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

 

The latest update to this website was Sunday afternoon at 1214pm HST


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

2.86  Mount Waialeale, Kauai
4.84  Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu
0.68  Puu Alii, Molokai
0.09  Lanai City, Lanai
1.85  Kahakuloa, Maui
4.29  Pahoa, Big Island


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

27  Lawai, Kauai – E
20  Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu – ENE
29  Makapulapai, Molokai – E
07  Lanai 1, Lanai – SW
30  Na Kula, Maui – ESE 
28  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

 

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

Lots of thunderstorms in the deeper tropic ssouthwest…cold front far northwest 

 

https://cdn.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/GOES18/ABI/SECTOR/hi/GEOCOLOR/20261371340-20261372130-GOES18-ABI-HI-GEOCOLOR-600x600.gif

High cirrus approaching from the west…otherwise,lower level clouds mostly over the mountains 

 

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…as few are still heavy 

 

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

It was mostly clear with some haze here this morning in Maui County, with a low temperature at my place 51.5 degrees…with the relative humidity 73%

1110am, cumulus clouds are gathering force mover and around the mountains, although our local beaches remain sunny late this morning.

 

April Showers Bring May Flowers to Hawaii - Revealed Travel Guides
The Jacaranda Trees are going off here in upcountry Kula, Maui


>>> Highest Temperature Saturday, May 16, 2026 – 108 degrees at Death Valley, CA
>>> Lowest Temperature Sunday, May 17, 2026 – 11 degrees near Mackay, ID

 

>>> Interesting Weather Web blog: Mauka Showers…2025-2026 Wet Season Numbers…And Here Comes El Niño!

 

Hawaii’s Broad Brush Weather Overview…as of Sunday afternoon:  A slightly unstable and somewhat wet trade wind flow will continue into Monday. An increasingly stable, moderate to breezy trade wind flow will develop Tuesday and Wednesday, and will persist into next weekend.

Short Term Update…as of Sunday afternoon:  Satellite imagery is showing scattered heavy showers over parts of windward Big Island and the slopes of East Maui. Models are showing scattered moderate to locally heavy showers increasing over windward Big Island, which will eventually shift towards the Kona slopes this afternoon. With precipitable water values higher than normal, scattered showers will focus over windward and mountain areas with brief downpours possible. Leeward areas could also see a few isolated downpours in the afternoon today.

Weather Details for the Hawaiian Islands…as of Sunday afternoon: Scattered heavy showers over windward areas diminished overnight, as the upper level low that lingered over the area during the past couple of days lifted away to the northeast. A handful of windward stations picked up 1 to 2 inches of rainfall, mainly before midnight. Little rainfall managed to make it into leeward areas, since the local pressure gradient and resulting trade winds remained somewhat weak due to the effects of the upper low.

Moderate easterly winds and a somewhat wet pattern of mainly windward and mountain showers is expected over the next couple of days. The GFS and ECMWF models show moisture remaining slightly elevated, allowing the humid trade wind flow to continue to produce showers over windward areas. Broad troughing aloft will maintain some instability, which could still trigger a briefly heavy shower, mainly over the heated leeward slopes of the Big Island and Maui during the afternoon hours.

Increased stability and stronger trade winds are due late Tuesday or Wednesday. Expect a typical pattern of mainly windward rainfall and mostly dry conditions leeward into next weekend.


https://www.weather.gov/images/hfo/graphics/npac.gif


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 Environmental Conditions…as of Sunday morning: Moderate to locally fresh easterly trades have returned. An upper level-low that plagued the state has moved off to the northeast, increasing stability and decreasing showers.

A small, medium-period north-northwest (320-330 degree) swell will continue to decline through tonight, with surf along north-facing shores following suit. A medium-period north-northwest reinforcement may provide another small bump in surf along north-facing shores by early Monday morning, followed by another small reinforcing swell on Tuesday.

Surf along west-facing shores will remain nearly steady through the rest of this weekend, as the northwest swell influence gradually declines, but a new, long-period south-southwest swell fills in.

A mix of small, medium- to long-period, south swells will maintain small surf along south-facing shores for the next several days. The long-period south-southwest swell described above will increase surf along south-facing shores through today. Additional small, medium- to long-period, south swell reinforcements will arrive through mid-week.

Moderate to fresh trades will maintain rough and choppy surf along east-facing shores for the next several days.

Tides will peak around 2.5 to 3.0 feet today. Minor overwash of low lying coastal areas will be possible during times of high tide.

 

 

20 Best Kauai, Hawaii Beaches that Promise Amazing Views


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

Tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 7 days.

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

Tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 7 days.

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

Tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 7 days.

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

 

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

Tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 7 days.

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:  There are no active tropical cyclone

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

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

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



Interesting:  Protected Area Managers Across Europe are Adapting to Climate Change

New research shows how climate change is reshaping protected area management, though more funding and scientific knowledge are needed to facilitate the process.

The Natura 2000 network, the world’s largest network of protect areas, aims at protecting important species and habitats across the European Union. Its traditional approach to conservation has focused on maintaining ecosystems in their historical conditions, but in a world characterized by a changing climate this may not be possible anymore, requiring adapting the conservation strategies.

Researchers conducted a large-scale survey across Europe aimed at Natura 2000 protected area managers, to investigate how they perceive and address the effects of climate change on biodiversity. The survey was conducted as part of the Biodiversa+ Scenarios for Protecting European Avian Re-distributions (SPEAR) project focused on bird conservation, which involved partners from several European countries.

Read More at: University of Turku

Birds in a Natura 2000 protected area. Birds are highly responsive to environmental changes, making them important indicators of ecosystem health.