Glenn James

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

 

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


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

15.12  Kilohana, Kauai!
2.43  Kaala, Oahu
1.21  Puu Alii, Molokai
0.04  Lanai City, Lanai
3.29  Summit, Maui
1.91  Pali 2, Big Island


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

35  Makaha Ridge, Kauai – SW
29  Schofield Barracks, Oahu – SW
32  Makapulapai, Molokai –  SSW 
m   Lanai – missing
36  Kahului AP, Maui – SW
20  Hualalai Rd, Big Island – SW


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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 Tropical Storm Lowell northwest of Lihue 

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Variable clouds across the state…with Lowell moving away

 

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Tropical Storm Lowell…70 mph sustained winds 

 

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Showers…locally heavy 

 

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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 Tuesday comments:  I’m at home here in upper Kula, Maui, Hawaii

441am, it’s quite cloudy here at my place. My low temperature here in upper Kula was 64 degrees, relative humidity 84%…and an occasional breeze

305pm, it’s partly cloudy here in Maui County this afternoon, and quite muggy what with the leftover tropical moisture in the wake of Hurricane Lowell.

I just looked at the latest computer forecast models for the eastern Pacific, and see two tropical systems winding up with time. I dislike saying this, although the first of the two looks like it could poise a potential threat to our Hawaiian Islands. I’ll keep an eye on this situation and continue giving updates going forward. If a tropical cyclone were to approach our state again, it looks like it would be somewhere around the 20th of this month. This is WAY out into the future, and as we all know, things change.


Tropical Storm Lowell

cone graphic

time of arrival graphic

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IR Satellite Image

 

 

Hawaii’s Weather Highlights…as of Tuesday evening:  Light to moderate south to southwest kona winds have developed over the islands, and will continue to diminish through tonight as Hurricane Lowell moves farther northwest of the area. Aside from a few heavy showers over the Big Island interior through early evening,nd moderate showers over the Kauai mountains, rainfall should be limited tonight. A

diffuse band of moisture will move onto Big Island Wednesday and may bring a renewed threat of heavy showers, while sea breezes trigger spotty afternoon showers across the rest of the state. Trade winds will slowly build over the state late Wednesday and Thursday, but conditions will remain somewhat wet. Drier trade wind weather is expected to develop Thursday night and Friday.

General Overview: A very normal weather pattern sets up across the Hawaiian Islands this week. Lowell will be rapidly moving away from the Hawaiian Islands into Wednesday. A rain band or two may still be impacting any of the islands, but as Lowell continues moving away, the bands will rapidly dissipate. 

The rest of the week will feature typical northeast trade winds across all of the islands in the wake of Lowell, with no significant weather features expected through next Monday. By next Tuesday, some of the long-range guidance suggests a weak tropical wave may approach the Big Island before it too dissipates. Should the tropical wave make it on Tuesday, expect more consistent rainfall on the east-facing sides of the Big Island Tuesday afternoon. Otherwise no unusual weather is expected.

Weather Narrative…as of Tuesday evening: Lowell continues to move northward away from the state, and its center is now located well north-northwest of Kauai. Light to moderate south to southwest kona winds persist across much of the state, producing relatively light showers over interior sections. The exception is Big Island, where isolated heavy showers have developed under daytime heating.

Winds will continue to diminish into Wednesday, allowing a land and sea breeze pattern to produce interior afternoon showers over most areas. I’m not expecting significant rainfall from Kauai to Maui overnight, but a diffuse band of moisture and convergence near and just east of Big Island could maintain shower activity there. The Flood Watch was cancelled for most islands, but was extended for Big Island, as the band of moisture is expected to drift westward and may help trigger heavy showers and thunderstorms mainly Wednesday afternoon.

Across the rest of the state, land breezes may lead to isolated heavy showers in the afternoon, and while isolated flooding may be possible, the risk has been deemed too low to continue the Flood Watch.

Trade winds will slowly build over the state late Wednesday and Thursday, but conditions will remain somewhat wet. Drier trade wind weather is expected to develop Thursday night and Friday. An upper level trough may create some instability with the trade wind flow this cominf weekend.

Fire Weather:  Fire weather risk will remain low the next several days, due residual moisture associated with Hurricane Lowell. Expect a slight chance of thunderstorms over the Big Island on Wednesday afternoon and Thursday afternoon. Temperature inversion heights are expected to remain elevated or weak.

Hydrology: Hurricane Lowell is expected to produce additional rainfall totals of 2 to 4 inches for Kauai, with maximum storm totals of 24 inches possible. For the Big Island, an additional 3 to 6 inches of rain is expected with isolated storm totals of 8 inches possible. For Oahu and Maui counties, an additional 1 to 3 inches of rain is expected with isolated storm totals of 8 inches possible. This rainfall may produce significant flash flooding and mudslides, especially across Kauai county and portions of the Big Island.

