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

 

The latest update to this website was at 627pm Thursday evening HST


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

0.18  Mount Waialeale, Kauai
0.73  Tunnel RG, Oahu
0.11  Puu Alii, Molokai
0.00  Lanai
0.29  Puu Kukui, Maui
0.77  Kawainui Stream, Big Island


The following numbers represent the strongest wind gusts (mph) Thursday evening: 

31  Port Allen, Kauai – E 
42  Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu – ENE
37  Molokai AP, Molokai – E
m   Lanai – m
50  Kealaloloa Rg, Maui – NNE
43  Kawaihae Rd, 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 (out of operation). 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.

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Big Blue…click twice for largest version

 

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 Thunderstorms southeast in the deeper tropics…Tropical cyclone 01C (Lala) east-southeast

 

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Low clouds arriving on the trade winds…counter-clockwise rotating clouds associated with the outer edge of TC Lala southeast 

 

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Localized showers…very few 

 

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




~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~

 

Glenn’s Thursday comments:  I’m at home here in upper Kula, Maui, Hawaii

513am, it’s mostly clear here in upper Kula with calm winds, and a low temperature at my place of 56.5 degrees…with the relative humidity 81%

911am, clear in most areas around Maui County, with the exception of the windward sides, where there are low clouds.

430pm, mostly sunny with some partly cloudy to cloudy areas, pretty typical mid-August afternoon.

630pm partly cloudy here on Maui, with quite a bit of haze down in the central valley

 

Tropical Cyclone 01C (Lala)…is located about 555 miles east-southeast of Hilo, Hawaii

cone graphic

Key Messages:

1. Lala is forecast to strengthen and it could be near hurricane 
strength when it approaches the Big Island of Hawaii by early 
Saturday.  A Hurricane Watch is in effect for the island, and a 
Hurricane Warning could be required later today.  Winds are 
expected to be the strongest in areas of higher terrain.
 
2. Heavy rainfall associated with Tropical Storm Lala will begin to
impact the Big Island Friday, spreading westward across the
remainder of the island chain during the weekend.  This rainfall may
produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in areas
of steep terrain.
 
3. Large and dangerous waves, especially on the Big Island, are
expected this weekend, with the greatest impacts along the southern
shores. This prolonged period of heavy surf may cause localized
coastal flooding and significant beach erosion.
 
4. Interests elsewhere in Hawaii should monitor the progress of
Lala, and Tropical Storm Watches could be required later today or
Friday.

 

Hawaii’s Weather Highlights…as of Thursday evening: Increased trade winds, combined with relatively dry conditions, will elevate the fire weather threat through Friday. Meanwhile, occasional showers will favor windward and mountain areas through Friday. For the weekend, we need to continue monitoring Tropical Storm Lala as it moves west-northwest towards the Hawaiian Islands. A Hurricane Warning is in effect for Big Island and a Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for Maui County.

Weather Narrative..as of Thursday evening: Satellite and radar imagery show a few areas of low clouds and showers embedded within the trade winds moving into windward and mauka areas. However, rainfall has been light, with only brief light showers passing through. Mostly dry conditions are expected to continue through tonight and much of Friday as well, with windward and mauka areas experiencing scattered showers at times.

Trade winds will gradually trend up, becoming breezy tonight and locally strong on Friday. The main forecast concern for the next few days will be potential impacts from what is now Tropical Storm Lala. Tropical Storm Lala was located southeast and moving west-northwest around 10 knots (11 mph).

Based on the latest forecast from the National Hurricane Center (NHC), Lala is expected to move near the southern end of the Big Island Saturday morning, then continue moving to the west-northwest, with the center of circulation remaining south of the smaller islands. Impacts from Lala are expected to begin for the eastern end of the state Friday night, and continue through the weekend.

