The latest update to this website was at 6pm Friday (HST)

 

Here are the highest temperatures Friday…and the lowest Friday morning:

85 – 75  Lihue AP, Kauai
85 – 74  Molokai AP, Molokai
88 – 75  Kahului AP, Maui
86 – 73  Kona AP, Big Island
84 – 71  Hilo, AP, Big Island

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

0.48  Mount Waialeale, Kauai
0.56  Schofield East, Oahu
0.29  Puu Lua, Molokai
0.10  Lanai City, Lanai
1.22  West Wailuaiki, Maui
1.25  Kulaimano, 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 Friday evening:

27  Port Allen, Kauai
25  Kuaokala, Oahu
25  Kalae Hwy, Molokai
31  Lanai 1, Lanai
38  Na Kula, Maui
28  South Point, 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/GOES17/ABI/SECTOR/tpw/13/GOES17-TPW-13-900x540.gif 

 Thunderstorms forming mostly southeast of the state


https://cdn.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/GOES17/ABI/SECTOR/hi/GEOCOLOR/GOES17-HI-GEOCOLOR-600x600.gif

Low clouds being carried our way on the trade winds

 

https://cdn.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/GOES17/ABI/SECTOR/hi/13/GOES17-HI-13-600x600.gif

High level clouds moving into the state from the west locally

 

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

Localized showers 

 

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

Kauai and Oahu (Satellite)

 

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

Kauai and Oahu (Radar)

 

https://www.weather.gov/images/hfo/satellite/Oahu-Maui_VIS_loop.gif

Oahu and Maui County (Satellite)

 

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

Oahu and Maui County (Radar)

 

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

 Maui, Kahoolawe, Lanai, and the Big Island (Satellite)

 

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

Maui County and the Big Island (Radar)

 

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

Big Island (Radar)

 

Model showing precipitation through 8-days (you can slow this animation down)


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

~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~

 

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

It’s partly to mostly cloudy here in Maui County early this morning with some high clouds and clouds locally along the windward side.  The low temperature at my place was 57.5 degrees.

1206pm, cloudy here in upper Kula, with a few rather large drops falling from these clouds.

236pm, we’ve had several light to very light showers here at my place in upper Kula this afternoon,  although it’s dry and sunny at the time of this writing.

Weather Wit of the day:  Draftsman – A person who hates to shut doors and windows

>>> Summertime…Kenny G @ George Benson music video

>>> Highest Temperature Friday, July 18, 2025 – 110 at Tolleson, Arizona
>>> Lowest Temperature Friday, July 18, 2025 – 33 near Kipling, Michigan

 

Hawaii’s Broad Brush Weather Overview:  Rain chances increase over the weekend in response to increasing moisture and instability across the island chain, with a focus over the western end of the state, and the leeward slopes of the Big Island. Heading into early next week, a more typical stable trade wind pattern will return with limited rainfall favoring windward and mountain areas.

Hawaii’s Weather Details: The forecast focuses on the increasing instability and moisture across the state through the weekend.  Satellite and radar imagery show clouds and a few showers moving into windward and mountain areas on the trades, along with clouds and showers building over leeward Haleakala and the leeward Big Island slopes. Some of these leeward showers have been pretty hefty, with radar estimated rainfall rates exceeding an inch per hour at times.

Upper air soundings are hinting at the increase in low to mid level instability accompanying trough that is progressing northwestward across the eastern end of the state. The low level inversion at Lihue has also lifted and weakened, likely due to the approach of the trough from the southeast, and a weak mid level low edging in from the north. In addition to this instability, Precipitable Water satellite imagery shows a large area of precipitable water values between 1.4 to 1.6 inches moving across the island chain from the east.

Model guidance indicates that this large plume of above average moisture will stick around through the weekend, with a concentration near the western end of the state. With the instability provided by both the trough and the proximity of the weak mid level low and the presence of abundant moisture, a wetter trade wind pattern is expected through the weekend, with clouds and enhanced showers favoring windward across the western end of the state, and leeward slopes of the Big Island and Haleakala each afternoon. Isolated thunderstorms near Kauai cannot be completely ruled out, as the instability increases with the mid level low through the weekend.

