Glenn James
Hawaii Weather Today
Founder and maintainer for 30 years 

 

The latest update to this website was at 1213pm Sunday (HST)

 

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

0.33  Kilohana , Kauai
0.18  Tunnel RG, Oahu
1.21  Puu Alii, Molokai
0.00  Lanai
1.07  West Wailuaiki, Maui
2.66  Honokaa, Big Island

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

29  Lihue, Kauai – NE
47  Kuaokala, Oahu – NNE 
31  Molokai AP, Molokai – NE
36  Lanai 1,  Lanai – NE
38  Kealaloloa Rg, Maui – NNE
50  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 south…a cold front far northwest

 

https://cdn.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/GOES18/ABI/SECTOR/hi/GEOCOLOR/20260881340-20260882130-GOES18-ABI-HI-GEOCOLOR-600x600.gif

Low clouds arriving along the windward sides…on the gusty trade winds / higher level clouds moving into 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

  Showers locally 

 

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

~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~

 

Glenn’s Sunday comments:  I’m here in Corte Madera, Marin County, California

458am Hawaii time, I’m here at my friend Linda’s house. It’s clear and cool here, with a chilly 43.5 degree low where.

1217pm Hawaii time, it’s rather too warm for me here in Corte Madera, with my outdoor temperature sensor reading 83 degrees. I’ll have to wait until tomorrow to cool off, with the high temperature is expected to reach only 70 degrees…while the projected high temperature on Tuesday reaching only 61 degrees!

 

>>> Highest Temperature Saturday, March 28, 2026 – 107 degrees near Ogilby, CA
>>> Lowest Temperature Sunday, March 29, 2026 – minus 2 degrees at Mount Washington, NH

 

I’ve become aware that we may be having what’s called a Super El Nino later 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, 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, was that the extreme heat spell in the western United States recently, 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 327am Sunday:  Windy and gusty northeast trade winds will prevail through at least Tuesday, and then decrease a notch by mid-week into the second half of this week.

Cool and dry air should keep showers light and over windward and mountain areas for the next few days, except windward areas of the Big Island, where lingering moisture could keep scattered showers through Monday.

A cold upper trough this week could slightly enhance trade wind showers during the night time and early morning hours each day. By Friday into next weekend, winds could become light and variable.

Weather Details for the Hawaiian Islands…as of 327am Sunday: A 1036 millibar high pressure system to the far northwest, and a 1006 millibar low to the far northeast, is currently driving the windy and gusty northeast trade winds. Current observations across the state show northeast trade winds gusting to between 30 and 40 mph. Windy trade winds are expected to remain in place for the next few days, as the high to the northwest remains nearly stationary.

Showers can be observed mostly over windward Big Island and windward Kauai, with dry conditions elsewhere. This is due to a cool and dry airmass filling in behind a trough that came through earlier this weekend. Showers should remain light and primarily over windward and mountain areas today. By Monday night, a cold upper trough moving through and a small increase in surface moisture could boost night time and early morning showers each day of the week.

No heavy rain is expected at this time due to the state being on the drier side of the upper trough, although a few brief downpours for windward areas can’t be ruled out. By the middle of the upcoming week, the high pressure center to the northwest, which has been driving the trade winds, is forecast to weaken and move east, which in turn will weaken the trade winds. Friday into the weekend could see light and variable winds, with another upper trough swinging through, potentially boosting showers.

 

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 327am Sunday: A low pressure system far northeast and a moderate high pressure system to the far north-northwest of the coastal waters, will maintain fresh to strong northeasterly trade winds through Monday. As the low weakens and drifts northeast, high pressure will build north of the islands, allowing winds to gradually weaken and veer to the east.

A Small Craft Advisory has been extended for all Hawaiian coastal waters due to a combination of locally strong trade winds and elevated seas from the building north northeast swell. The current small medium period northwest swell will continue to decline today.

A new, moderate to large, short period north-northeast swell will build through the day potentially reaching High Surf Advisory (HSA) levels along north and exposed east shorelines when it peaks tonight before slowly declining through the week.

A Marine Weather Statement (MWS) has also been issued starting at 6pm through Monday night for harbor surges, particularly in Hilo and Kahului harbor coinciding as the north-northeast swell fills in over the eastern end of the state and holds through Monday.

Along south-facing shores, a small medium period swell will continue to provide small surf for the next few days. Surf along west facing shores will be small through the week. Surf along east facing shores will remain rough and choppy also due to the moderate to locally strong trade winds through the first half of the week.

 



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

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

North Central Pacific: There are no active tropical cyclones

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

 

Northwest Pacific Ocean: There are no active tropical cyclones

Southwest Pacific Ocean:  There are no active tropical cyclones

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:  Anticipating Mountain Water Shortages Using Artificial Intelligence

With climate change, mountain water resources are becoming a major issue. Their evolution—still difficult to grasp on a global scale—is at the heart of the MountAInWater project , in which researchers from the University of Lausanne are involved.

Coordinated by the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) and funded by the philanthropic organization Schmidt Science*, this project brings together academic institutions from six countries in Europe and North America around an ambitious goal: to produce the first high-resolution global reanalysis of mountain water resources.

Within the project, researchers from the ICE group at the University of Lausanne will play a key role in developing artificial intelligence models to better understand changes in water resources. Concretely, data collected at four high-mountain reference sites—in the Canadian Rockies, the Andes, the Pamir, and the Himalayas—will be used to improve physical models capable of simulating tipping points related to the cryosphere (glaciers, snow, and permafrost), as well as water flows originating from mountain systems.

Read more at: University of Lausanne