The latest update to this website was at 853am Wednesday (HST)

 

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

0.26  Mount Waialeale, Kauai
0.10  Kahuku, Oahu
0.12  Puu Alii, Molokai
0.00  Lanai
0.20  West Wailuaiki, Maui
0.13  Puho CS, Big Island

>>> There are lots of locations that measure rainfall and winds, here’s a map of all areas for your reference (the map is clickable to zoom in closer)

The following numbers represent the strongest wind gusts (mph) as of Wednesday morning:

16  Nawiliwili, Kauai
30  Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu
31  Makapulapai, Molokai
18  Lanai 1, Lanai
39  Kealaloloa Rg, Maui
46  Puuloa, 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

 Thunderstorms in the deeper tropics…cold front far northwest

 

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

High clouds and a few thunderstorms south 

 

 

https://radar.weather.gov/ridge/standard/PHKI_loop.gif

https://radar.weather.gov/ridge/standard/PHKM_loop.gif

Showers locally 

 

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

 

~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~

 

Glenn’s Wednesday comments:  I’m home here in upper Kula, Maui, Hawaii.

It’s mostly clear with a few clouds here in Maui County early this morning. The low temperature at my place was 54.5 degrees…with a relative humidity of 80%.

855am, yet another great start to this late summer morning!

Weather Wit of the day: Evening Rain – Drips that pass in the night

>>> Highest Temperature Tuesday, September 16, 2025 – 111 at Death Valley, CA
>>> Lowest Temperature Wednesday, September 17, 2025 – 22 at Peter Sinks, Utah

 

Hawaii’s Broad Brush Weather Overview: A stable and relatively dry pattern will persist through Thursday, along with moderate to locally breezy trade winds, bringing limited clouds and showers to windward and mountain areas. Increased shower activity is expected Thursday night into the weekend. A return to a more stable trade wind pattern is expected early next week.

Hawaii’s Weather Details: Some clouds and showers are riding in on the trades, focusing activity to the windward and mountain sections of the smaller islands. Another area of clouds and showers upstream of the Big Island will move onshore later this morning.

High pressure is expected to remain north of the islands into the weekend, so expect trade winds to remain in place. However, a decaying surface trough far east of the islands, and the tail-end of a weakening front to the north will be pinched off beneath the strengthening high pressure.

The moisture from these features will then be carried in on the trade winds to the islands. The ECMWF and GFS models continue to agree with precipitable water (PW) values reaching 2 inches near the islands, which is well above average for September.

At the same time, a mid- to upper-level low is forecast to set up near Kauai, bringing colder temperatures aloft, which is also colder than normal for September. Forecast soundings show the trade inversion lifting to near 10,000 feet or higher as deeper moisture arrives.

Despite the lack of a significant surface feature, those PW and colder temperatures aloft, could very well spark some thunderstorm activity, and there is the chance for locally heavier showers. Based on the global models, the main focus for this would be the western half of the state Friday into Saturday. Any heavier cells should remain fast moving within the persistent trades, limiting the duration of heavy rainfall at any one location.

Showers will gradually diminish late Sunday into early next week, as upper ridging reestablishes and drier air filters back across the islands.

Fire weather:  Expect decreasing fire weather risk as humidity gradually increases through the week into the weekend. Rain chances will increase Thursday night into the weekend, as deep pockets of moisture filter in on the trades, helping to potentially further alleviate fire weather concerns. Sustained winds briefly hover near to below the critical fire weather threshold each afternoon through Thursday, then trend slightly lighter for the weekend.

Here’s a near real-time Wind Profile of the Pacific Ocean – 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:  Surface high pressure will remain anchored north of the state for the next several days, bringing moderate to locally strong trade winds across the local waters. However, winds are set to decrease slightly by Friday, as a front drops south and weakens the high. The latest pass depicts winds meeting Small Craft Advisory thresholds over portions of the western waters.

