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

 

The latest update to this website was at 830pm Thursday evening HST


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

0.04  Mount Waialeale, Kauai
1.39  Poamoho RG 1, Oahu
0.20  Puu Kukui, Molokai
0.01  Lanai City, Lanai
2.13  West Wailuaiki, Maui
0.22  Pahoa, Big Island


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

20  Port Allen, Kauai – E 
30  Honolulu AP, Oahu – NE
21  Molokai AP, Molokai – NE
m  Lanai – m
23  Kealaloloa Rg, Maui – N
23  South Point, 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 (out of operation). 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 south…large area of high and middle level clouds arriving from the southwest

 

https://cdn.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/GOES18/ABI/SECTOR/hi/14/20262182130-20262190520-GOES18-ABI-HI-14-600x600.gif

Low clouds arriving from the east on the trade winds

 

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

Localized showers…very few 

 

https://www.weather.gov/wwamap/png/hfo.png

 

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




~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~

 

Glenn’s Thursday comments:  I’m at home here in upper Kula, Maui, Hawaii

509am, it’s partly cloudy here in upper Kula with calm winds, and a low temperature at my place of 57.5 degrees…with the relative humidity 79%

1241pm, just back from very fun pickleball playing in Makawao. It’s mostly cloudy here on Maui, with a few partly cloudy areas. As I drove up here from from Makawao, there was some brief light showers along the way, although it’s dry here at my place in Kula.

551pm, sunny to partly sunny, with less high cirrus clouds for a change…at least for the moment.

830pm, there’s more high cirrus around this evening, with my air temperature here in upper Kula 64 degrees, with the relative humidity 75%

 

>>> Highest Temperature Thursday, August 6, 2026 – 122 degrees near Tecopa, CA

>>> Lowest Temperature Thursday, August 6, 2026 – 25 degrees at Peter Sinks, UT

 

Hawaii’s Weather Highlights…as of Thursday evening: Moderate trade winds will prevail, then increase Friday through the weekend. Most shower activity will occur during the nights and early mornings, and affect windward and mountain locations.

From Saturday afternoon through Monday, an area of tropical moisture will move over the southern half of the state (Big Island and Maui) from east to west, and bring enhanced showers. A typical stable trade wind pattern will return by Tuesday of next week.

Short Term Update: Satellite imagery looping depicts the broad cyclonic spin of an upper low, centered northwest of Kauai. This feature continues to draw areas of mid and upper level moisture northward over the state. Trades have remained in the light to moderate range, thanks to a trough far to the northeast, acting to subdue the effect of stronger high pressure further north.

The Hilo upper air sounding indicates a rather shallow marine layer, near 5,000 feet. This has helped to put up a cap on any cumulus, and kept shower coverage to a minimum. Expecting only isolated showers to affect windward and mountain areas to continue tonight. Chances of precipitation and cloud cover have decreased across all islands through Friday morning

Weather Narrative..as of Thursday evening: An upper level low to the west-northwest is currently bringing high clouds over the state, while a weak surface trough to the northeast has suppressed trade wind speeds. Both the upper low to the west, and trough to the northeast will move north, and trade winds will strengthen into the moderate to breezy range Friday into the weekend.

Showers will focus mostly over windward and mountain areas, and should stay on the lighter side due to a normal summertime inversion height of approximately 6,000 ft. Current satellite imagery depicts a tropical low with an associated tropical wave east-southeast of Hilo. This tropical feature is projected weaken over the next few days, as it moves west-northwest.

This trough will have a decent moisture profile associated with it when it arrives, and it is forecast to reach the Big Island by Saturday evening. Rainfall chances and humidity will increase for the Big Island and Maui County, then to a lesser extend, Oahu and Kauai Sunday into Monday. The most recent GFS model depicts the boundary layer inversion weakening, as conditions become more unstable, and moisture deepening up to 15000-20,000 feet.

Thus, from Saturday afternoon through Monday, embedded pockets of heavier rainfall will be possible for the Big Island and Maui County, especially for windward locations. While still too early to determine more concrete forecast details, a few inches of rainfall accumulation could fall on some of the wettest windward sites. Typical moderate trade wind weather will return by Tuesday through the end of next week, with scattered showers mainly windward and mountain areas during the nights and early mornings.