FIRE WEATHER…Fire weather concerns will increase on Friday ahead of any potential tropical cyclone`s arrival. Winds will begin to strengthen while a dry and stable air mass with low relative humidity moves overhead. This combination of lower relative humidity and increasing wind speeds will approach critical fire weather criteria, but the forecast currently stays just below. However, strong winds can lead to extreme fire behavior even if RH values are not quite low enough to officially make criteria.

STRONG AND GUSTY WINDS…Winds could strengthen further on Saturday, though the timing, direction, and magnitude of the strongest winds remain highly dependent on the track and intensity of the system. With the past few cycles, the track forecast for Layla have nudged a bit farther south. However, even if the center of the system remains away from the islands, the north semicircle of the storm will still produce damaging winds. For now, confidence is highest in wind impacts for the Big Island and surrounding waters. Therefore, a Hurricane Watch has been issued for the Big Island and its surrounding waters. Although the official intensity forecast at this time from NHC keeps Lala as a high end Tropical Storm as it passes near the Big Island, there is enough uncertainty in the forecast to warrant the Hurricane Watch at this time.

HEAVY RAINFALL…This system will bring periods of heavy rainfall. Orographic (mountain) enhancement will result in locally higher rainfall totals where moist tropical flow interacts with island terrain. If heavier rainfall persists over the same locations, flash flooding and rapidly rising streams are possible. Again, the location of heaviest rain and any bands that would move through the islands will be highly dependent on the system’s track, which currently favors the highest rainfall totals for the Big Island and Maui County (though the remaining islands could experience heavy rain bands as well).

The current forecast has 10-15 inches forecast for eastern Big Island, and 5-10 inches over the remainder of Big Island and eastern Maui, with locally higher amounts possible. All islands will see an elevated risk of heavy rain and flash flooding. As far as timing, heavy rainfall is currently forecast to impact the Big Island as early as late Friday night, spread to Maui Saturday, and Lanai, Molokai, Oahu, and Kauai Saturday night into Sunday. A Flood Watch may be needed for at least portions of the state.

LARGE AND ROUGH SURF…Lala is expected to generate a large easterly swell as it moves northwestward. Surf may build along east-facing shores from east to west as the system approaches, with warning level surf possible into the weekend.

 

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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 Conditions…as of Thursday evening: Breezy trades continue strengthen as governing high pressure sags southward toward the islands and Tropical Storm Lala approaches from the east. The Small Craft Advisory remains in effect and is still scheduled to expand in coverage tonight as winds undergo a modest increase in strength.

NE wind associated with Tropical Storm Lala, presently about 500nm SE of Hilo, will undergo considerable strengthening Friday through Saturday with strong winds potentially expanding to the remainder of the state late Saturday into Sunday. A Hurricane Warning is now in effect for the Big Island surrounding waters and a Tropical Storm Warning has been issued for Maui County and surrounding waters. Dangerous conditions including torrential rainfall, a few thunderstorms, and high surf should be expected. Lala will track WNW through the weekend, clearing the western islands by Monday.

The High Surf Advisory remains in effect for S and W shores as long period S swell peaks today and remains elevated through tonight. Surf associated with this swell then begins to diminish as the period shortens. Another long period S swell arrives late Sunday into Monday bringing another boost to surf.

For E shores, surf initially trends slowly upward in association with gradually strengthening trades. Additional swells generated by TC Lala will arrive on Friday followed by the main energy arriving with the system itself this weekend. Surf along E facing shores is expected to exceed the High Surf Warning threshold during this time. Based on the latest forecast track and intensity from the National Hurricane Center, dangerous surf will develop around Maui and the Big Island on Saturday and around Oahu and Kauai Saturday night into Sunday.

