The latest update to this website was at 418pm Thursday (HST)

 

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

0.32  N Wailua Ditch, Kauai
0.29  Punaluu Pump, Oahu
0.31  Honolimaloo, Molokai
0.05  Lanai 1, Lanai
0.31  Hana AP, Maui
0.80  Kaiholena, Big Island 

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

20  Barking Sands, Kauai – SE
15  Palehua, Oahu – E
08  Honolimaloo, Molokai – SE 
09  Lanai 1,  Lanai – SE
14  Nene Nest, Maui – SW
18  Moana Loa Obs, Big Island

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

Variable clouds over the state 

 

https://www.weather.gov/images/hfo/satellite/Hawaii_IR_loop.gif

Considerable cloudiness continues to arrive 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…some are heavy

 

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 home in upper Kula, Maui

518am Thursday morning, it’s still calm, variably cloudy skies here at my place, with the low temperature 55.5 degrees, along with the relative humidity 80%.

813am, cloudy with the first shower of the day here at my place…which fell from the middle level clouds…as the tops of both the West Maui Mountains, and the summit of the Haleakala Crater are below the cloud bases.

140pm, I played pickleball in Makawao this morning, which was very fun, despite the crowd. I certainly cloudy here on Maui, and I just had a brief light shower here at my place.

230pm, cloudy/foggy with light rain here in upper Kula. The temperature has dropped to 65.4 degrees…with the relative humidity 75%

420pm, dense fog with a light shower, temperature here at my place 63.5 degrees

Here we go again, as yet another prolonged wet pattern is forecast to continue through the upcoming weekend across the state. Be prepared, but have heart…as there does appear to be some proverbial “light at the end of the tunnel” for Hawaii next week.

 

>>> Highest Temperature Thursday, March 19, 2026 – 110 degrees near Martinez Lake, AZ
>>> Lowest Temperature Thursday, March 19, 2026 – 1 degree at Mount Washington, NH

 

… Flood watch tonight 6pm through Sunday.
… Initial band tracks west to east this afternoon to Friday, followed by an intensification Friday night-Saturday night (peak of event).
… Highest rain likely focused on Oahu, Maui County and Big Island.
… While this storm may not be as strong as last week’s kona low, individual areas may be impacted differently than last week.
… Ground is saturated and requires less rain to produce flooding.
… No Molokai radar through at least Tuesday.

 

Hawaii’s Broad Brush Weather Overview…as of 301pm Thursday: A kona low system will move in from the west today, expect increasing showers and thunderstorms with southerly winds affecting each island starting tonight, and lasting through the weekend. The threats for heavy rain and thunderstorms will become widespread, with each island affected by pulses of showers through the event, as multiple surface lows pass just north of the island chain.

A combination of low level forcing and passing upper level troughs will drive the smaller scale heavy rain band and thunderstorm formation. Improving weather trends will develop from west to east on Monday, as we transition to a wet trade wind weather pattern lasting through the end of next week.

Short Term Update…as of 301pm:  Weak ascent within SW moist mid-level flow has supported waves of elevated light/moderate stratiform rainfall across the state today. At the same time, southeast surface layer flow wrapping around the Big Island has steered heavier showers over Kauai, Oahu, and the western portion of Maui County. Maui itself appears to be shadowed within this pattern of low-level SE flow. Rainfall amounts generally around a quarter of an inch for Oahu and one half to one inch for Kauai.

For tonight into Friday, there is an usual high uncertainty for such a short lead time. As upstream low pressure slowly evolves, boundary layer flow will veer to a more S/SW direction, allowing showers to spread over Maui this evening. Surface convergence then likely results in an increasingly organized band of moderate to heavy showers that could be a persistent feature through much or all of Friday. However, the weak nature of the surface low is causing models to contend with surface pressure falls resulting from downstream convection.

This in turns leads to radically different low-level flow model solutions during the next 24 hours, in an environment in which identifying low-level convergence is crucial. The EC model allows a secondary low to form downstream due to convective influences and attendant surface convergence, supporting persistent convection over Maui County as soon as 8pm this evening. The GFS model maintains a more persistent and weak parent low and convergence takes more time to develop, but when it does it sets up over Kauai Friday. The HRRR model focuses convection directly over Oahu through tonight.

We see a well defined surface convergence about 320 miles west of Kauai. Among all the guidance, including the HRRR, only the UKMet model appears to handle the current situation adequately. As it happens, it is also the only model to not develop secondary low pressure centers due to convection. It has been, and remains, the preferred guidance for this kona low through at least the next 24-48 hours.

