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

 

The latest update to this website was at 505pm Friday evening HST


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

0.57  Mount Waialeale, Kauai
0.42  Kaala, Oahu
0.26  Puu Alii, Molokai
0.00  Lanai
1.29  West Wailuaiki, Maui
0.83  Kawainui Stream, Big Island


The following numbers represent the strongest wind gusts (mph) Friday evening:

31  Port Allen, Kauai – E
36  Kuaokala, Oahu – NE
30  Molokai AP, Molokai – NE
m   Lanai – missing
37  Na Kula, Maui – ESE
38  Lalamilo, Big Island – NE


Hawaii’s MountainsHere’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.


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Big Blue…click twice for largest version

 

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Category 5 major Hurricane Lowell south of Lihue, Hawaii…with Category 1 Hurricane Karina well to the east…and Category 2 Hurricane Marie spinning away from the Mexican coast

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Variable low clouds across the state 

 

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Category 5 Hurricane Lowell 

 

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Localized showers 

 

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




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Hawaii Weather Narrative
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Glenn’s Aloha Friday comments:  I’m at home here in upper Kula, Maui, Hawaii

546am, it’s mostly clear here at my place here in Kula with a low temperature of 53 degrees, and the relative humidity is 67%…with calm winds

 

Interesting Weather Web blog: Mauka ShowersMajor Hurricane Lowell – Waiting for That Turn

 

We continue to be in the heart of our hurricane season, so that we need to keep our eyes peeled for systems taking aim on our Hawaiian Islands through the next three months…through the end of November.

This first TC is Major Category 5 Hurricane Lowell, with the current forecast track showing Lowell staying to the south of the islands, although the models show the system taking a hard turn towards the north just after passing Hawaii. The other system, Category 1 Hurricane Karina, should move by to the northeast and north.


Hurricane Lowell

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Hurricane Karina

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Hawaii’s Weather Highlights…as of Friday evening: Expect decreasing wind speeds Saturday and Sunday, as a low pressure trough moving into the Central Pacific basin weakens the ridge north of the state. Periods of showers will favor windward and mountain areas, with brief passing showers over leeward areas.

Monday, Hurricane Lowell is forecast to move close to Kauai County Monday night. It is expected to remain a major hurricane through Monday morning, then weaken as it moves north toward and then past the state. Weather impacts such as high surf and heavy rain are forecast to extend hundreds of miles from the center of Hurricane Lowell, potentially impacting each of the islands

Weather Narrative..as of Friday evening: Radar and satellite show isolated trade showers moving across windward and mauka areas of each island this afternoon, along with mostly sunny skies leeward and partly to mostly cloudy skies windward. Winds were breezy, averaging 10 20 mph with gusts to 30 mph.

Hurricane Lowell is south of Kauai and continues to drift slowly westward. A gradual decrease in the forward speed of Lowell remains in the forecast for the next day or two, followed by a turn to the northwest Saturday and north-northeast Sunday. The latest information from NHC has Lowell as a Category 5 storm with maximum sustained winds of 160 mph. The forecast track remains west of Kauai County, but certainly close enough to warrant our constant attention.

There remains a risk for high surf, strong winds,and heavy rainfall for all islands of Hawaii, and especially Niihau and Kauai. Deep tropical moisture will be carried northward across all islands, producing warm and humid weather conditions. Heavy rainfall is expected to begin late Sunday and last into Tuesday.

Initial storm total rainfall estimates range from 2 to 8 inches statewide. With a significant period of south to southeast winds forecast, we expect locally higher amounts (around 10 inches) along south and southeast slopes. Please continue to closely monitor the weather forecast for early next week as the track and associated impacts with Hurricane Lowell may change over time.

High pressure builds back over the islands from Tuesday afternoon onward as a wet trade wind pattern with periods of passing showers sets up across the state into the end of next week. A moist area left from the remains of Karina is now modeled to move through the area Wednesday afternoon through Wednesday night, possibly providing an especially wet period.

Fire Weather:   Periods of passing showers will mainly impact windward and mountain slopes through early Sunday. Considerably more showers are likely over most areas from Sunday afternoon into early next week. The temperatures inversion heights near Maui and the Big Island will range from 6,000 to 7,000 feet elevation tonight and Saturday.

 

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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 MapLooping Surface Precipitation…through the next 8-days / Vog Map

 

Marine Conditions…as of Friday evening: A surface high persists north of the Hawaiian Islands and will slowly drift east through the weekend. Currently, Hurricane Lowell is passing south to southwest of the islands as it continues to track west. The interaction between the two has kept trade winds fresh to locally strong across the all coastal waters. A Small Craft Advisory (SCA) is in effect for all coastal waters through tonight and has been trimmed back on Saturday for only the windier waters and channels around Maui County and the Big Island through Saturday afternoon. As Lowell begins its expected turn northward this weekend, by early next week winds are likely to veer to the southeast to south with the strongest winds over the western end of the state.

Confidence has grown with the latest updates from the National Hurricane Center for the potential for hurricane conditions in the offshore waters west of 160W on Sunday through potentially Tuesday. How close it gets to the state, is yet to be determined. As for Hurricane Karina, it is expected to weaken and pass to the north and northeast of the state.