 

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


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 Conditions…as of Thursday evening:  Moderate trades persist as surface troughing to the northeast maintains a rather weak pressure gradient over the state. Dissipation of the trough to the northeast combined with renewed trough development south of the islands, and strengthening high pressure to the northeast, will favor fresh to locally strong trades by week’s end.

Background medium and long period energy will produce small surf for south facing shores through Friday. A series of larger, medium to long period south swells arrive beginning on Saturday, causing surf to trend up for south and west facing shores this weekend into early next week. A moderate, long period south swell will peak near the High Surf Advisory threshold by the middle of next week.

Along east facing shores, trade wind swell and moderate trades will support surf slightly below seasonal averages. Surf will build this weekend in response to strengthening trade winds. Surf along north shores remains flat to tiny.

 

THE 15 BEST Hawaii Nature & Wildlife Areas (2026) - Tripadvisor


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

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

>>> 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.

 

Northeast Pacific: There are no active tropical cyclones

>>> Western East Pacific and Central Pacific:

A broad area of low pressure could form by early next week over the western portion of the east Pacific. Some gradual development of this system is possible as it moves generally westward at 10 to 15 mph toward or into the central Pacific basin.

*Formation chance through 48 hours…low…near 0 percent
*Formation chance through 7 days…low…30 percent

 

>>> Southwest of Mexico:

An area of low pressure is forecast to form well offshore of the southwestern coast of Mexico late this weekend or early next week. Some gradual development of this system is possible thereafter while it moves generally west-northwestward.

*Formation chance through 48 hours…low…near 0 percent
*Formation chance through 7 days…low…30 percent

 

Central North Pacific: There are no active tropical cyclones

 

>>> Northwest Pacific Ocean:  

Tropical cyclone 12W (Dolphin)…is located approximately 68 NM northeast of Kadena AB

https://www.metoc.navy.mil/jtwc/products/wp1226.gif

 

Tropical cyclone 13W (Kujira)…is located approximately 167 NM northeast of Manila, Philippines – Final Warning

https://www.metoc.navy.mil/jtwc/products/wp1326.gif

https://www.metoc.navy.mil/jtwc/products/13W_061200sair.jpg

 

Tropical cyclone 14W (Chan-hom)…is located approximately 472 NM northeast of Minami Tori Shima

https://www.metoc.navy.mil/jtwc/products/wp1426.gif

https://www.metoc.navy.mil/jtwc/products/14W_070000sair.jpg

 

>>> 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:  Algal Blooms: A ‘Dark’ Threat to Greenland’s Cooling Capabilities

In Greenland, where the island’s ice sheet is melting around six times faster than it was in the 1990s, billions of tons of ice are already disappearing each year. Two new studies published in January focus on the role of algal blooms and their exacerbating effect on glacier and ice sheet melt in the Arctic.

The first, led by Jenine McCutcheon, a geo-microbiologist at the University of Waterloo in Canada, analyzed the biogeochemical characteristics of the dust that is deposited on ice surfaces and how it contributes to melting. In the second study, led by Beatriz Gill Olivas, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Environmental Science at Aarhus University in Denmark, the authors investigated whether algal growth is limited by the availability of nutrients trapped in surface ice.

Despite popular conceptions of the icy surfaces in Greenland as being white and sterile, these sites are thriving ecosystems, inhabited by a variety of algae, fungi and other microscopic organisms. Processes like aerosol deposition and deglaciation cause nutrients to accumulate on the icy surfaces, feeding algae and causing algal blooms.

These algal blooms form dark, brownish-gray spots on ice sheets and glaciers that reduce albedo, the property of a surface to reflect solar radiation. Any surface with an albedo level less than 100%—essentially any surface that is not a highly reflective mirror—will absorb small amounts of heat. As a result, high albedo slows down warming and low albedo increases warming.

Read More at: Columbia Climate School

Image: A landslide in 2007 damaged Washington’s State Route 6 and several structures near the town of Pe Ell. New research from the University of Washington maps the communities most at risk from landslides nationwide; the database counts roughly 6.5 million vulnerable residents across the country.