The latest update to this website was at 836pm Friday (HST)

 

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

4.80  Mount Waialeale, Kauai
2.23  Lyon, Oahu
0.97  Puu Alii, Molokai
0.00  Lanai
2.78  West Wailuaiki, Maui
2.20  Papaikou Well, Big Island

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

27  Lihue, Kauai – ENE
33  Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu – ENE
27  Molokai AP, Molokai – NE
29  Lanai 1, Lanai – NE
36  Na Kula, Maui – NNE
31  South Point, Big Island – ENE

 

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

A trough of low pressure west of Hawaii

 

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

Low clouds carried along in the trade wind flow…high clouds moving over us from the west aloft

 

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 any current Watches, Warnings and Advisories noted above

 

~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~

 

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

It’s partly cloudy here in Maui County early this morning, with a low temperature of 50.5 degrees at my place, with the relative humidity 78 percent.

1227pm, it’s partly cloudy here in Maui County, with most of the clouds along the windward sides and over and around the mountains.

6pm, very cloudy and shower prone conditions seem  to be setting up. The temperature here at my place is 63.1 degrees, with the RH 65%

Tonight’s full moon is being called a Super Moon…look for Jupiter to be located not from below the moon.

Weather Wit of the day: Weather Forecaster – A person who speaks with complete authority ab0ut the absolute uncertainty of the weather

>>> Highest Temperature Friday, January 2, 2026 – 93 near Hidalgo, TX
>>> Lowest Temperature Friday, January 2, 2026 – minus 20 at Mount Washington, NH

 

Hawaii’s Broad Brush Weather Overview: Breezy trade winds will diminish tonight, as a band of showers keeps windward portions the Big Island and Maui wet. Trade winds will break down and shower activity will decrease over most areas on Saturday, with the exception of windward Big Island where showers will persist.

A kona low will develop north of Kauai Saturday night, causing winds to shift southerly and shower chances to increase. The low will pass northwest then west of Kauai Sunday through Monday, bringing the threat of flooding rainfall and thunderstorms. Strong and gusty easterly winds are expected to gradually reduce shower chances late Monday and Tuesday.

Hawaii’s Weather Details: Breezy and rather wet trade wind weather persists. A surface high centered about 1300 miles north of the state is driving the trade winds, and is pushing a shallow band of moisture into the windward slopes. A ridge aloft is maintaining stable conditions, which is capping clouds tops within the band at about 10,000 feet and limiting rainfall intensity.

Many gauges on windward Kauai, Oahu, Maui picked up a quarter to to one inch of rainfall as the band has moved through during the past 24 hours, with a few standouts measuring over 2 inches. Rainfall will be trending down over the western portion of the island chain tonight as trade winds ease, though windward Big Island and Maui will likely remain rather wet.

Trade winds will break down on Saturday, as a sharp upper level and surface trough develops several hundred miles north of Kauai. Lingering moisture will remain hung up and keep shower chances higher along windward Big Island and possibly east Maui. The mid level ridge will erode, which could allow sea breezes to trigger spotty showers over leeward terrain on all islands, but thickening high clouds may limit daytime heating enough to suppress afternoon convection.

Chances for heavy flooding rainfall and thunderstorms increase late Saturday night as a kona low develops a couple hundred miles north of the state, and the flood threat will persist into Monday as the low slowly passes northwest then west of Kauai. A jet stream aloft on the low’s southeast flank will will produce instability and lift over the islands Sunday into early Monday, as the core of the upper low passes just west of Kauai.

Meanwhile, a broad area of surface convergence within a southeast to south flow will provide ample moisture, with precipitable water values over 1.5 inches. Under this moisture environment, heavy showers and thunderstorms could bring flooding to all islands, not just near the low, where instability and chances for strong thunderstorms will be greatest. It should be noted that guidance from the GFS and ECMWF models have been producing some of the highest rainfall totals over windward and southeast Big Island and, to a lesser degree on Maui, where the current shower band could stall and provide a source of enhanced moisture. Thus, a Flood Watch has been issued for the entire state. There will also be a chance of snow and/or freezing rain on the high summits of the Big Island.

