Glenn James
Hawaii Weather Today
Founder and maintainer for 30 years 

 

The latest update to this website was at 724am Friday (HST)

 

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

2.50  Kilohana , Kauai
1.01  Moanalua RG, Oahu
0.58  Puu Alii, Molokai
0.01  Lanai City, Lanai
0.78  West Wailuaiki, Maui
0.42  Kawainui Stream, Big Island

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

18  Makaha Ridge, Kauai – NE
29  Kuaokala, Oahu – NE
14  Makapulapai, Molokai – ESE
23  Lanai 1,  Lanai – NE
18  Kealaloloa Rg, Maui – NNE
24  Kealakomo, Big Island – NNW 

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 well south, a cold front far northwest

 

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

Low clouds arriving along the windward sides…on the gusty trade winds / high level clouds moving by south of the state

 

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

  Showers locally 

 

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

~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~

 

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

533am Friday morning, with clear skies here at my place, with the low temperature a chilly 47 degrees, along with the relative humidity 74%.

I’ll be flying from Kahului to San Francisco this morning, as I take a working vacation for the next 6-weeks. Once I get to SFO I’ll take an airporter across the Golden Gate Bridge to Marin County. My friend Linda will pick me up in Corte Madera and take me to her house. Once a get a little something to eat, and visit with her briefly, I’ll set up my laptop and get back to work…updating this website. Thus, there will be a lag in updates today, until late this afternoon or early this evening.

 

>>> Highest Temperature Thursday, March 26, 2026 – 108 degrees at Rio Grande Village, TX
>>> Lowest Temperature Friday, March 27, 2026 – minus 4 degrees at Big Bay, MI

 

I’ve become aware that we may be having what’s called a Super El Nino this year. Records show that this phenomenon occurs typically every 10-15 years. The strongest El Nino’s we’ve had in the recent past were in 1982, 1997-98 and 2015-16.

My weather mentor, Dr. Daniel Swain, a climate  scientist with the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, is being quoted as saying: “The vast majority of [the models], almost all, suggest at least a moderate strength El Niño by later this coming summer, and the majority really do go all the way into strong or extreme territory.”

Pulled from the State of the Climate report, here are some of the loudest echoes of the 2015 El Niño:

Record-smashing hurricane season in the central North Pacific

Sixteen tropical cyclones formed in or passed through the unusually warm central Pacific hurricane basin in 2015. That’s more than 3 times the 1981–2010 average of 4.7 cyclones per season, and 4 more than the previous record of 12, set in 1992 (also an El Niño year). In late August, the basin sustained three Category 4 hurricanes at the same time, which was a first, not just for the central Pacific basin, but for any basin during the modern record.

Here’s a satellite picture of what was going on in our Central Pacific during the summer of 2015

p.s. One more thing that Dr. Swain said yesterday, was that the extreme heat spell in the western United States over the past week or more, could easily become the new normal with time. 


Hawaii’s Broad Brush Weather Overview…as of 4am Friday: A band of showers currently over Oahu will expand towards Maui County during the day and over the Big Island on Saturday. Our moderate to locally breezy northeasterly trade winds will focus the showers over windward and mountain areas with brief downpours possible.

A drier airmass will return over the western half of the state by Saturday afternoon, while showery conditions could persist over the windward areas of the eastern half of the state. Our north-northeast to northeast trade winds will strengthen this weekend and become locally strong by Saturday evening. Gusty winds are expected over leeward areas this weekend.

Weather Details for the Hawaiian Islands…as of 4am Friday:  Satellite imagery shows an increase of showers across the state especially over windward areas. Lihue and Hilo atmospheric soundings show a strong inversion located at around 6,000 to 7,000 feet, with precipitable water values of around an inch. While moisture values remain lower than normal, a gradual increase is expected especially over Oahu and Maui County.

Our north-northeast to northeast trade winds will also strengthen into Saturday, which should increase orographic lift over windward mountain slopes, and allow for some moderate showers. While heavy showers are not expected due to the strong trade wind inversion, brief downpours will be possible at times, and we could see some showers anchoring along windward mountains through Saturday morning. A few inches of rain will be possible over the windward slopes during this time, especially over the windward mountains of Maui County tonight.

