The latest update to this website was at 1245pm Thursday (HST)

 

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

1.47  Poipu, Kauai
6.17  Kaala, Oahu
0.18  Puu Alii, Molokai
0.09  Lanai City, Lanai
0.08  Puu Kukui, Maui
0.14  Kealakomo, Big Island

The following numbers represent the strongest wind gusts (mph) as of Thursday afternoon:

16  Barking Sands, Kauai – SE
28  Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu – SW
25  Molokai AP, Molokai – SSW
21  Lanai 1, Lanai – SSW 
33  Kahului AP, Maui – SW
21  Puuloa, Big Island – WNW

 

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

 The cold front is located just west of Kauai 

 

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

Clear to partly cloudy skies over the eastern islands…with towering cumulus and thunderstorms near Kauai and Oahu

 

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 around Kauai to Oahu

 

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 here at home in upper Kula, Maui

It’s mostly clear with a few clouds here in Maui County early this morning, with a low temperature of 53.5 degrees at my place, with the relative humidity 70 percent.

1245pm, here on Maui it’s mostly sunny with just a few clouds here and there. Here at my place in upper Kula it’s very breezy!

Weather Wit of the day: Winter Storm Warning – “You kids better get out and shovel the walk!”

>>> Highest Temperature Wednesday, December 17, 2025 – 85 near Jacumba, CA
>>> Lowest Temperature Thursday, December 18, 2025 – minus 2 at Rolla, ND

 

Hawaii’s Broad Brush Weather Overview: A band of thick clouds with moderate to locally heavy showers and a few thunderstorms will linger near Kauai and Oahu today, associated with a dissipating cold front. The band of clouds will become more diffused and lift northwestward back over Kauai County tonight, providing continued chances of showers with a drying trend for Molokai thru Oahu.

Ridging aloft will slowly build back in over the islands, marking a return of more stable easterly trade wind weather by this weekend. However, cloudy conditions will persist for the next couple of days. Moderate to strong trades with more typical stable conditions will build back Sunday into early next week.

Hawaii’s Weather Details: An active weather pattern continues across the western portion of the state, as a weakening front remains stalled west of Kauai. A band of clouds with heavy showers with isolated thunderstorms training from the southwest to northeast has remained nearly stationary over northern Oahu. Convective activity shows a slight downward trend this morning, within the main narrow rain band lingering over northern Oahu. Drier conditions have been observed over the rest of the state.

Hi-res models continue to suggest the band of showers to train over Oahu through much of the day, while gradually becoming more diffused with a few stray showers reaching Molokai. This band will shift northwestward later this morning and afternoon, keeping chances of heavy rain possible for Oahu and Kauai. Southeast winds build in over Maui County and the Big Island.

The Flood Watch will continue through this afternoon for Kauai County and Oahu. The watch may need to be extended for Kauai through Friday morning, as another upper level trough swings down, increasing instability over Kauai. Depending on surface level convergence and where the lingering band of showers ends up this afternoon and evening, this pattern could reinvigorate an active shower pattern through the evening hours. Chances for light to moderate showers will increase along along southeast exposures of the Big Island and Maui County tonight into Friday morning, as a disturbance moves in from the south.

Friday, a low level ridge will build in over the islands from the south, drawing low level moisture up to the mid-levels, generating a mix of high, mid, and low level layered clouds. Best chances of showers will linger over the western half of the state where the greatest upper level instability will linger.

Saturday, light to gentle easterly trade winds will return as a high builds northeast of the state. Low to upper level ridging will still allow moisture being drawn up over the state from the southwest to northeast keeping mostly cloudy conditions. Expect showers to mainly focus along windward and mountain areas.

Sunday into early next week the long lost trade winds are expected to strengthen to moderate to strong levels, with more stable conditions developing into early next week. Bands of showers trapped within the trade wind flow will remain focused mainly along windward and mountain areas.

Fire weather:  Wet weather conditions and isolated thunderstorms will trend down slightly across the western islands. Periods of clouds and scattered showers are expected for Molokai and Lanai, with drier conditions remaining in place over Maui and the Big Island. Trade winds and increasingly stable conditions will slowly return to the western half of the state from Friday into the weekend. Wind speeds and humidity levels will keep weather conditions below critical fire thresholds throughout next week.

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: A trough near Kauai and Oahu has brought isolated to scattered thunderstorms and numerous showers, and looks to continue through Friday over the western coastal waters. Gentle to locally moderate southerly winds are expected over the coastal waters except areas along the boundary that could reach Small Craft Advisory criteria winds associated with the thunderstorms.

The general southerly wind flow will gradually decrease to light to gentle through Friday night. Easterly trade winds look to slowly build from the east to west this weekend, with the potential for Small Craft Advisory over the windier waters and channels around Maui County and the Big Island by Sunday into early next week.

Surf along north facing shores will remain elevated, with a mix across the spectrum from the west-northwest to the north. The new north-northwest swell will look to build well into High Surf Advisory (HSA) criteria and peak this afternoon into the evening. The HSA may need to be extended through Friday. The slightly smaller west-northwest swell will look to fill in and quickly fade out Friday. A combination of the north- northwest and north swells will keep surf heights elevated through the weekend, but guidance shows it at or just below HSA levels.

East facing shores will remain small given the lack of trade winds upstream of the islands, but areas exposed to the north swell will see an increase through the rest of the week. As trade winds fill in later this weekend, east shores could become rough and choppy by early next week. Surf along south facing shores will remain small due to short period wind wave chop, mainly over the western islands along the boundary, but elsewhere should remain flat to tiny through the weekend.

 

Things to Do in Honolulu on a Rainy Day - Panda Travel ®
Kauai and Oahu

Towns and regions | Sunny Maui Vacations
Maui County and the Big Island



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 08S…is located approximately 668 NM north-northwest of Learmonth, Australia

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

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: The Climate Cost of Aviation: New Study Shows Contrails Are a Major Driver of Aviation’s Climate Impact

Aviation’s climate impact extends beyond carbon dioxide emissions.

A new international study, involving researchers from Chalmers University of Technology and the University of Gothenburg, reveals that contrails can represent a significant portion of aviation’s overall climate cost – with effects that vary sharply depending on atmospheric conditions and flight paths. By analyzing data from almost half a million flights, the research team has generated new insights that can support both industry and policymakers in guiding aviation towards more climate-optimized operations.

In the Nature Communications article “The social costs of aviation CO? and contrail cirrus” researchers Daniel Johansson, Christian Azar, Susanne Pettersson, Thomas Sterner, Marc E. J. Stettler and Roger Teoh demonstrate that both CO? emissions and contrail formation contribute materially to aviation’s climate impact – and that the associated societal costs differ substantially depending on weather patterns and routing decisions.

Drawing on extensive flight and meteorological data over the North Atlantic, in combination with a contrail model and an advanced climate-economy model, the researchers estimated the climate and societal cost attributable to each emission source.

Their findings indicate that strategies to reduce the impact of contrails can yield considerable climate benefits – even if such measures require rerouting flights to avoid atmospheric regions where persistent contrails may form.

Read More: Chalmers University of Technology