 

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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 Tuesday evening: Hurricane Lowell is now lifting north of Kauai and Niihau. A Hurricane Warning remains in effect for waters west of Kauai County, while a Tropical Storm Warning remains in effect for Kauai Channel, Kauai Windward Waters, Oahu Windward Waters and Oahu Leeward Waters. The Small Craft Advisory (SCA) also remains in effect for all remaining coastal waters for a combination of winds and seas. Winds and seas are expected to decrease rapidly today, as the hurricane weakens and moves away from the islands, falling below SCA criteria by this evening. For the western offshore waters, hurricane conditions are expected to continue today until the cyclone exits the region to the northwest.

Southwest swell from Hurricane Lowell produced surf along south facing shores in excess of warning criteria overnight. This surf continues into the early morning hours, which may continue to bring damaging surf to portions of Kauai County, with the potential for significant damage to coastal properties and infrastructure, particularly to those areas along the coast exposed to the southerly swell over the next several hours. Surf will quickly fall to advisory criteria and then below advisory criteria by tonight. An additional moderate, long-period south swell which is peaking today, will then keep surf elevated just below advisory criteria once the southwest swell from Lowell fades by this afternoon. This southerly swell will maintain some south shore surf as it gradually fades through Thursday.

A medium-period east swell from former Tropical Storm Karina combined with east to southeast wind wave generated by Hurricane Lowell will maintain advisory level surf along east facing shores this morning, but will drop below advisory levels by tonight. Surf along north facing shores will experience a small bump on Tuesday, with Lowell located northwest of the island chain and then fade through the week as it weakens and tracks away from the islands.

 

>>> Highest Temperature Tuesday, September 8, 2026 – 111 degrees at Yuma, AZ


>>>
Lowest Temperature Tuesday, September 8, 2026 – 15 degrees near Mackay, ID

 

Hawaii Weather: What Travelers Need to Know Right Now - Hawaii Aloha Travel


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 cyclones

 

 Northeast Pacific:

>>> Well South-Southwest of the Southern Tip of Baja California

Invest 96E

Showers and thunderstorms associated with a broad area of low pressure located several hundred miles south-southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula continue to show signs of organization. Gradual development of this system is likely, and a tropical depression is expected to form later this week while it moves generally west-northwestward at 10 to 15 mph.

* Formation chance through 48 hours…medium…50 percent
* Formation chance through 7 days…high…70 percent

 

>>> Well south of the southern tip of Baja California:

An area of low pressure is forecast to develop several hundred miles south of the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula this weekend or early next week. Some slow development is possible as this system moves generally west-northwestward.

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

 

Central North Pacific:

Tropical Cyclone 12E (Lowell)…is located about 310 miles north-northwest of Lihue, Hawaii

LOWELL WEAKENING…FLASH FLOODING THREAT REMAINS IN THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS THROUGH WEDNESDAY

According to the NHC advisory number 52…

Lowell is moving toward the north near 15 mph. A slow turn toward the northwest then west is forecast Wednesday into Thursday. Then, a slower forward speed is expected on Thursday and Friday before Lowell turns back toward the northwest then north late this week. Maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 70 mph with higher gusts. Gradual weakening is forecast during the next few days. Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 255 miles from the center. The estimated minimum central pressure is 978 mb (28.88 inches).

HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND

RAINFALL: Additional rainfall of 1 to 3 inches are expected across the Big Island and eastern Maui with isolated maximum amounts of 5 inches possible across the Big Island. This may result in additional flooding of urban and low-lying portions of the Big Island. Additional rainfall of 2 inches or less is expected elsewhere across the island chain. The additional rainfall could still promote instances of new flooding or prolong any on-going flooding.

SURF: Swells from Lowell will continue to generate life-threatening surf and rip current conditions during the next few days across many of the Hawaiian Islands.

 

Northwest Pacific Ocean:

Tropical Cyclone 22W (Krovanh) is located approximately 122 NM east-southeast of Iwakuni, Japan

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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: 
Q&A: The Arctic Melt Season Is a Week Longer Now Than It Was in the 1980s, Shows New UW Research on Sea Ice Trends

Relatively few people have been to the Arctic, and even fewer have set foot in Antarctica. Most of us rely on our imaginations and media to visualize these landscapes and the ways they are changing.

Research shows that the Arctic is warming four times faster than the global average. The sea ice is melting, exposing more open ocean and throwing the ecosystem out of balance. The story of Antarctica contains fewer details, but emerging trends are concerning to researchers.

Conceptualizing this change can be challenging for those of us who have only glimpsed Greenland from the airplane window, but for someone with firsthand experience, it’s eye-opening.

Read More: University of Washington

Image: Researchers collecting measurements of algae and sea ice properties in the Chukchi Sea in July 2011, as part of NASA’s Impacts of Climate on the Eco-Systems and Chemistry of the Arctic Pacific Environment (ICESCAPE) mission. The changes of the Arctic sea ice cover have repercussions for the functioning of the polar marine ecosystem.