 

>>> Highest Temperature Thursday, August 13, 2026 – 113 degrees near Medicine Lodge, KS


>>> Lowest Temperature Thursday, August 13, 2026 – 35 degrees near Finland, MN

 

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY | Marlon Holden Fine Art


World-wide Tropical Cyclone Activity


>>> Here’s a link to the latest Pacific Disaster Center’s Weather Wall


>>> Atlantic Ocean:

Central Subtropical Atlantic:

Invest 92L

Showers and thunderstorms associated with a tropical wave located about 800 miles east of the Lesser Antilles have continued to become less organized. This system is moving into a region of increasing upper-level winds and dry air, and the possibility of development appears to be decreasing. Regardless of development, interests in the Lesser Antilles should continue to monitor the progress of this system since gusty winds and areas of heavy rain are possible across these islands Friday night and Saturday.

* Formation chance through 48 hours…medium…40 percent
* Formation chance through 7 days…medium…40 percent

 

Eastern Tropical Atlantic:

Invest 94L

A tropical wave located several hundred miles southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands is producing disorganized showers and thunderstorms. Environmental conditions are forecast to be generally conducive for gradual development, and a tropical depression could form late this week or this weekend while the wave moves westward or west-northwestward across the eastern and central tropical Atlantic.

* Formation chance through 48 hours…low…30 percent
* Formation chance through 7 days…medium…50 percent

 

>>> 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.

 

Northeast Pacific: 

Tropical Cyclone 08E (Hernan)…is located 1495 west-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California

HERNAN WEAKENING AS IT MOVES SOUTHWARD

According to the NHC advisory number 5…

Hernan is moving toward the south near 5 mph, and this general motion is expected to continue with a turn towards the south-southwest on Friday. A gradual turn to the west is forecast on Saturday with that motion continuing through the weekend. Maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 40 mph with higher gusts. Hernan is forecast to become a tropical depression on Friday and a post-tropical cyclone early Saturday. Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 45 miles from the center. The estimated minimum central pressure is 1004 mb (29.65 inches).

 

Central North Pacific: 

Tropical Cyclone 01C (Lala)…is located about 555 miles east-southeast  of Hilo, Hawaii

LALA STEADILY STRENGTHENING …FORECAST TO BECOME A HURRICANE AS IT APPROACHES THE BIG ISLAND OF HAWAII

According to the NHC advisory number 7…

Lala is moving toward the west-northwest near 12 mph. A faster west-northwestward motion is expected during the next several days. On the forecast track, Lala is forecast to be near the Big Island on Saturday, and pass south of the remainder of the islands later in the weekend. Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 60 mph with higher gusts. Steady strengthening is forecast, and Lala is expected to become a hurricane as it approaches the Big Island. Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 275 miles from the center. The estimated minimum central pressure is 997 mb (29.44 inches) based on NOAA and Air Force Hurricane Hunter data.

 

>>> Northwest Pacific Ocean:

https://www.metoc.navy.mil/jtwc/products/abpwsair.jpg

 

Tropical cyclone 13W (Peilou)…is located approximately 891 NM north of Wake Island – Final Warning

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Tropical cyclone 16W (Nangka)…is located approximately 260 NM north of Minami Tori Shima

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>>> 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: Drought is Reshaping the Spread of Infectious Diseases

From the American West to Europe, droughts are drying up rivers, fueling destructive fires and reshaping ecosystems. They are also changing the spread of infectious diseases, leading to surges in illnesses like cholera and West Nile virus around the world.

In a review paper published August 12 in Trends in Ecology & Evolution, CU Boulder ecologist, Pieter Johnson, and his collaborator, Tara Stewart Merrill at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, reveal how drier conditions could make humans and wildlife more vulnerable to certain infectious diseases, even though many parasites and disease-carrying organisms depend heavily on water to survive.

“Climate change isn’t simply making Earth warmer or drier,” said Johnson, distinguished professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. “It is making droughts more variable and less predictable. That unpredictability is becoming one of the defining challenges for understanding and managing disease in natural ecosystems.”

Read More: University of Colorado at Boulder

Image: A pond in Shanahan Ridge in Boulder, Colorado. It has gone dry for the first time in many years this summer due to the lack of snow in the area last winter.