#NOAA

Hurricane season in Hawaiʻi runs from June 1, through Nov. 30, 2026, and with an above-normal season forecast — including five to 13 tropical cyclones in the Central Pacific — County of Maui and Maui Emergency Management Agency officials are urging residents and visitors to prepare well before a storm is on the horizon. 

Maui County logged its second wettest season in 30 years during the 2025–2026 wet season. Rainfall totals ran 100 to 250% of average across most of the county and catastrophic flooding hit multiple areas statewide, according to a summary released this week by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

United States Attorney Ken Sorenson announced that Igor Mykhaylovych Lytvynchuk, 38, of Covington, Washington, was charged by Information today, May 26, 2026, for allegedly throwing a large rock at the seal’s head, in violation of the Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Igor Mykhaylovych Lytvynchuk, 38, of Covington, Washington, was charged by criminal complaint on May 12, 2026, for allegedly harassing and attempting to harass an endangered Hawaiian monk seal by throwing a large rock at the seal’s head, according to United States Attorney Ken Sorenson. Lytvynchuk’s alleged actions are in violation of the Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act, the US Department of Justice reports.

Following a disturbing incident involving an alleged attack on a Hawaiian monk seal in Lahaina, US Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), a member of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Coast Guard, Maritime, and Fisheries, called on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to step up efforts to better educate the public on the need to protect Hawaiian monk seals, one of the most endangered seal species in the world.

A Hawaiian monk seal pup was born at sunset, Sunday, May 3, on Kaimana Beach, to the 15-year-old female Kaiwi (RK96), who is known to visit Oʻahu’s south shore.

The US Coast Guard Cutter Oliver Henry has returned to Guam after a 29-day mission in the western Pacific, enhancing tsunami warning capabilities and delivering essential humanitarian aid.

Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary is seeking to fill three primary and four alternate seats on its advisory council. Applications are due by 5 p.m. HST on May 18, 2026.

The Marine Institute at Maui Ocean Center has launched a comprehensive stakeholder survey and community initiative aimed at reducing vessel grounding incidents and strengthening reef protection and response systems across Maui.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration led no shortage of scientific breakthroughs in 2025: from launching satellites with new instruments to advance space weather observations to deploying unmanned systems for critical data that could improve hurricane forecasts.

Following a competitive proposal process initiated in October 2025, the University of Hawaiʻi Sea Grant College Program announced five organizations to establish the first-of-its-kind Community Funding Hubs for Resilience and ʻĀina Stewardship. The five regional hubs are across the moku/hui moku (districts) of West Kauaʻi, Waiʻanae (Oʻahu), Molokaʻi, Central Maui and Kohala (Hawaiʻi Island). 

As whale sightings rise across the islands heading into peak whale season, Hula Grill Kāʻanapali will begin offering Whale Talks at its restaurant in Whalers Village on Tuesdays at 11 a.m. in February and March.

On the last Saturday of January, February, and March, volunteers gather at their designated coastal sites on the islands of Oʻahu, Molokaʻi, Hawaiʻi, and Kauaʻi to tally observed species and help scientists assess whale distribution and abundance in the sanctuary.

NOAA is asking Maui’s on-water community to be on the look out for a recently-entangled 40-foot female humpback whale off Lahaina, Maui. Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary’s monitoring team encountered the whale, referred to as Palette, on Thursday, Jan. 22. She was found to be in poor to moderate condition, showing moderate to strong emaciation and widespread carpets of red-colored cyamid amphipods (whale lice) across her otherwise light-colored body. If she is spotted, please call 888-256-9840 to report her location and share photos or videos if possible, but do not approach closer than 100 yards.

Watching the majestic humpback whales has become a tradition woven into the tourism economy of Maui Nui ever since they started coming back from near extinction in the 1970s due to successful conservation efforts.

The Hawaiʻi Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission has launched an updated version of the State of Hawaiʻi Sea Level Rise Viewer, an online tool giving communities and local officials clearer insight into the growing threats facing our coastlines.

The Marine Institute at Maui Ocean Center is partnering with the NOAA to strengthen efforts to protect endangered Hawaiian monk seals on Maui.

Most rain gauges across Maui County recorded below-average rainfall in October, according to the National Weather Service’s monthly rainfall summary.

The council urged NOAA to apply more rigorous standards when determining whether foreign fisheries meet US requirements for protecting marine mammals and reducing bycatch, and to create a clear process for public and stakeholder input.

A new deep-sea coral species in the tropical western Pacific that resembles a highly recognizable character from “Star Wars” has been discovered and named by a team of researchers including an expert from the University of Hawaiʻi.