The last update to this website was at 809pm (HST) Monday, August 8, 2022
Air Temperatures – The following high temperatures (F) were recorded across the state of Hawaii Monday afternoon…along with these low temperatures Monday morning:
83 – 76 Lihue AP, Kauai
89 – 75 Honolulu AP, Oahu
89 – 73 Molokai AP
90 – 74 Kahului AP, Maui – 90 missed tying the record Monday by 3 degrees
87 – 75 Kona AP, Hawaii
82 – 67 Hilo AP, Hawaii
Here are the latest 24-hour precipitation totals (inches) for each of the islands Monday evening:
0.04 Waimea Heights, Kauai
0.05 Manoa Lyon Arboretum, Oahu
0.00 Molokai
0.00 Lanai
0.00 Kahoolawe
0.66 West Wailuaiki, Maui
0.76 Kawainui Stream, Big Island
The following numbers represent the strongest wind gusts (mph) Monday evening:
16 Poipu, Kauai
29 Kuaokala, Oahu
27 Molokai
28 Lanai
40 Kahoolawe
37 Kapalua, Maui
29 Pali 2, Big Island
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.
Thunderstorms south and southeast…Hurricane Howard far east towards Mexico
Low clouds will be carried our way on the trade winds…high clouds near Kauai
Variable clouds across the state…along with clear areas
Showers locally
Model showing precipitation through 8-days (you can slow this animation down)
Please open this link…to see current Watches, Warnings and Advisories noted above
~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~
Glenn’s Monday comments: I’m here in upper Kula, Maui, and the low temperature this morning was a chilly 49 degrees, with mostly clear to partly cloudy skies.
552am, a beautiful pink sunrise this morning, as the high cirrus clouds light up!
832am, another great summer morning, with a few cumulus clouds, and a few wisps of high cirrus clouds here and there.
Near noon, the trades are blowing, and there is limited moisture, thus, lower level cumulus clouds are at a minimum so far today.
130pm, partly to mostly cloudy around the mountains, with generally sunny and clear skies down along the coasts.
5pm, Like this afternoon, the clouds gathered over and around the mountains, although the beaches generally remained cloud free.
530pm, upper Kula actually got some light sprinkles, they didn’t amount to much, although it felt good to take my final walk of the day…with some drops from the sky falling on me.
650pm, there are still enough high icy cirrus clouds just before sunset, that we should get some nice pink color…just like we did early this morning at sunrise.
Hawaii’s Broad Brush Weather Overview: Moderate to locally breezy trade winds are expected to prevail into the upcoming weekend, but may become locally windy around the middle of the week, as a tropical disturbance passes south of the area. Clouds and brief showers will focus over windward slopes and coasts, with afternoon and evening clouds over leeward Big Island slopes.
Hawaii’s Weather Details: Seasonable trade wind weather is expected, with persistent high pressure far northeast of the islands, supplying a steady trade wind flow. Winds may increase around the middle of this week, as surface pressures lower to the south of the islands, with a tropical disturbance potentially developing within a broad area of low pressure.
A tightening of the local pressure gradient is expected, with locally windy conditions possible, but there continues to be a greater than normal amount of uncertainty, as model guidance appears to be overestimating the strength of the disturbance. There’s also a chance that showers will increase near the Big Island Wednesday and Thursday…as a result of the disturbance’s passage.
Our summer trade wind flow will ease slightly toward the end of the week as the disturbance moves quickly westward away from the area, with moderate to locally breezy trade winds expected into next weekend. Long term model guidance indicates a trend toward lighter winds early next week.
A mostly dry trade wind weather pattern is expected to prevail, as an upper-level ridge extends over the area from a high centered to the northeast of the islands. Little change to the ridge’s strength is expected through Friday as it moves slowly north, while some weakening of the ridge may occur next weekend. A strong subsidence inversion will limit shower coverage and intensity, with brief showers primarily favoring windward areas, although leeward Big Island will receive afternoon and evening showers.