The surface low will weaken and move off to the west Monday, as it decouples from the upper level low, which will drift south of the islands. With surface high pressure remaining far to the north of Hawaii, a tight pressure gradient will develop over the state, resulting in breezy to perhaps strong southeast winds. Guidance suggests that deep moisture will remain in place over the state and maintain a flood risk, especially over windward and southeast slopes.

Breezy east to southeast winds will slowly decline Tuesday and Wednesday as the low fills west of Hawaii. Deep moisture looks to persist, but there is uncertainty on the degree of instability available to support a heavy shower risk.

Here’s a near real-time Wind Profile of the Pacific Ocean – 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: High pressure building north of the state will keep moderate to locally strong easterly trade winds in the forecast through tonight. The Small Craft Advisory was extended in coverage to include most windward coastal waters due to the building northerly swell. Moderate to locally strong trade winds will briefly decrease this weekend and veer from the east to southeast direction, as a low pressure system develops north of Kauai and tracks southwestward. As this low passes just west of the state, strong to near gale force easterly trade winds are expected to impact the Hawaiian Waters by Sunday evening, and likely continue into the early part of next week. Rough conditions with large seas and heavy rain are expected across most coastal waters through Tuesday.

A moderate, medium-period north to north-northeast swell will fill in slowly, and surf heights along north facing shores will peak just below High Surf Advisory thresholds from tonight through Saturday morning.

Moderate to locally strong trade winds will keep rough and choppy surf along east facing shores. A much stronger fetch of strong to near gale force trade winds will bring a significant increase of easterly wind swell from late Sunday into early next week, which should exceed advisory thresholds for east facing shores. Surf along south facing shores will remain tiny through the forecast period.

Peak astronomical monthly tides with water levels running roughly 0.5 ft above normal should produce minor coastal flooding through this weekend, and may be enhanced along north facing shores due to the incoming north swell. A Coastal Flood Statement has been issued to highlight this flooding potential, which should persist through this weekend with peak high tides.

A building north to north-northeast swell will also produce moderate surges for north facing harbors, especially for Kahului and Hilo. A Marine Weather Statement remains in effect for maritime interests to watch for these impending harbor surges.

 

Kauai's Coastal Gems: Best Beaches to Explore



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:  There are no active tropical cyclones

North and South Indian Ocean:  There are no active tropical cyclones 

South Indian Ocean:

Tropical Cyclone 09S (Grant)…is located approximately 574 NM northeast of Port Louis, Mauritius

https://www.metoc.navy.mil/jtwc/products/sh0926.gif

Tropical Cyclone 11S (Iggy)…is located approximately 469 NM northwest of Learmonth, Australia – 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:  2025 was so hot it pushed Earth past critical climate change mark, scientists say

Climate change worsened by human behavior made 2025 one of the three hottest years on record, scientists said.

It was also the first time that the three-year temperature average broke through the threshold set in the 2015 Paris Agreement of limiting warming to no more than 2.7 Fahrenheit since pre-industrial times. Experts say keeping the Earth below that limit could save lives and prevent catastrophic environmental destruction around the globe.

The analysis from World Weather Attribution researchers, released Tuesday in Europe, came after a year when people around the world were slammed by the dangerous extremes brought on by a warming planet.

Temperatures remained high despite the presence of a La Niña, the occasional natural cooling of Pacific Ocean waters that influences weather worldwide. Researchers cited the continued burning of fossil fuels — oil, gas and coal — that send planet-warming greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

“If we don’t stop burning fossil fuels very, very, quickly, very soon, it will be very hard to keep that goal” of warming, Friederike Otto, co-founder of World Weather Attribution and an Imperial College London climate scientist, told The Associated Press. “The science is increasingly clear.”

Read more at: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/climate-change-2025-critical-mark-eclipsed/