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

 

The latest update to this website was at 918am Wednesday morning HST


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

1.01  Kilohana, Kauai
1.27  Schofield East, Oahu
0.22  Puu Alii, Molokai
0.00  Lanai
0.39  Puu Kukui, Maui
0.81  Laupahoehoe, Big Island


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

25  Lihue, Kauai – NE
27  Kuaokala, Oahu – NE
28  Makapulapai, Molokai – ENE 
29  Lanai 1, Lanai – NE
35  Kealaloloa Rg, Maui – NNE
35  Puuloa, 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.

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Big Blue…click twice for largest version

 

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Cold front far northwest…thunderstorms in the deeper tropics to our south 

 

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Clear to variably cloudy 

 

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Localized showers…mostly windward 

 

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




~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~

 

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

It’s mostly clear here in Maui County with calm winds at my place, and with a cool low of 50 degrees and the relative humidity is 76%


>>> Highest Temperature Tuesday, May 26, 2026 – 102 degrees near Poplar, MT
>>> Lowest Temperature Wednesday, May 27, 2026 – 23 degrees near Lakeshore, CA

 

Hawaii’s Broad Brush Weather Overview…as of Wednesday morning: High pressure ridging will influence island weather behavior the next several days. A weak low will approach Hawaii from the west today, and pass over the state Friday. Troughing ahead of this low will weaken our breezy trades and initiate more widespread showers Thursday and Friday. Any measurable rain will have low accumulation over the majority of the state. Weak troughing within a fairly dry air mass indicates stable enough conditions to support little to no precipitation through early June.

Short Term Update…as of Wednesday morning:  High stability firmly entrenched over the state. Breezy trades are delivering showers to windward and mountain sections of the islands, beneath the resident 8,000 foot trade inversion. No change in the large scale pattern is anticipated for the next several days, as the islands reside under the subtropical jet stream, placing our area beneath a broad swath of large scale subsidence in maintenance of existing stability.

Sensible weather will be largely modulated by periodic fluctuations in the trades. The first such instance will be a gradual weakening of trades during the latter half of this week, in response to a rapidly weakening 1040 millibar high migrating toward 35N, and weakening considerably as it does so.

It is certainly plausible that trades are briefly lost altogether early next week, setting the stage for a period of land/sea breezes. Given the high stability environment in place, would expect little in the way of interior showers should that pattern develop. Otherwise, scattered showers will focus windward and mountains for the balance of the forecast period.

Weather Details for the Hawaiian Islands…as of Wednesday morning: Troughing ahead of a weak low in the vicinity of the western half of the will move over us Friday. The mid to upper level low in itself will hardly leave a mark upon its passage over the state Friday. The leading trough ahead of it will be what will increase moisture from current below normal values to near normal levels tomorrow (Thursday). This subtle increase in moisture may be enough to thicken our clouds, and increase shower coverage from early tomorrow morning through Friday morning.

This leading trough will disrupt the strong pressure gradient back from the large broad 1038 millibar high paralleling 40N across the eastern two thirds of the central Pacific. The result will be weakening trades beginning today, with this downward trend occurring through the remainder of the week. The highest rainfall Thursday and Friday will likely be between a half an inch to an inch along windward exposures and within higher terrain.

Less cloudy and even drier weather will prevail this weekend as the weak trough exits stage right. General troughiness over the North Pacific will dominant island weather going into the month of June. Typical wet windward exposures and slopes, will still pick up their seasonal daily rainfall with higher amounts occurring overnight. Drier air by early June standards will filter in from the north.

Trades will be lighter due to a weaker pressure gradient as northern surface troughing splits the high pressure cells well north of the area. While winds will be lighter, they should still stay up enough to help mix out lower level afternoon humidity. Other than the diurnal trend of overnight windward-focused trade showers, the last couple of days of May and the first week of June will fall in line with dry season climatology.


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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 Environmental Conditions…as of Wednesday morning: A surface ridge north of the state will maintain breezy to strong trade winds across the Hawaiian coastal waters through at least tonight, before a weakness develops in the ridge, allowing trade wind speeds to ease slightly during the latter part of the week into the weekend. The Small Craft Advisory (SCA), which currently encompasses all Hawaiian coastal waters remains in effect through tonight, then will likely be scaled back in area later in the week, to the typically windier waters around the Big Island and Maui County. A more significant weakening of the trade winds is likely this weekend into early next week, as a large North Pacific low pressure system far north of the islands breaks the ridge down even further.

Offshore buoy observations suggest that a small, long-period northwest swell will peak for Kauai and Oahu, and later this afternoon/tonight for Maui and the Big Island, as it moves down the island chain. North and west facing shores will see moderate surf at the peak before gradually subsiding into the weekend.

A medium-period, south swell will continue to bring small surf to south facing shores through Thursday. A more significant long-period south swell is expected to begin filling in Thursday night and will likely bring above-advisory-level surf to south-facing shores through the weekend. This swell originated from a storm-force low that passed south and east of New Zealand over the weekend, generating seas of 35 to 40 feet or greater within Hawaii’s swell window, though the peak of the energy may pass just east of the state. Elevated surf will likely continue into the first week of June, due to a continued active weather pattern near New Zealand sending swells toward Hawaii.

Surf along east-facing shores will remain rough through Thursday, then gradually lower Friday into the weekend, as trade winds ease.

 

Hula is the Art of Hawaiian Dance Expressing All We See, Hear, Smell, Taste, Touch and Feel — Halau i Ka Pono


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

Routine issuance of the Tropical Weather Outlook will begin on June 1, 2026.

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

 

>>> Northwest Pacific Ocean: 

Tropical Cyclone 06W (Jangmi)…is located approximately 72 NM northwest of Yap

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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:  Indonesia May Soon Lose Its Last Glaciers

Asia’s last tropical glaciers can be found near Puncak Jaya, Papua, the highest peak in Southeast Asia. But it is unlikely that they will survive until the end of this decade. Over the past 44 years, the peak has lost 97% of its ice and four of its glaciers. Its remaining two glaciers, Carstensz and the East Northwall Firn glacier, are expected to disappear by 2030, adding Indonesia (alongside Venezuela and Slovenia) to the list of countries that have lost all of their glaciers.

The rise in global temperatures has directly contributed to global glacier melt. For Indonesia’s glaciers, this has been punctuated by El Niño years. The El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a global climate phenomenon characterized by weather patterns that alternate between La Niña and El Niño conditions that affect each region of the planet in different ways. In Indonesia, El Niño conditions have dramatically increased glacier melt.

“For Papua, it becomes dry and warm during El Niño, which means less snow at high elevations and more melting. Both can be a death knell, especially to a small glacier,” said Mike Kaplan, a geologist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, which is part of the Columbia Climate School. He studies the history of glaciers, climates and past landscapes. During the recent El Niño event between 2015 and 2016, Indonesia’s glaciers took a big hit.

Read More at: Columbia Climate School

Aerial view of remaining glacial ice on Puncak Jaya, Papua.