Glenn James
Hawaii Weather Today
Founder and maintainer for 30 years


The latest update to this website was 636am Friday HST


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

0.35  Waialae, Kauai 
0.00  Oahu
0.00  Molokai
0.00  Lanai
0.02  Keokea, Maui
0.32  Mauna Loa Ob Stn, Big Island


The following numbers represent the strongest wind gusts (mph) Friday morning:

15  Lawai, Kauai – E
22  Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu – SE
25  Makapulapai, Molokai – ENE
27  Lanai 1,  Lanai – NE 
27  Maalaea Bay, Maui – N
27  Kealakomo, Big Island – NNE


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

 

https://cdn.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/GOES18/ABI/SECTOR/tpw/13/GOES18-TPW-13-900x540.gif

Thunderstorms far south 

 

https://cdn.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/GOES18/ABI/SECTOR/hi/GEOCOLOR/20261070500-20261071250-GOES18-ABI-HI-GEOCOLOR-600x600.gif

Multi-level clouds moving over some parts of the state…from the 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

 

https://www.weather.gov/wwamap/png/hfo.png

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




~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~

 

Glenn’s Aloha Friday comments:  I’m here in Bend, Oregon with my friend Bob, continuing on in my working vacation.

404aam Hawaii time, it’s mostly clear here in Bend, with a frigid low temperature of 24 degrees!

 

>>> Highest Temperature Thursday, April 16, 2026 – 102 degrees at Rio Grande Village, TX
>>> Lowest Temperature Friday, April 17, 2026 –  minus 4 degrees near Manila, Utah

 

Hawaii’s Broad Brush Weather Overview…as of Friday morning: High pressure passing to our north will bring a brief return of moderate to locally breezy easterly trade winds from this afternoon into Saturday. An upper level trough will bring a slight chance of thunderstorms over the Big Island slopes this afternoon, and over Kauai late this afternoon into tonight. From Sunday into early next week, a series of disturbances passing near the state will produce southeasterly winds, along with increased shower chances over the western islands.

Weather Details for the Hawaiian Islands…as of Friday morning: High pressure building north of the state will cause the trade winds to strengthen today especially during the afternoon. Moderate to locally breezy trades should fill in and will likely persist through Saturday. In the upper levels of the atmosphere, we have a trough swinging through the state today, which will bring an increase of mid to high clouds and provide some instability. Thunderstorms have already been developing along this trough this morning, and while most of the thunderstorm activity is expected to stay west of the state, a slight chance of thunderstorms remain over Kauai later this afternoon through tonight. Over on the Big Island slopes, day time heating should lead to afternoon convection and we could see a few thunderstorms develop once again this afternoon. Any thunderstorms that develop along the slopes will be short-lived with the threat for any lightning decreasing in the evening hours.

Elsewhere across the state, fair weather conditions are expected with moderate to locally breezy trade winds. Over the weekend, another trough develops west of the state, which will cause the winds to weaken and veer towards the southeast by Sunday. As the flow veers more southerly, deeper moisture will spread northward across the state, especially over the western half of the state, where the GFS model is showing precipitable water values approaching 2 inches around Kauai.

Abundant moisture and another upper level trough swinging through, could bring the threat of heavy rain Sunday afternoon into Monday for Kauai and possibly Oahu. The forecast for Sunday into Monday will likely evolve over the next 24 to 36 hours, as we get more data from the high resolution models, so stay tuned. Beyond Monday, we will likely continue to see some lingering moisture over most of the state through the middle of next week. Light winds during this time will allow for afternoon sea breezes to develop, which will prompt afternoon clouds and showers to develop especially over interior and mountain areas.


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

 

Marine Environmental Conditions: A weak trough N of the state will continue to move NE and away from the area. High pressure then builds N of the area into the weekend, which will allow trade winds to gradually strengthen into tonight. Moderate to fresh trade winds are expected across area waters with locally strong trades expected over the windier waters around Maui County and the Big Island. A Small Craft Advisory (SCA) has been issued for the windier waters through Saturday. A trough developing to our W and NW on Sunday will cause trades to weaken slightly and veer to ESE.

Gentle to moderate ESE winds are expected Sunday into early next week. Small background energy from the W will be possible this weekend into next week from Typhoon Sinlaku, but confidence remains low. A moderate NW to WNW swell is possible towards the second half of next week as Typhoon Sinlaku transitions to extratropical.

Low pressure advancing S along the W coast of the US next week should produce a moderate, medium period NE swell toward the islands by mid-week. A small to moderate, medium-period, SSE swell boosts surf along S shores then lowers over the weekend. Surf is expected to return to background levels along south facing shores by early next week. Surf along E shores remains below the seasonal average as trades remain light. However, increasing trades by week`s end should bring a slight bump to surf over the weekend.

 

the best beach oahu hawaii kawaaa beach


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

>>> Caribbean Sea: There are no active tropical cyclones

>>> Gulf of Mexico: There are no active tropical cyclones

Here’s the link to the National Hurricane Center (NHC)

 

>>> Eastern Pacific: There are no active tropical cyclones

Here’s the link to the National Hurricane Center (NHC)

>>> Central Pacific: There are no active tropical cyclones

Here’s the link to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC)

 

>>> Northwest Pacific Ocean:

Tropical Cyclone 04W (Sinlaku)…is located approximately 362 NM southeast of Iwo To

https://www.metoc.navy.mil/jtwc/products/04W_170600sair.jpg

 

>>> Southwest Pacific Ocean: There are no active tropical cyclones

>>> North and South Indian Oceans / Arabian Sea: There are no active tropical cyclones



Interesting:  High Levels of Forever Chemicals in Svalbard Reindeer

Researchers have long known that heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants such as DDT concentrate in the Arctic, in top predator animals like polar bears.

But what happens with animals like Svalbard’s reindeer, which graze on arctic plants?

How contaminated are these animals? How do they compare to other reindeer species, such as caribou, across the Arctic? What kinds of effects might those contaminants have? And lastly, people eat Svalbard reindeer. Do they need to cut back?

Read more at: Norwegian University of Science and Technology

A bull Svalbard reindeer. Female reindeer also grow antlers but they are typically smaller than the male’s.