A jet stream associated with a low aloft northwest is sending some cirrus clouds near Kauai, but the low is forecast to move north over the next couple of days, and most high clouds will lift north of the area. Some increase in high clouds is possible Thursday-Friday as a new low aloft develops northwest, with southerly flow aloft bringing some moisture over the islands from the deeper tropics.
>>> 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. Here’s the animated volcanic emissions graphic
Hawaii’s Marine Conditions: A ridge will build north of the area into Tuesday. As a result, moderate to fresh trades will gradually build around Kauai and Oahu, in addition to the moderate to locally strong easterly trade winds that are already in place around the Big Island and Maui County.
A Small Craft Advisory (SCA) for the typically windy waters around Maui County and the Big Island is in effect through Wednesday night. A further increase in wind speeds is expected late Tuesday or Wednesday, as a tropical disturbance passes far south of the islands. This may require an expansion of the SCA to additional waters.
Little significant swell is anticipated through the week. Building trade winds will produce a gradual increase in waves to east shores during the next couple of days, peaking near or slightly above seasonal average Wednesday into Thursday. A very small south swell may arrive Tuesday and fade by Thursday. A small south-southeast swell is expected over the next couple of days, with a larger pulse from the same direction possible by the weekend.
World-wide Tropical Cyclone Activity
Atlantic Ocean: There are no active tropical cyclone
Eastern Tropical Atlantic:
A tropical wave continues to produce a large area of disorganized showers and thunderstorms over the eastern tropical Atlantic a few hundred miles south-southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands. Gradual development of this system is possible and a tropical depression could form by the middle or latter portion of the week before environmental conditions become less favorable by this weekend. This system is expected to move westward to west-northwestward at 15 to 20 mph across the tropical Atlantic during the next several days.
* Formation chance through 48 hours…low…20 percent
* Formation chance through 5 days…medium…40 percent
Caribbean: There are no active tropical cyclone
Gulf of Mexico: There are no active tropical cyclone
Eastern Pacific:
Tropical Cyclone 09E (Howard)…is located about 360 miles west-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California
HOWARD HOLDING STEADY IN STRENGTH
Howard is moving toward the northwest near 12 mph. A west-northwest to northwest motion is expected during the next couple of days. Maximum sustained winds remain near 80 mph with higher gusts. Little change in strength is expected overnight, but weakening is forecast to begin on Tuesday. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 15 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 60 miles.
>>> Offshore of Southwest Mexico:
An area of low pressure is forecast to form a few hundred miles south of southwestern Mexico in a couple of days. Environmental conditions appear conducive for gradual development of this system, and a tropical depression could form late this week while it moves west-northwestward, well offshore of the coast of Mexico.
* Formation chance through 48 hours…low…near 0 percent
* Formation chance through 5 days…medium…40 percent
Here’s the link to the National Hurricane Center (NHC)
Central Pacific: There are no active tropical cyclones
Well south-southeast of the Hawaiian Islands
An area of low pressure could form around midweek within a broad trough several hundred miles south-southeast of the main Hawaiian Islands. Environmental conditions could allow for some gradual development of this system as it moves quickly westward over the central Pacific later this week.
* Formation chance through 48 hours…low…10 percent
* Formation chance through 5 days…low…30 percent
Well east-southeast of the Hawaiian Islands
A large area of disorganized showers and thunderstorms is associated with a broad trough of low pressure located more than 1000 miles east-southeast of the Hawaiian Islands. Environmental conditions have become less conducive, and additional development is no longer expected as the disturbance moves westward toward the central Pacific basin.
* Formation chance through 48 hours…low…low near 0 percent
* Formation chance through 5 days…low…near 0 percent
Here’s the link to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC)
Northwest Pacific Ocean: There are no active tropical cyclones
South Pacific Ocean: There are no active tropical cyclones
North and South Indian Oceans / Arabian Sea: There are no active tropical cyclones
Here’s a link to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC)
Interesting: A Simple, Cheap Material for Carbon Capture, Perhaps From Tailpipes
Using an inexpensive polymer called melamine — the main component of Formica — chemists have created a cheap, easy and energy-efficient way to capture carbon dioxide from smokestacks, a key goal for the United States and other nations as they seek to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The process for synthesizing the melamine material, published this week in the journal Science Advances, could potentially be scaled down to capture emissions from vehicle exhaust or other movable sources of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide from fossil fuel burning makes up about 75% of all greenhouse gases produced in the U.S.
