Glenn James
Hawaii Weather Today
Founder and maintainer for 30 years 

 

The latest update to this website was at 738pm Friday (HST)

 

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

2.33  Kilohana , Kauai
2.27  Moanalua RG, Oahu
1.76  Puu Alii, Molokai
0.00  Lanai
1.78  West Wailuaiki, Maui
0.29  Kaiholena, Big Island

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

30  Barking Sands, Kauai – NNE
35  Kuaokala, Oahu – N 
24  Anapuka, Molokai – NW
22  Lanai 1,  Lanai – NE
28  Lahaina, Maui – NNE
25  Kealakomo, Big Island – NNW 

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

Thunderstorms well south, a cold front far northwest

 

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

Low clouds arriving along the windward sides…on the gusty trade winds / high level clouds moving by south of the state

 

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 the current Watches, Warnings and Advisories noted above

~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~

 

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

533am Friday morning, with clear skies here at my place, with the low temperature a chilly 47 degrees, along with the relative humidity 74%.

I’ll be flying from Kahului to San Francisco this morning, as I take a working vacation for the next 6-weeks. Once I get to SFO I’ll take an airporter across the Golden Gate Bridge to Marin County. My friend Linda will pick me up in Corte Madera and take me to her house. Once a get a little something to eat, and visit with her briefly, I’ll set up my laptop and get back to work…updating this website. Thus, there will be a lag in updates today, until late this afternoon or early this evening.

607pm, I’m here at Linda’s after a long day out in the public, flying between Maui and northern California.

 

>>> Highest Temperature Friday, March 27, 2026 – 105 degrees at Octotillo Wells, CA
>>> Lowest Temperature Friday, March 27, 2026 – minus 4 degrees at Big Bay, MI

 

I’ve become aware that we may be having what’s called a Super El Nino this year. Records show that this phenomenon occurs typically every 10-15 years. The strongest El Nino’s we’ve had in the recent past were in 1982, 1997-98 and 2015-16.

My weather mentor, Dr. Daniel Swain, a climate  scientist with the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, is being quoted as saying: “The vast majority of [the models], almost all, suggest at least a moderate strength El Niño by later this coming summer, and the majority really do go all the way into strong or extreme territory.”

Pulled from the State of the Climate report, here are some of the loudest echoes of the 2015 El Niño:

Record-smashing hurricane season in the central North Pacific

Sixteen tropical cyclones formed in or passed through the unusually warm central Pacific hurricane basin in 2015. That’s more than 3 times the 1981–2010 average of 4.7 cyclones per season, and 4 more than the previous record of 12, set in 1992 (also an El Niño year). In late August, the basin sustained three Category 4 hurricanes at the same time, which was a first, not just for the central Pacific basin, but for any basin during the modern record.

Here’s a satellite picture of what was going on in our Central Pacific during the summer of 2015

p.s. One more thing that Dr. Swain said yesterday, was that the extreme heat spell in the western United States over the past week or more, could easily become the new normal with time.

 

Interesting website: Mauka Showers…Double Trouble – Second Storm Produces Massive Flooding Problems in Hawaii




Hawaii’s Broad Brush Weather Overview…as of 351pm Friday: Moderate to locally breezy northeasterly trade winds will focus clouds and showers over windward and mountain areas, with brief heavier showers possible.

A drier airmass will filter over the western half of the state by Saturday afternoon, while showery conditions could persist over the windward areas of the eastern half of the state.

Drier, cooler air will fill in state wide by Sunday. Trade winds will strengthen over the next 24 hours, becoming locally strong by Saturday evening. Gusty winds are expected over leeward areas this weekend.

Weather Details for the Hawaiian Islands…as of 351pm Friday:  Satellite imagery shows a lingering band of moisture in the form of a cluster of clouds with embedded showers just upstream of Maui County. Scattered clouds with light to a few brief moderate showers can been seen on radar, focusing mainly along the windward and mountain areas as well as the Kona coast of the Big Island, where a sea breeze has developed.

