The latest update to this website was at 628pm Friday (HST)

 

There’s a decent chance that I could lose power or connectivity again with this second kona storm. If that happens I’ll be back with more updates to this website as soon as I get back up to speed.

 

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

2.39  Lihue AP, Kauai
18.22  Kaala, Oahu!
4.68  Honolimaloo, Molokai
2.89  Lanai City, Lanai
5.49  Hanaula, Maui
0.86  Kamuela, Big Island

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

15  Poipu, Kauai – SW
31  Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu –  SW
25  Makapulapai, Molokai – SSW
31  Lanai 1,  Lanai – SSE
32  Nene Nest, Maui – SSW
29  Kona AP, Big Island – S

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

Variable clouds over the state 

 

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

Considerable cloudiness continues to arrive from the west 

 

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…some are heavy

 

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

530am Friday morning, it’s becoming windy, with cloudy skies here at my place, with the low temperature 59.5 degrees, along with the relative humidity 76%.

815am, lots of rainbows around this morning here on Maui, with the next shower band moving the island as I write these words.

1pm, radar and satellite imagery shows that there are lots of heavy showers over the state early this afternoon! One such area is over Oahu and taking aim on Maui County.

330pm, it’s been lightly raining here at my place, with very light winds, while the temperature is 63.8 degrees.

356pm, the wind just arrived, and has my wind chimes singing, not loudly, although much more than it has been since some gustiness early this morning.

630pm, here in Maui County our skies have looked threatening all day, although we’ve had no significant rain here in upcountry leeward Maui, other than a couple of light showers at best. We currently have a flood advisory and a flood watch over Maui, so we’ll see what happens this evening.

Here we go again, as yet another wet pattern is forecast to continue through the weekend across the state. Be prepared, but have heart…as there does appear to be some proverbial “light at the end of the tunnel” for Hawaii next week….at least for the leeward sides of the islands.

 

>>> Highest Temperature Friday, March 20, 2026 – 112 degrees near Yuma, AZ
>>> Lowest Temperature Friday, March 20, 2026 – 7 degrees at Mount Washington, NH

 

>> North shore Oahu under Catastrophic Flash Flood Warning

>> Wahiawa Reservoir and Heiemano 6 Reservoir (Oahu) exceed capacity. Dam break possible

>> Flood watch through Sunday

>> Highest rain likely focused on Oahu, Maui County

>> Ground is saturated and requires less rain to produce flo0ding

>> No Molokai radar through at least Tuesday

 

Interesting Web blog…Mauka Showers – The March 11-15, 2026 Kona Low – Once in a Generation Storm?

 

Hawaii’s Broad Brush Weather Overview…as of 353pm Friday: An upper level trough will bring continued heavy rain to the state through the weekend. Flash flooding, thunderstorms, and high- elevation snow are all in the forecast. Winds may increase Saturday, but latest model trends are lowering confidence in this possibility. Look for the trades to return Monday night and last through the work week. Showers will continue windward and mountains even though overall conditions will dramatically improve. A new storm system is possible next weekend.

Weather Details for the islands…as of 353pm Friday: Late this afternoon’s radar shows a large area of moderate to heavy showers over Maui County, and scattered showers over Kauai and Oahu. Light showers are expected to move into northwest Big Island this evening. Winds were generally out of the south at speeds averaging 10 to 20 mph with gusts 20 to 30 mph. Flood warnings are still in effect on Oahu, with flood advisories on Maui County. Rainfall amounts on Oahu in the past 6 hours were generally in the 2 to 6 inch range, with a maximum of 8.58 inches at Wahiawa.

The forecast remains largely unchanged, with a flood watch in effect for all areas except the peaks on the Big Island through Sunday. Periods of showers, heavy at times, will continue to move through the islands. Southwest flow aloft will remain in place thanks to an upper level trough to our west. Smaller “pieces” of energy will move through this trough and occasionally boost the shower activity, possibly leading to isolated thunderstorms. The exact location of these increased showers is impossible to know ahead of time (beyond the state of modeling science out here in the middle of the ocean).

Therefore, folks should be aware that flooding will continue to be possible in all areas where the flood watch has been issued. Forecast models are reasonably consistent in keeping the axis of heaviest rainfall over the central islands tonight and Saturday, then shifting it slowly eastward Saturday night into Sunday. This will slowly take the risk of flooding eastward with it. Some drying will occur from Monday into Wednesday as trade winds become established over the state, but windward areas will see numerous light to moderate showers.

Winds are expected to be a little weaker both Saturday and Sunday (in most areas) than they have been today. The exception will be the peaks on the Big Island, where winds will approach wind advisory criteria Saturday evening through Sunday morning. Several inches of snow are likely to fall on the summits Saturday night into early next week. The long range forecast shows the possibility of another trough moving into the area from the northwest late next week. At this time, the setup is not a kona low system, but could push a cold front through the state. Details will become available as we get closer in time.

 

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 342pam Friday: Light to moderate S winds may strengthen tonight as surface low pressure west of Kauai deepens. Moderate to locally strong S/SW prevail through Saturday, and periods of heavy showers and thunderstorms are expected. The low will lift north on Sunday allowing moderate N winds to develop around Kauai which will then veer to NE and spread south. Fresh to strong NE winds may require a Small Craft Advisory over most waters.

N swell will increase into Saturday in maintenance of moderate swell through the weekend along N facing shores. A small, overlapping WNW swell then arrives late Saturday and holds through Monday. Surf along E shores remain well below average through the weekend. NE trades then develop early next bringing increase NE fresh swell and an increase in short period choppy surf which may approach the High Surf Advisory threshold.

A moderate S swell slowly diminishes through today followed by a small reinforcing SSW swell this weekend into Monday. Smaller surf is expected along south facing shores through the remainder of the week.

 

Maui Rainy Day Activities - Things To Do When It's Raining On Maui



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 463 NM east of Darwin, Australia

https://www.metoc.navy.mil/jtwc/products/27P_210000sair.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:  Does Ocean Saltiness Influence El Niño?

Researchers from the Nicholas School of the Environment found that variability in ocean salt content affects El Niño intensity.

Duke researchers found that ocean saltiness can influence the strength of El Niño, a climate phenomenon that can dramatically affect global weather. The results could inform development of more precise El Niño forecasts.

El Niño occurs every two to seven years, marked by wetter conditions in some parts of the world and drier weather in others. Existing research has overlooked the potential role of ocean salinity, or saltiness, in shaping El Niño events. Ocean salt is not uniform — some areas are saltier, some fresher, depending on rainfall, evaporation and other factors.

Variability in saltiness could potentially “influence ocean currents and thus climate phenomena like El Niño,” explains Shineng Hu, assistant professor of climate dynamics at the Nicholas School of the Environment, who oversaw the study.

Read More: Duke University