The new material is simple to make, requiring primarily off-the-shelf melamine powder — which today costs about $40 per ton — along with formaldehyde and cyanuric acid, a chemical that, among other uses, is added with chlorine to swimming pools.
“We wanted to think about a carbon capture material that was derived from sources that were really cheap and easy to get. And so, we decided to start with melamine,” said Jeffrey Reimer, Professor of the Graduate School in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, and one of the corresponding authors of the paper.
Read more at University of California – Berkeley
Email Glenn James: 
David Hume Says:
Hi Glenn, several times you refer to a potential system ‘well South West of the Hawaiian Islands’……? Shouldn’t it be South East??. Also, having some wonderful dry days here, finally able to repaint my deck. Aloha David.
~~~ Hi David, indeed, I just caught that mistake myself this morning! Yes, that area is in fact southeast. My first error in 20 years…hahaha! 🙂
Dry is the word down your way, glad you finally got to take care of your deck there in Kona!
Take care of yourself my long term friend!
Aloha, Glenn
Alan Says:
Glenn—Wailea got about 3” of rain in a downpour Wednesday between 2 and 3pm.
~~~ Hi Alan, thanks for your report! From here at my place I could see the dark gray towering cumulus down your way, and was hoping that they were depositing some much needed water to the leeward side of east Maui. I wish you could send some of that precipitation up here to Kula!
Aloha, Glenn
Meghan Says:
Hi! Is there any concern with this new
“area of low pressure could form over the far western portion of the eastern Pacific basin later this week”
as far as it directly impacting the Hawaii islands in the next 2 weeks? Thank you!
~~~ Hi Meghan, good question. Actually, looking at the latest forecast models, there are two tropical cyclones that will likely spin up in the eastern Pacific, both of which will head west. However, it’s still too early to know how far they will make it towards our central Pacific, or even towards the Hawaiian Islands. My best wild guess would be that neither one will end up being a problem for Hawaii. This is due to the cooler water and upper air shearing winds out to the east of Hawaii. Time will tell of course, and I will be reporting on all tropical activity in both the east and central Pacific going forward. One final note: A remnant trough associated with former Tropical Cyclone Georgette, will drift westward across the islands enhancing shower activity early next week…Long range guidance continues to show a tropical low passing south of the Big Island around the middle of next week. If the low develops and passes south of the islands, trade winds could further strengthen as the surface pressure gradient increases. Neither the trough or the low should have any major impact on the islands.
Aloha, Glenn
Lynn Says:
Hi Glenn,
We are staying at The Grand Wailea in Maui. The weather channel is showing rain Wednesday through Saturday. I’ve been told not to go by those websites. Please tell me the forecast will be different than what I’m seeing !!
Thanks!!
~~~ Hi Lynn, good question. I anticipate that Wailea might have some rain over the next day or two, although as for rain everyday between Wednesday and Saturday…out of the question. You will have plenty of daytime sunshine, no doubt. I recommend using this weather page for your latest Wailea forecast:
https://www.hawaiiweathertoday.com/maui.php?zone=HIZ049
Best of luck!
Aloha, Glenn
Keith Says:
Aloha Glenn…I’m wondering…these high temps and drought we’ve been experience across the island…how unusual is it? Any data on that?
~~~ Hi Keith, I’d say the high temperatures aren’t unusual for summer. However, it’s drier than normal, although I don’t have any data to confirm that. Here at my place in upper Kula, our typically green grass has turned crispy brown. I’ve seen this happen before, although it’s not the norm by any means. We keep hoping for some afternoon rainfall, or some other source of showery weather to arrive! The windward sides have had better luck with showers, as the trade winds carry moisture to them quite often.
Aloha, Glenn