Early next week, mid level ridging will build over the state, and a moderate to locally breezy stable trade wind pattern will return. Then global model guidance suggests a weak mid level trough will sweep by the western end of the state on Wednesday, potentially helping to briefly enhance trade wind showers across the western end of the state.

Model solutions begin to diverge towards the end of the forecast period, but current guidance shows a low level trough/low approaching from the east, that may disrupt the trade winds, causing local winds to weaken and shift out of the east-northeast for the latter part of the week.

Fire weather:  Fire weather concerns will be low this weekend as a result of a wetter pattern. Trade winds will remain moderate to locally breezy the next couple of days with a higher frequency of showers. Drier weather is expected to return early next week. This may increase the fire weather threat over those leeward areas that may not receive the full benefit of significant weekend rain.

Here’s a near real-time Wind Profile of the Pacific Ocean – along with a Closer View of the islands / Vog map animation

https://www.weather.gov/images/hfo/graphics/npac.gif

 

Hawaii’s Marine Environment:  High pressure will remain nearly stationary far northeast of the state through the middle of next week. Fresh to locally strong trades will persist then drop slightly as a weak low- level trough moves through the state from the east through the weekend. The Small Craft Advisory (SCA) is currently in effect for the windier waters and channels around Maui County and the Big Island. The SCA will likely be scaled back to just the Alenuihaha Channel tonight. Trade winds will continue to gradually decline to gentle to locally fresh through the forecast period.

A mixed southerly swell will provide average surf along south facing shores through early Saturday. A new small, long period southwest swell will fill in slowly Saturday, peak over the weekend, before declining slowly through early next week.

Surf along east facing shores will continue to remain choppy due to the fresh to locally strong trade winds, before declining slightly over the weekend. Surf along north facing shores will remain nearly flat through the forecast period.

Peak high tides associated with the lunar cycle could lead to minor coastal flooding along shorelines and low-lying coastal areas next week Monday through Wednesday, during the daily peak tide each afternoon.

 



World-wide Tropical Cyclone Activity

 

Atlantic Ocean:  There are no active tropical cyclones

Central Tropical Atlantic:

A tropical wave interacting with a broad area of low pressure is producing disorganized showers and thunderstorms more than 800 miles southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands. Environmental conditions could become marginally conducive for gradual development late this weekend through early next week as the system moves westward to west-northwestward around 10 mph. By the middle of next week, environmental conditions are forecast to become unfavorable for further development.

* Formation chance through 48 hours…low…near 0 percent
* Formation chance through 7 days…low…20 percent

Caribbean Sea:  There are no active tropical cyclones

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: There are no active tropical cyclones

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

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

 

North Central Pacific:  There are no active tropical cyclones

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 09W (Wipha)…is located 340 NM east-southeast of Hong Kong

 Southwest Pacific Ocean:  There are no active tropical cyclones

North and South Indian Ocean:

Tropical Cyclone 01S…is located 666 NM east-southeast of Diego Garcia – Final Warning

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:  Jaguar Population Increases After Wildfire and Drought, Indicating Area’s Role as Climate Refuge

Following a large-scale wildfire, more jaguars migrated to a study site in the Brazilian wetlands that already had the largest population density of jaguars in the world, a new study found.

“Finding even more jaguars and other mammals in the study area following the 2020 wildfire and extreme drought suggests that it may serve as a climate refuge, buffering the effects of extreme climate events,” said Charlotte Eriksson, a post-doctoral scholar at Oregon State University.

The 36,700-acre site is a seasonally flooded protected area in the northern portion of the Brazilian Pantanal, the largest freshwater wetland in the world.

Past research by Eriksson and others at Oregon State and in Brazil found the site is home to a population of jaguars that are unique because their diet primarily consists of aquatic organisms, instead of land-based animals, and because they are more socially tolerant and willing to share space with other jaguars.

Read more at Oregon State University

Image: Jaguar in Pantanal region of Brazil.