Photo Credit: Tyler Rooke

West Side

Today: Mostly sunny with isolated showers. Highs 76 to 85. East winds up to 10 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Tonight: Partly cloudy. Isolated showers in the evening, then scattered showers after midnight. Lows 65 to 72. East winds up to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30 percent.

Thursday: Mostly sunny. Scattered showers in the morning, then isolated showers in the afternoon. Highs 76 to 85. East winds up to 10 mph. Chance of rain 30 percent.

South Side

Today: Sunny. Isolated showers in the afternoon. Highs around 87. North winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Tonight: Mostly clear. Lows 62 to 71. Northeast winds 10 to 15 mph.

Thursday: Sunny. Highs around 87. North winds 10 to 15 mph.

North Shore

Today: Partly sunny with scattered showers. Highs 75 to 83 near the shore to around 66 near 5000 feet. East winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50 percent.

Tonight: Mostly cloudy with scattered showers. Lows around 66 near the shore to 46 to 53 near 5000 feet. East winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50 percent.

Thursday: Partly sunny with scattered showers. Highs 75 to 83 near the shore to around 65 near 5000 feet. East winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50 percent.

Central Maui

Today: Mostly sunny with isolated showers. Highs 81 to 87. East winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Tonight: Partly cloudy with isolated showers. Lows 62 to 68. East winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Thursday: Breezy. Mostly sunny with isolated showers. Highs 81 to 87. Northeast winds 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Upcountry

Today: Sunny with isolated showers in the morning, then partly sunny with scattered showers in the afternoon. Highs around 60 at the visitor center to around 55 at the summit. East winds around 10 mph in the morning becoming light. Chance of rain 50 percent.

Tonight: Partly cloudy. Isolated showers in the evening, then scattered showers after midnight. Lows around 45 at the visitor center to around 42 at the summit. Light winds. Chance of rain 50 percent.

Thursday: Mostly sunny. Scattered showers in the morning, then isolated showers in the afternoon. Highs around 61 at the visitor center to around 56 at the summit. Light winds becoming east up to 10 mph in the afternoon. Chance of rain 50 percent.

East Maui

Today: Partly sunny with scattered showers. Highs 75 to 83 near the shore to around 66 near 5000 feet. East winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50 percent.

Tonight: Mostly cloudy with scattered showers. Lows around 66 near the shore to 46 to 53 near 5000 feet. East winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50 percent.

Thursday: Partly sunny with scattered showers. Highs 75 to 83 near the shore to around 65 near 5000 feet. East winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50 percent.

Lanai City

Today: Mostly sunny in the morning, then partly sunny with scattered showers in the afternoon. Highs 74 to 82. Northeast winds around 10 mph. Chance of rain 50 percent.

Tonight: Mostly clear. Isolated showers after midnight. Lows around 62. Northeast winds around 10 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Thursday: Mostly sunny with isolated showers. Highs 74 to 82. East winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Kaunakakai

Today: Mostly sunny in the morning, then partly sunny with scattered showers in the afternoon. Highs 68 to 84. East winds around 10 mph. Chance of rain 40 percent.

Tonight: Mostly clear. Isolated showers after midnight. Lows 54 to 70. East winds around 10 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Thursday: Mostly sunny with isolated showers. Highs 68 to 85. Light winds becoming east up to 10 mph in the afternoon. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Detailed Forecast

Synopsis

Trade winds will spread across the islands through today as high pressure persists to our north. An upper trough will help enhance showers, and could trigger a thunderstorm or two on the Big Island during the afternoon hours. A more stable trade wind pattern is expected for the second half of the week.

Discussion

. A ridge is strengthening to our north as a front weakens to the northeast. An upper trough remains near the islands, with associated thunderstorms persisting east through southeast of the Big Island. The ridge will allow trade flow to fill in across the island chain through today, and then persist through the end of the week. The upper trough will continue to provide some instability, which may enhance rainfall totals. Most of the instability remains to the east of the islands, corroborated by the presence of thunderstorms to the east and southeast of the Big Island. However, enhanced rainfall may occur across portions of Maui and the Big Island through this evening. Overnight soundings show an unstable airmass with no capping inversion. Temperatures aloft remain just cold enough for possible thunderstorm development across the Big Island this afternoon during heating maximum as well as continued thunderstorm development across coastal waters northeast through southeast of the Big Island this morning.
Models show that upper ridging will push in from the west as the upper trough moves away on Thursday. This will help stabilize our airmass, reducing rainfall totals. High pressure at the surface will drive a return to a more typical trade wind pattern of mainly windward clouds and showers for the second half of the week.

Aviation

High pressure building in over the region will produce fair weather conditions in a light to moderate trade wind weather pattern through Thursday. An upper level trough lingers near the Big Island this morning with some showers and thunderstorms currently drifting east into the coastal waters near east Maui and north of the Big Island.
Light trade winds will allow sea breeze winds to develop today along southwest and west terrain sheltered slopes of each island. Convergence between these wind patterns will lead to more variability in the wind direction and the potential for brief afternoon showers over leeward areas. Otherwise expect a drier weather pattern with brief passing showers favoring windward and mountain areas through the morning hours.
No AIRMETs are currently in effect, however a period of moderate clear air turbulence may develop over the state later today.

Marine

The pressure gradient south of a surface high pressure system centered more than 770 nm north-northeast of Honolulu is currently producing light to moderate trade winds across most of the area. This surface high will move slowly east during the next couple of days. The forecast guidance continues to indicate the trade winds may strengthen slightly later this week as a surface ridge builds north of the area. Therefore, Small Craft Advisory (SCA) conditions may develop starting Friday or Friday night over the typically windier waters adjacent to the islands of Maui County and the Big Island. The SCA conditions may persist over these windier waters into this weekend.
The nearshore buoys indicate the current northwest swell has lowered overnight, and it is now close to the wave model guidance. This swell will continue to slowly lower through early Thursday morning. Another northwest swell is expected to arrive late Thursday, and peak on Friday. Surf associated with this swell may briefly approach the High Surf Advisory (HSA) thresholds along some north and west facing shores of the smaller islands on Friday. This northwest swell is expected to gradually lower from Friday night through Saturday night. A third northwest swell is forecast to arrive on Sunday, and peak from Sunday night into early Monday. Surf produced by this swell may reach the HSA criteria along most north and west facing shores of the smaller islands based on the latest wave model guidance. This swell is expected to slowly lower from late Monday through next Tuesday.
Small background south swell energy is expected through tonight. A small long-period south swell is expected to boost surf heights slightly along south facing shores from Thursday into Friday. The wave model guidance indicates that surf along south facing shores will return to more typical small background conditions from this weekend into early next week. Expect modest short-period, choppy surf along east facing shores into this weekend due to the trade wind speeds remaining in the light to moderate range over and upwind of the state.

HFO Watches/Warnings/Advisories

None.

Maui Now Weather is brought to you by Blue Hawaiian Helicopters.

Check out their Maui Helicopter Tours today!

Data Courtesy of NOAA.gov