a bit tenuous, as expected, but remains in decent shape for now. A Wind Advisory has been issued for the Big Island Summits and Haleakala Summit on Maui beginning Thursday afternoon.

 

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/


Marine Environmental Conditions: South to southeast winds are expected to steadily increase into Thursday, as a low pressure system develops just west of the state. A Small Craft Advisory (SCA) is now in effect for the waters around the Big Island, and the SCA will expand in coverage as the winds continue to strengthen. Showers, some locally heavy, will be possible through Friday as a result of the southerly winds bringing tropical moisture to the north over the islands.

As the low pressure system further deepens Thursday into Friday, we will likely see a greater coverage of thunderstorms and winds are expected to increase to gale force across many coastal waters. A Gale Watch has been issued starting Thursday for the waters around Kauai and Oahu. Depending on how the low pressure system evolves, Gale force winds could be possible across all Hawaiian Waters around Thursday night. Very rough boating conditions are expected late Thursday into Friday as seas quickly rise in response to the strong to gale force southerly winds.

The current south-southwest swell continued to fill in, and should continue to fill in a bit more, then slowly drop tonight through the rest of the week. A High Surf Advisory has is in effect for all south facing shores of the Hawaiian Islands through tonight.

Along north facing shores, a new moderate long-period northwest (310-320 degree) swell continues to fill in and will steadily rise. This swell should peak just below advisory thresholds. A smaller short-period northwest swell is expected over the weekend into early next week.

As the long-period south swell declines on Thursday, strong to gale force southerly winds are expected to develop on Thursday and strengthen even further Thursday night into Friday. This increase of southerly winds will bring a rapid increase of short-period energy Thursday into Friday and will once again bring surf heights above the advisory thresholds for south facing shores. Large disorganized surf is expected along many south facing shores Thursday into Friday.

Surf along east facing shores could see an increase later this week due to the strengthening southeasterly winds especially for southeast exposures.

 

Hilo Weather

 Inclement weather on tap


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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

 

>>> Northwest Pacific Ocean:

Tropical Cyclone 04W…is located approximately 73 NM north of Chuck

https://www.metoc.navy.mil/jtwc/products/04W_090000sair.jpg

>>> Southwest Pacific Ocean:

Tropical Cyclone 30P (Maila)…is located approximately 584 NM south of Kapingamarangi

https://www.metoc.navy.mil/jtwc/products/30P_081200sair.jpg

 

Tropical Cyclone 31P (Vaianu)…is located approximately 438 NM south of Suva, Fiji

https://www.metoc.navy.mil/jtwc/products/31P_081800sair.jpg

 

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



Interesting: New Study Shows Rapid Hormonal Rise in Honey Bees Due to Heat Shock is Mitigated by Social Conditions

A recent study shows that heat causes a sharp hormonal spike in isolated honey bees, but social interactions and a key pheromone help prevent this stress response, revealing how bees stay resilient in a warming world.

Heat can change a honey bee’s hormone levels, but only if the bee is alone. New research from MSU entomologist Zachary Huang shows that isolated honey bees experience a rapid hormonal rise when exposed to high temperatures, while bees kept in groups stay stable. The discovery highlights how social conditions and chemical signals shape bees’ ability to withstand environmental stress.

To test this, Huang and collaborator Thomas Rachman, a high school student when the experiments were conducted, exposed bees to one hour of heat at 40°C. They compared the effects of heat on solitary bees and on groups of 25, measuring how much juvenile hormone (JH) each produced under the same conditions. Juvenile hormones are present in all insects and are named for their role in keeping larvae “juvenile,” preventing them from molting into adults. In adult honey bees, however, JH plays another role. It also helps pace behavioral shifts, with nurse bees showing lower levels of the hormone and foragers showing the highest levels.

Read More at: Michigan State University