The latest update to this website was at 818am Saturday (HST)

 

Our skies over Maui County are very threatening, with heavy rain falling in some areas! The wind isn’t an issue, at least over my area of upcountry Maui. There’s still that chance that I could lose power before this second Kona storm is done with us. If so, I’ll be back online when the power/connectivity returns.

 

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

0.53  Mohihi Crossing, Kauai
8.28  Maunawili, Oahu 
5.20  Honolimaloo, Molokai
2.56  Lanai City, Lanai
4.28  Hanaula, Maui
0.25  Pohakuloa Range 17, Big Island

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

14  Makaha Ridge, Kauai – S
33  Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu –  SW
36  Makapulapai, Molokai – SE
35  Lanai 1,  Lanai – S
39  Kealaloloa Rg, Maui –  SW
25  Kona AP, Big Island – SSE

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

Variable clouds over the state 

 

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

Considerable cloudiness continues to arrive from the west-southwest 

 

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…some are heavy

 

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

~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~

 

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

527am Friday morning, with breezy conditions, with cloudy skies here at my place and a light shower, with the low temperature 61 degrees, along with the relative humidity 79%.

820am, very threatening skies over Maui County, with some heavy duty showers falling in places! Here in upper Kula, I’m watching all the cool clouds, before the rain arrives.

 

>>> Highest Temperature Friday, March 20, 2026 – 112 degrees near Yuma, AZ
>>> Lowest Temperature Saturday, March 21, 2026 – 14 degrees at Angel Fire, NM

 

Interesting Web blog…Mauka Showers – The March 11-15, 2026 Kona Low – Once in a Generation Storm?

 

Hawaii’s Broad Brush Weather Overview…as of 329am Saturday: Two surface kona low pressure systems continue to move slowly northeastward through the northern Hawaii Islands this weekend, producing additional periods of moderate to heavy rain, thunderstorms, and elevated threats for flash flooding statewide. A combination of low level forcing and passing upper level troughs will drive smaller scale heavy rain bands and thunderstorms. These smaller scale cloud bands are less predictable and will produce the heaviest rainfall rates in the 2 to 4 inches per hour range.

Additional weather threats include strengthening south to southwest kona winds today, that may produce down sloping wind gusts in the 30 to 45 mph range along steep north and east slopes of island mountain ranges lasting through tonight. Improving weather trends will develop from west to east on Monday, as we transition to a wet trade wind weather pattern, lasting through the end of next week.

Weather Details for the islands…as of 329am Saturday: Satellite imagery showers a long lived smaller scale low level convergence band slowly drifting eastward through Maui County. The heaviest showers and thunderstorms are currently developing along this convergence band within 50 miles north and south of Molokai. This band will continue the be the primary driver of heavy rain over Maui County today, as it slowly drifts eastward into Maui later this morning.

For Oahu, a broad band of enhanced clouds are moving towards Oahu and are consolidating along a new low level smaller scale convergence band. Showers are already increasing across the island with deeper. cloud heights rising into the 25,000 to 30,000 foot range, based on satellite cloud top temperatures, and may lead to increasing moderate to heavy showers over Oahu. Enhanced showers are also shown on radar imagery developing just upstream of Kauai and the Big Island. We need to watch this fluid situation closely, as the heaviest rainfall impacts will evolve on an hour by hour timeline. Stay vigilant this weekend.

Focusing on the larger scale for a moment, we continue to see two surface lows within the larger kona low structure, drifting towards the northeast passing just north of the island of Kauai. The highest upper level forcing from this kona low will develop over Oahu and the islands of Maui County into Sunday. The Big Island will likely see additional large scale forcing by early Sunday morning into Monday with this system.

By Monday, the pattern begins to change for the western islands, as cool northeasterly trades blow into Kauai and Oahu. Returning trade winds will signal improving weather trends, as the deep moisture and unstable atmosphere will be driven towards the south, away from the islands.

By Tuesday, deep unstable moisture will clear up over Maui County and the Big Island of Hawaii with improving weather trends. Upper level troughing will linger across the Hawaii region next week. However, heavier showers will diminish as the weather pattern shifts back to a more typical wet trade wind weather pattern. Passing light to moderate showers will favor the typical windward and mountain areas, with this easterly trade wind pattern lasting through next weekend.

 

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 329am Saturday: Light to moderate south winds expected as the surface low pressure west of Kauai deepens. Moderate to locally strong S/SW prevails, and periods of heavy showers and a few thunderstorms are expected. The low will lift north on Sunday allowing moderate north winds to develop around Kauai, which will then veer to NE and spread south. Due to wave heights around Niihau, Kauai and Oahu, a Small Craft Advisory is in effect for those waters until 6am Sunday.

A northerly swell is building in and will create large surf for north facing shores of Niihau, Kauai and Oahu, that will peak and then slowly decline tonight. As such A High Surf Advisory (HSA) is in effect for north facing shores for Niihau, Kauai and Oahu until 6am Sunday. The south swell is slowly declining and will continue that trend through the weekend into early next week. Surf along east shores is elevated due to the north swell and will be near HSA thresholds. This swell will slowly diminish through the weekend. Smaller surf is expected along south facing shores through the remainder of the week.

 

Maui Rainy Day Activities - Things To Do When It's Raining On Maui



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 347 NM east of Darwin, Australia

https://www.metoc.navy.mil/jtwc/products/27P_211200sair.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:  How Climate Change Is Fueling Disease Outbreaks

New Stanford-led research traces a direct line from extreme weather to a massive dengue outbreak in Peru. The findings serve as a warning – and the seed of a possible solution.

Diseases historically absent from the United States have been showing up in Florida, Texas, California, and other U.S. states in recent years. To understand why, look to Peru. That’s where researchers from Stanford and other institutions analyzed the connection between a cyclone and a massive outbreak of dengue fever, a mosquito-borne viral disease that can cause fever, rash, and life-threatening symptoms like hemorrhage and shock. Their findings, published March 17 in One Earth, reveal that warmer, wetter weather linked to climate change is making disease epidemics more likely.

“Health impacts of climate change aren’t something we’re waiting for,” said study lead author Mallory Harris, a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Maryland who conducted the research as a PhD student in biology at Stanford. “They’re happening now.”

Read more: Stanford University