On Saturday, a dying cold front will pass through parts of the state, with a strong high building behind the front. A drier air mass with dewpoints down into the 50’s will fill in behind the front over the western half of the state by Saturday afternoon. Our north-northeast to northeast trade winds will strengthen to locally strong speeds and will likely produce gusty winds across leeward areas through Sunday. Wind gusts of 40 mph will be possible with gusts up to 50 mph not out of the question.

Depending on how strong the wind gusts become during the day Saturday, a Wind Advisory may be needed over select leeward areas for Saturday evening into Sunday. Meanwhile, moisture will likely linger over the eastern half of the state this weekend, especially the Big Island. Some steady periods of light to moderate showers will be possible over windward Big Island especially Saturday through Sunday morning.

For the first half of next week, trade winds will gradually weaken to our more typical breezy speeds and shift more easterly, as the high to our north drifts further east. A subtle increase of moisture will likely bring the return of scattered showers across the state primarily over windward and mountain areas.

 

Here’s a near real-time Wind Profile of the Pacific Ocean – Zoom Earth – 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…as of 4am Friday:  A low pressure system northeast of the islands, and a high pressure system to the far northwest of the Hawaii region, will keep northeasterly trade winds in the forecast through early next week. Wind speeds for much of the coastal waters will be moderate to fresh, though strong winds in the vicinity of Kauai have necessitated the issuance of a Small Craft Advisory (SCA) for the Leeward and Northwest Waters of Kauai, as well as the Kauai Channel.

By this afternoon, a tightening pressure gradient across the islands is expected to spread Small Craft winds to the majority of the leeward waters and channels, with the exception of the Big Island. Winds are likely to increase to fresh to strong speeds and become more widespread by Saturday afternoon, as a cold front sweeps southward across the islands. SCA criteria are likely to be sustained into early next week, as high pressure builds to the north of the islands.

A small bump in surf is forecast as another small medium-period northwest swell arrives. The bump in surf sustains through Saturday before gradually fading through the rest of the weekend.

For east facing shores, short-period wind wave energy from northeasterly trade winds will fade, then build back in this weekend. A large short- to medium-period north-northeast (010-020 degrees) swell will build into the region Saturday night through Monday, likely bringing advisory-level surf to north- and east-facing shores late this weekend into early next week.

Along south-facing shores, small background pulses will keep surf heights above flat conditions through early next week.

 

Baldwin Beach, Maui's Hidden Mile-Long White Sand Beach



World-wide Tropical Cyclone Activity

 

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

 

Northeastern Pacific:  There are no active tropical cyclones

North Central Pacific: There are no active tropical cyclones

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

 

Northwest Pacific Ocean: There are no active tropical cyclones

 

Southwest Pacific Ocean: 

Tropical Cyclone 27P (Narelle)…is located approximately 186 NM south of Learmonth, Australia

https://www.metoc.navy.mil/jtwc/products/27P_271200sair.jpg

 

North 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:  UBC Study Links Artificial Turf Fields to Lethal Chemical Threat for Salmon

A new study from the University of British Columbia has found that artificial turf fields across Metro Vancouver leach 6PPD-quinone, a chemical known to kill coho salmon, into municipal stormwater systems—and the contamination persists long after the fields are installed.

Researchers traced the pollution to crumb rubber infill made from recycled tires, a material widely used on synthetic turf fields. The team found it consistently released 6PPD-quinone and other contaminants across fields of different ages.

“An average turf field contains about 125 tonnes of crumb rubber, roughly 20,000 tires,” said Katie Moloney, a PhD student in environmental engineering in UBC’s Scholes Lab. “With fields typically lasting a decade or more, they can become long-term sources of tire-derived pollution entering stormwater pipes, and ultimately fish-bearing waterways—frequently without treatment.”

Read more at: University of British Columbia

Researchers examined the chemicals leaching from crumb rubber infill made from recycled tires.