Southerly swells from Hurricane Lowell will keep surf elevated above High Surf Advisory (HSA) conditions through Saturday. A large, medium- period east swell is filling in from Hurricane Karina producing HSA level surf along east facing shores. The HSA is in effect for all south and east facing shores of all islands as well as the west facing shores of the Big Island through Saturday afternoon and will likely be extended.

The swell from Lowell will gradually veer from south to southwest early next week. While the forecast for swells and seas for next week will highly depend on the eventual track and intensity of Lowell, confidence is beginning to increase for the potential of extra-large surf (exceeding warning levels) along south and western exposures early next week. Coinciding also with monthly high tides, this will create the potential for impacts to harbor entrances, channels, as well as coastal properties and infrastructure including roadways.

 

>>> Highest Temperature Friday, September 4, 2026 – 109 degrees at Rio Grande Village, Texas


>>>
Lowest Temperature Friday, September 4, 2026 – 26 degrees near Calpet, WY

 

What's the weather like? | Baamboozle - Baamboozle | The Most Fun Classroom Games!


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 America:
There are no active tropical cyclone

 

 Northeast Pacific:

Tropical Cyclone 13E (Marie)…is located about 590 miles west-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California

DRY AIR INHIBITING MARIE’S STRENGTHENING

According to the NHC advisory number 15…

Marie is moving toward the west-northwest near 8 mph. A turn toward the northwest is expected by Saturday. Maximum sustained winds are near 100 mph with higher gusts. A slow weakening trend is forecast this weekend, followed by more rapid weakening early next week. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 45 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 195 miles. The estimated minimum central pressure is 972 mb (28.71 inches).

 

Central North Pacific

Tropical Cyclone 11E (Karina)…is located about 910 miles east of Hilo, Hawaii

KARINA SLIGHTLY WEAKER OVER THE CENTRAL PACIFIC

According to the NHC advisory number 34…

Karina is moving toward the west near 10 mph. A turn toward the west-northwest and northwest is forecast over the next day or two. Maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 85 mph with higher gusts. Additional gradual weakening is expected during the next few days, and Karina is forecast to become post tropical by Monday. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 40 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 150 miles. The estimated minimum central pressure is 978 mb (28.88 inches).

 

Tropical Cyclone 12E (Lowell)…is located about 615 miles south of Lihue, Hawaii

LOWELL IS A POWERFUL CATEGORY 5 HURRICANE …INTERESTS IN THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS SHOULD CLOSELY MONITOR ITS PROGRESS

According to the NHC advisory number 35…

Lowell is moving toward the west-southwest near 7 mph. This general motion with a gradual decrease in forward speed is expected during the next day or so, followed by a sharp turn to the north or north-northeast on Sunday. Maximum sustained winds are near 150 mph with higher gusts. Lowell is a category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Some additional intensification is possible, and Lowell could regain category 5 strength later today or tonight. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 60 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 160 miles. The estimated minimum central pressure based on aircraft data is 926 mb (27.35 inches).

HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND

RAINFALL: Lowell is expected to produce rainfall totals of 3 to 6 inches, with maximum totals exceeding 10 inches possible, for Kauai and the Big Island. For Maui, 2 to 4 inches of rain is expected, with isolated maximum totals of 8 inches possible. Across the remaining islands, rainfall of 1 to 2 inches with maximum amounts of 4 inches is possible. This rainfall may produce flash flooding and mudslides, especially in areas of steep terrain.

SURF: Swells from Lowell are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions during the next several days across many of the Hawaiian islands.

 

Northwest Pacific Ocean:

Tropical Cyclone 22W (Krovanh) is located approximately 120 NM north-northwest of Kadena AB

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Tropical Cyclone 23W is located approximately 234 NM west of Iwo To

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>>> 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: 
Suburban Sprawl Puts Western Homes at Risk from Wildfires

Somersett, a short drive from downtown Reno, Nevada, is a peaceful place where homes with sweeping, high-desert views line cul-de-sacs and roads meander through shrubland, trailheads, and golf courses. But in the summer, months of low humidity and hot weather prime the landscape to burn. On the morning of August 22, it did.

In just a few days, strong winds carried the flames of the Hawk Fire more than 23 miles, placing some 90,000 people on evacuation notice as dense smoke and orange skies blanketed the city. By Wednesday, dozens of houses had been destroyed. Two weeks earlier, the Bug Fire burned 150 square miles just north of the same area.

It’s the latest in an era of worsening wildfires in the United States, where more than 7.9 million acres have burned this year. A similar story is playing out in Canada, where First Nations and residents of Ontario have borne the brunt of more than 5,100 fires across the country. Scientists say climate change has made these fires, along with others in Europe, significantly more likely to happen. This year’s blazes in the western U.S. were exacerbated by record-low winter snowfall, depriving the landscape of the moisture that typically seeps from snowpack throughout the summer, and by extreme and long-lasting heat waves that baked the landscape.

Read More: Yale Environment 360

Homes burned in a recent wildfire in Spokane, Washington.