The next band of showers associated with a remnant frontal boundary is just 150 miles north of Kauai County. Forecast remains on track with chances of showers increasing tonight mainly along windward and mountain areas, as the band of showers moves south over Kauai tonight, and converges with the lingering band of moisture over Maui County, before pushing over the Big Island through the day Saturday.

Upper level troughing over the central islands will help enhance showers under the trade wind inversion. Heavier showers are likely along windward and mountain areas of Maui County and the Big Island, given the location of greatest upper level support and moisture availability. Kauai and Oahu will see moderate showers with the passage of the front, however brief heavy showers cannot be entirely ruled out either. Significant flooding threats aren’t likely.

A strong pressure gradient will build north of state, as a surface high develops to the northwest, and a surface low strengthens to the northeast. This gradient will send very breezy northeasterly winds following behind the remnant frontal boundary, and will help keep persistent clouds and showers along windward areas. Inversion heights may drop to around 5,000 feet Saturday around Kauai and Oahu as upper level ridging generates more subsidence that could lead to enhance downsloping winds on leeward sides of north facing ridges.

Wind gusts of 40 mph will be possible, with gusts up to 50 mph not out of the question. Depending on how strong the wind gusts become during the day Saturday, a Wind Advisory may be needed over select leeward areas for Saturday evening into Sunday.

Temperatures will drop a couple of degrees by Saturday morning and dew points will drop in the 50`s west of the the Big Island. This cooler and drier air mass will spread state wide Sunday limiting trade wind showers.

Gusty northeasterly winds will gradually ease Monday, before shifting more easterly, as a surface high tracks north of the state, and the low pressure system moves far northeast of the state. A more typical easterly trade wind pattern of scattered showers across the windward and mountain slopes is expected through much of next week.

 

Here’s a near real-time Wind Profile of the Pacific Ocean – Zoom Earth – 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…as of 351pm Friday: A low pressure system northeast of the islands will interact with high pressure building in from the northwest, to strengthen the northeasterly trade winds to fresh to strong speeds through early next week. The current Small Craft Advisory covering the leeward waters and channels around the smaller islands will expand to encompass the waters around the Big Island Saturday, as the stronger winds progress down the island chain.

Another small medium-period northwest swell began filling in, and combined with the fading small short-period northeast wind swell, will help to maintain small surf across north-facing shores Saturday. The aforementioned small northeast short-period swell will also bring slightly below average surf to east-facing shores into Saturday. As the trades strengthen on Saturday surf heights will build slightly along east-facing shores.

A deepening low to the northeast will send a large, medium-period swell (360 degrees veering to 040 degrees) to north- and east- facing shores Sunday through early next week, with High Surf Advisory conditions looking likely. Along south-facing shores, small background pulses will keep surf heights above flat conditions through early next week, with a slight bump possible on Saturday.

 

Baldwin Beach, Maui's Hidden Mile-Long White Sand Beach



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: 

Tropical Cyclone 27P (Narelle)…is located approximately 491 NM south-southeast of Learmonth, Australia – Final Warning

https://www.metoc.navy.mil/jtwc/products/27P_280000sair.jpg

 

North Indian Ocean:  There are no active tropical cyclones

South Indian Ocean:  There are no active tropical cyclones

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:  UBC Study Links Artificial Turf Fields to Lethal Chemical Threat for Salmon

A new study from the University of British Columbia has found that artificial turf fields across Metro Vancouver leach 6PPD-quinone, a chemical known to kill coho salmon, into municipal stormwater systems—and the contamination persists long after the fields are installed.

Researchers traced the pollution to crumb rubber infill made from recycled tires, a material widely used on synthetic turf fields. The team found it consistently released 6PPD-quinone and other contaminants across fields of different ages.

“An average turf field contains about 125 tonnes of crumb rubber, roughly 20,000 tires,” said Katie Moloney, a PhD student in environmental engineering in UBC’s Scholes Lab. “With fields typically lasting a decade or more, they can become long-term sources of tire-derived pollution entering stormwater pipes, and ultimately fish-bearing waterways—frequently without treatment.”

Read more at: University of British Columbia

Researchers examined the chemicals leaching from crumb rubber infill made from recycled tires.