Glenn James

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

 

The latest update to this website was at 828pm Thursday evening HST


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

7.08  Mount Waialeale, Kauai 
2.94  Kunia Substation, Oahu
0.01  Honolimaloo, Molokai
0.00  Lanai
0.37  Park HQ, Maui
0.34  Pahala, Big Island


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

24  Barking Sands, Kauai – SE
21  Kaneohe, Oahu – ESE
25  Makapulapai, Molokai – E
24  Na Kula, Maui – E
20  South Point, Big Island – NE


Hawaii’s Mountains – Here’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.


https://weather.gc.ca/data/satellite/goes_gwdisk11_1070_100.jpg

Big Blue…click twice for largest version

 

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   Tropical Storm Nolo west of Hawaii…Hurricane Rachel near Mexico


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Variable clouds are present over the island chain 

 

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Localized Showers…some heavy around Kauai and Oahu

 

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

453am, it’s partly cloudy here at my place, with the low temperature 61 degrees, relative humidity is 84%…with calm conditions

707am, it’s partly cloudy with still lots of volcanic haze in our air here in Maui County.

1220pm, partly to mostly cloudy with lots of vog.

6pm, partly to mostly cloudy, with less vog.


Hawaii’s Weather Highlights
…as of Thursday evening:
The subtropical ridge will slowly build back in over the Hawaiian Islands, as Tropical Storm Nolo continues to draft westward away from the Hawaiian Islands. Higher pressure returning to the islands from Friday onward will produce easterly trade winds, increase atmospheric stability, lower humidity levels, and decrease shower trends through the weekend. Brief passing showers will favor windward mountain areas in the overnight to early morning hours. Increasing cloud cover and shower trends may return from Monday night into Thursday morning due to a passing disturbance.

Short Term Update: The short range forecast grids look reasonable as Friday becomes the transition day between unstable tropical moisture in southeasterly wind flow, and more stable returning easterly trade winds. More typical drier easterly trade wind weather will lock in just in time for the weekend.

A weak disturbance may bring another round of enhanced showers to all islands from Monday night into next Thursday morning. Trade wind temperature inversion heights rise into the 8,000 to 10,000 foot range, which allows for scattered to numerous shower activity statewide. Northeastern to eastern windward mountain slopes would likely see the higher rainfall amounts, due to easterly wind forcing in this evolving weather pattern for the middle of next week.

Weather Narrative…as of Thursday evening: Trailing tropical moisture embedded in Tropical Storm Nolo`s circulation brought areas of showers mainly across Oahu. Showers were moving from south to north affecting first the southern part of Oahu, including Honolulu and extending across the rest of the island. Rainfall accumulations were between half to one inch in some areas. By mid afternoon, most showers were moving across the coastal waters. This weather pattern will continue through tomorrow, but with the main activity shifting more towards Kauai beginning tonight into Friday morning.

Latest model guidance is showing a drier air mass moving in, as Nolo continues moving away from the area. As the influence of Tropical Storm Nolo diminishes, high pressure system will take control of the weather locally. Dry and pleasant weather conditions are expected for this upcoming weekend.

Early next week, the trades will weaken in response to an approaching surface trough from the northeast, and then will weaken further heading into mid-week, as broad troughing develops northwest of the state. In this lighter flow, land and sea breezes will become increasingly more prevalent, with clearing expected overnight, and clouds and a few showers developing over leeward and interior areas with daytime heating each afternoon.

Fire Weather:  Fire weather concerns will be low over the next couple of days, due to the lighter southeast winds bringing high relative humidities and scattered showers to the state. Drier air is expected to be ushered in over the weekend as moderate to locally breezy east-northeasterly trades return, which may increase the fire weather concern slightly to moderate levels. However, winds are expected to decrease early to mid-week next week, lowering the fire weather concerns once again.

 

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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 Map / Looping Surface Precipitation…through the next 8-days / Vog Map

 

Marine Conditions…as of Thursday evening: Moderate southeasterly winds will prevail through Friday, as Tropical Storm Nolo continues to slowly drift westward away from the Hawaiian Islands. Gentle to fresh east to northeast trades will fill back in across the waters this weekend.

The moderate, short to medium period, west to southwest swell originating from Nolo will continue for Niihau and Kauai through Friday night. Additionally, a small background south swell continues for the other islands. The next small, long period south swell energy will arrive Sunday afternoon, peaking on Monday, and then slowly decreasing through Wednesday.

