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

 

The last update to this website was at 357am Thursday HST


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

1.00  Lihue AP, Kauai
0.21  Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu
0.05  Honolimaloo, Molokai
0.00  Lanai
0.73  Waikamoi Treeline, Maui
4.43  Honolii Stream, Big Island


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

27  Port Allen, Kauai – E 
24  Honolulu AP, Oahu – SE
27  Makapulapai, Molokai – ENE 
37  Lanai 1, Lanai – NE
43  Na Kula, Maui – E
32  Waikoloa 2, 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

Thunderstorms far south…cold front far northwest 

 

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 Higher level clouds moving by to the south

 

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 

 

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 Thursday comments:  I’m here at my friend Linda’s house in Corte Madera, Marin County, California, continuing on in my working vacation.

 

>>> Highest Temperature Wednesday, April 29, 2026 – 107 degrees at Rio Grande Village, TX
>>> Lowest Temperature Thursday, April 30, 2026 – 9 degrees at Peter Sinks, Utah

 

Hawaii’s Broad Brush Weather Overview…as of Thursday morning: Moderate to locally breezy trades will prevail for the next several days. Showers are expected across windward and mountain areas, with limited spillover into leeward locations.

A nearly stationary upper-level low northeast of the islands will enhance clouds and showers through Friday. By the weekend, the disturbance aloft is forecast to finally shift farther northeast away from the state. However, periods of windward and mountain showers will continue.

Weather Details for the Hawaiian Islands…as of Thursday morning: Moderate to locally breezy trade winds continue to prevail across the island chain, steered by two areas of high pressure centered north and northeast of the islands that are separated by a front that extends from southern Alaska to near 30N. An upper-level low northeast of the state is causing some local instability resulting in deeper clouds and some enhanced shower activity this morning particularly across windward and mauka locations with some showers reaching into leeward areas.

The aforementioned upper-level low will remain nearly stationary through Friday, which will continue the wet trade wind pattern. Showers will favor windward slopes of all islands, with some showers drifting into leeward areas. By this weekend, the upper- level low will finally exit the region. Periods of showers will continue to favor windward and mauka areas with only slight variations in day- to-day trade winds expected over this time frame.

By early next week, model guidance shows a shallow cold front and another upper-level trough approaching the islands from the northwest. At this time, it is uncertain how much moisture can be expected from this system.


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 Thursday: An area of high pressure, centered to our north, will slowly move east through Friday and generate widespread fresh to locally strong trade winds across the local waters. A Small Craft Advisory is currently in effect for the typical windy channels around Maui County and the Big Island. By this weekend, a front passing far north of the state will nudge the aforementioned high further east and allow trade winds to decrease to moderate to locally fresh.

The current small, northwest to north-northwest (320-330 degree), swell will slowly decline into Friday and produce small surf along north facing beaches. A North Pacific gale- force low will send a moderate, longer- period northwest swell toward the islands late Friday into Saturday and generate above average surf along north and west facing shores. Average H1/10 heights for north facing shores is 6 feet for the month of May (Goddard- Caldwell Database). However, surf heights should remain below advisory levels.

Surf along south-facing shores will remain small through the rest of this work week, with mainly background south to southwest swell expected. A small, long period, south-southwest pulse should arrive late Friday and give a bump up to south facing shores through this weekend.

Surf along east-facing shores will remain slightly elevated through Friday as trades remain fresh to locally strong. Trades will slowly weaken this weekend and allow surf along east-facing shores to lower.

 

 

Aulani resort has three infinity pools. Photo by Steve MacNaull


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:  There are no active tropical cyclones

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

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



Interesting:  The Colorado River Disappeared From the Geological Record for 5 Million Years. Scientists Now Know Where it Went

When drought grips the African savanna, an aging elephant matriarch leads her herd to water she remembers from decades past. In the cold Pacific, an older killer whale guides her pod to elusive salmon, sharing her catch when prey runs thin. And over the open ocean, a seasoned albatross traces vast, invisible routes it has refined over years, returning unerringly to feed its chick.

Across land, sea, and sky, these animals deploy memory, skill, and experience accumulated over long lives. So what happens when such older individuals are selectively removed through hunting, fishing, or other human pressures? Researchers say the loss may not be immediately visible, but it is profound: The knowledge that underpins population survival begins to disappear.

For decades, conservation has focused on numbers: how many animals remain in a population. But a growing body of research suggests this lens is too narrow, and that the loss of older animals can reshape populations in ways that simple counts fail to capture. “Not all individuals contribute equally,” says Keller Kopf, a senior lecturer at Charles Darwin University in Australia. “Older animals play roles that are often invisible in simple population counts.”

Read More at: University of California – Los Angeles