Gentle ascent within moist SW flow will maintain shallow convective showers from Kauai through Maui tonight, while convergence very slowly becomes established upstream. By early Friday, the UKMet model indicates organizing convergence approaching Kauai, supporting increased potential for organized heavy rainfall there during the day. By Friday night, large scale forcing begins to ramp up allowing heavy showers to become increasingly widespread from Kauai through Oahu and part or all of Maui County.

The progressive nature of the forcing field means the increase in intensity will coincide with increasing forward motion of the heavy rain band, which helps mitigate a greater flash flooding threat. The UK model then clears Kauai on Saturday night and Oahu by Sunday morning. Heavy rain then focuses over Maui County and the Big Island on Sunday, the Big Island being the last in line to receive heavy rainfall. By late Sunday, the band is likely ushered south.

Breezy trades return on Monday or Monday night. With the remnant moisture band still in place over the eastern end of the state, enhanced showers are likely over windward Big Island and/or windward Maui Monday night into Tuesday.

 

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 301pm Thursday: Light to moderate southeast winds will strengthen tonight as surface low pressure roughly 300 nm west of Kauai and an associated front stretching north of the state deepen. Moderate to locally fresh south to southwest winds will prevail Friday and Saturday, and periods of heavy showers and thunderstorms are expected. The low will lift to the north of the state on Sunday, likely allowing moderate northerly winds and lower chances for rainfall to develop around Kauai. On Monday, high pressure building north of the state will push a surface trough eastward over the islands. Fresh to strong northeast winds will require a Small Craft Advisory (SCA) over most waters, though variable winds could linger around the Big Island through the day. Fresh to potentially strong trade winds will persist on Tuesday.

A small, medium period north swell continues a slow decline. Nearshore PacIOOS buoys show the swell from 345-360 degrees at around 4 feet 12 seconds. The swell will drop slightly as it shifts out of the north-northeast Friday. A moderate reinforcing north-northeast swell is due Saturday and Sunday, and a small, overlapping west-northwest swell is expected to arrive late Saturday and hold into Monday. Early next week, a potentially larger pulse of medium period north-northeast swell could produce surf near the High Surf Advisory level and contribute to the need for a SCA.

Aside from areas exposed to wrapping north swell, surf along east facing shores will remain well below average through the weekend. As northeast trade winds develop early next week, rough surf will return to east facing shores, and some areas exposed to the north-northeast swell may approach the advisory level.

The south swell that produced surf around the High Surf Advisory level yesterday is on a gradual decline. The PacIOOS buoy off of Lanai shows that the swell is down, with a further slow decline expected Friday. As this swell fades, a small south-southwest swell will arrive this weekend, then decline Monday. Smaller surf is expected along south facing shores through the remainder of the week.

 

12 Things to Do in Oahu When It Rains - Real Hawaii Tours



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

 

Northeastern Pacific:  There are no active tropical cyclones

North Central Pacific: There are no active tropical cyclones

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

 

Northwest Pacific Ocean: There are no active tropical cyclones

 

Southwest Pacific Ocean: 

Tropical Cyclone 27P (Narelle)…is located approximately 213 NM north-northwest of Cairns, Australia

https://www.metoc.navy.mil/jtwc/products/27P_191800sair.jpg

 

North Indian Ocean:  There are no active tropical cyclones

South Indian Ocean:  There are no active tropical cyclones

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:  What are El Niño and La Niña, and how do they change the weather?

Getty Images A woman drinks water on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, during a heatwave. She is wearing a black vest top and a light brown cap. Palm trees are visible in the background.

El Niño and La Niña are the two opposite states of a natural climate phenomenon called the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO).

El Niño and La Niña occur in the Pacific but can affect weather systems across the world.

The two states are often identified by sea surface temperatures in the tropical eastern and central Pacific Ocean. During El Niño, these waters are warmer; during La Niña, they are cooler.

The phases can also be distinguished by differences in atmospheric pressure. During El Niño, pressure is above normal at Darwin, Australia (western Pacific) and below normal at Tahiti, French Polynesia (central Pacific). For La Niña, the opposite is true.

In “neutral” conditions – neither El Niño nor La Niña – surface water in the Pacific Ocean is cooler in the east and warmer in the west.

Trade winds tend to blow east-to-west, and heat from the Sun progressively warms the waters as they move in this direction.

During El Niño, these winds weaken or reverse, sending warm surface waters eastwards instead.

In La Niña periods, the normal east-to-west winds become stronger, pushing warmer waters further west.

This causes cold water to rise up – or “upwell” – from the depths of the ocean, meaning sea surface temperatures are cooler than usual in the east Pacific.

The phenomenon was first observed by Peruvian fisherman in the 1600’s, who noticed that warm waters seemed to peak near the Americas in December.

They nicknamed it “El Niño de Navidad” – Christ Child in Spanish.

Read more…BBC