Surf along other shores will remain small until moderate trades return by Saturday, providing a slight boost to east facing shores. Multiple rounds of tiny northwest to north swell energy will reach north and west facing shores starting early next week, as the storms tracking near the Aleutian Islands of AK become increasingly active.

 

>>> Highest Temperature Thursday, October 1, 2026 – 107 degrees at Death Valley, CA


>>>
Lowest Temperature Thursday, October 1, 2026 – 23 degrees at Foxpark, WY

 

Hawaii Landscape Photography | Tropical Island Art | Max Foster Photography


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

>>> Subtropical Central Atlantic:

Remnants of Fay

An area of low pressure associated with the remnants of former Tropical Storm Fay is located several hundred miles southeast of Bermuda. Despite ongoing thunderstorm activity, dry air and strong upper-level winds are expected to prevent significant re-development while it moves northwestward, to the east of Bermuda. Any formation chances should end by Sunday due to very strong upper-level winds.

* Formation chance through 48 hours…low…10 percent
* Formation chance through 7 days…low…10 percent 

Caribbean Sea: There are no active tropical cyclones

Gulf of America: There are no active tropical cyclones

 

Northeast Pacific

Tropical cyclone 18E (Rachel) is located about 245 miles south of the southern tip of Baja CA

RACHEL STRENGTHENS WHILE SLOWLY MOVING WESTWARD

According to the NHC advisory number 19 

Rachel is moving slowly toward the west near 3 mph (6 km/h) and this slow west to west-northwest motion is expected the next couple of days. Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 120 mph (195 km/h) with higher gusts. Rachel is a category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Additional strengthening is forecast the next day or so, before some gradual weakening this weekend. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 40 miles (65 km) from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 150 miles (240 km). The estimated minimum central pressure is 950 mb (28.06 inches).

cone graphic

 

Remnants of Tropical cyclone 19E is located about 1025 miles west-southwest of the southern tip of Baja CA – Last Advisory

NINETEEN-E DISSIPATES

According to the NHC advisory number 10 

The remnants are moving toward the east near 8 mph (13 km/h) and this motion is expected to continue for another day or so. Maximum sustained winds are near 30 mph (45 km/h) with higher gusts. The estimated minimum central pressure is 1006 mb (29.71 inches).

cone graphic

 

>>> South of Southern Mexico:

An area of low pressure could form late this weekend or early next week south of the southern coast of Mexico. Thereafter, environmental conditions appear favorable for gradual development, and a tropical depression is likely form while the system moves slowly west-northwestward to northwestward.

* Formation chance through 48 hours…low…near 0 percent
* Formation chance through 7 days…high…80 percent

 

Central North Pacific:

Tropical Cyclone 15E (Nolo) is located about 390 miles west of Lihue, Hawaii

NOLO POISED TO RE-STRENGTHEN INTO A HURRICANE BY THE WEEKEND

According to the NHC advisory number 45

Nolo is moving toward the northwest near 6 mph (9 km/h). This general motion is expected today, followed by a westward turn with a large increase in forward speed by the weekend. On the forecast track, Nolo should remain south of the main atolls of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument. Maximum sustained winds are near 60 mph (95 km/h) with higher gusts. Nolo is forecast to become a hurricane by the weekend, and could become a major hurricane over the weekend. Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 105 miles (165 km) from the center. The estimated minimum central pressure is 993 mb (29.33 inches).

cone graphic

 

Northwest Pacific Ocean:

Tropical Cyclone 26W(Choi-Wan)…is located approximately 68 NM west-northwest of Anatahan

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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

 

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Here’s the link to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC)



Interesting: 
Pressurized Experiments Could Help Wind Farms Generate More Power

A new way of simulating wind turbines in the field shows how tweaking turbine operation could unlock tens of thousands of dollars per turbine every year.

The world needs more wind energy. But anyone designing new wind turbines or trying to squeeze more power out of existing ones faces a stiff challenge testing new approaches. That’s because the atmosphere is a tough place for a controlled experiment.

Some researchers use wind tunnels to conduct tests, but scaled-down wind turbines in traditional wind tunnels can differ widely from conditions in the field. (Wind turbines are the largest rotating machines ever made.) The problem hampers not only development of better wind turbines, but also our understanding of basic questions like how much power to expect from a turbine when winds change direction.

In a new open access paper published in PNAS Nexus, researchers closed the gap between experiments in the field and the lab by using a wind tunnel that features high pressurization to simulate the flow physics in the atmosphere. With this approach, the researchers determined how the alignment of the turbine and its tip speed relative to the wind influence the power it generates, offering new insights into how to get more power from existing wind farms.

Read More: Massachusetts Institute of Technology