To account for this, Small Craft Advisories have been issued for the Kauai Channel and Kauai leeward waters in addition to the typically windy areas around Maui County and the Big Island. These advisories will likely be scaled back to the just the typical windy areas Thursday onward.

Surf along south facing shores will be tiny to small over the next few days, with mainly background south and southeast energy. A small to moderate, long-period, south-southwest swell will build Saturday into Sunday, helping to boost south shore surf heights back up to near or above the September average.

Surf along north facing shores should see a small increase into Thursday, as a short period northerly swell fills in. This small rise is expected to peak on Friday out of the north to north-northeast direction, followed by a short period north-northwest swell by the weekend. Moderate to locally strong trades near and upstream of the area will lead to slightly elevated and choppy conditions along east facing shores through this weekend.

 



World-wide Tropical Cyclone Activity

 

Atlantic Ocean: 

Tropical Cyclone 07 (Gabrielle)…is located about 1085 miles east-southeast of the northern Leeward Islands

GABRIELLE FORMS OVER THE CENTRAL TROPICAL ATLANTIC…FORECAST TO REMAIN OVER OPEN WATERS FOR SEVERAL DAYS

According to the NHC advisory number 2

Gabrielle is moving toward the north-northwest near 22 mph. An erratic northwestward to west-northwestward motion at a reduced forward speed is anticipated across the tropical and subtropical central Atlantic during the next few days. Satellite-derived winds indicate that the maximum sustained winds are near 45 mph ith higher gusts. Little change in strength is forecast during the next 48 hours but some gradual intensification is forecast over the weekend. Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 175 miles from the center, primarily in the eastern semicircle of the storm.

cone graphic

 

Eastern Tropical Atlantic:

>>> A tropical wave located just east and southeast of the Cabo Verde Islands is producing an area of disorganized showers and thunderstorms. Environmental conditions are only marginally conducive, and any development of this system should be slow to occur while it moves westward at 15 to 20 mph across the eastern and central portion of the tropical Atlantic. Regardless of development, this system will likely bring areas of heavy rain across the Cabo Verde Islands later today and Thursday.

* Formation chance through 48 hours…low…10 percent
* Formation chance through 7 days…low…20 percent

 

Caribbean Sea:  There are no active tropical cyclone

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.

 

Northeastern Pacific:  

Off the coast of Southwestern Mexico:

Invest 96E

>>> A broad area of low pressure located a few hundred miles off the coast of southwestern Mexico is producing a large area of showers and thunderstorms. Environmental conditions appear conducive for gradual development of this broad system, and a tropical depression is likely to form in a couple of days while it moves west-northwestward at 10 to 15 mph over the central portion of the east Pacific.

* Formation chance through 48 hours…high…70 percent
* Formation chance through 7 days…high…90 percent

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

 

North Central Pacific: There are no active tropical cyclone

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

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

 

Northwest Pacific Ocean: 

Tropical Cyclone 23W…is located approximately 242 NM north of Manila, Philippines

https://www.metoc.navy.mil/jtwc/products/wp2325.gif

Southwest Pacific Ocean:  There are no active tropical cyclones

North and South 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:  Up, Up and Away: Dandelions Use Upward Winds to Spread Seeds

Chris Roh ’12 became interested in dandelions on walks with his toddler, picking the fluffy white spheres and blowing off their seeds. An aerospace engineer by training, Roh wondered about the fluid dynamics of this everyday activity. Why did some seeds release before others? And why did some seem to require much greater force to release?

New research by Roh, assistant professor of biological and environmental engineering in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and his colleagues has uncovered the basic structural mechanics of how dandelions release and retain their seeds, opening new research pathways to understand plant evolution and seed dispersal in other wind-dispersed plants, such as lettuce and cotton.

In a new paper published Sept. 10 in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, Roh and his co-authors report that dandelions respond to wind direction when releasing their seeds and have structures that make it harder for their seeds to release in unfavorable conditions. The first author of the paper is Jena Shields, a Ph.D. candidate in Roh’s lab.

Read More: Cornell University