Photo Credit: Tyler Rooke

West Side

Today: Sunny. Haze through the day. Isolated showers in the afternoon. Highs 75 to 82. Light winds becoming west around 10 mph in the afternoon. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Tonight: Mostly clear. Haze. Lows 64 to 71. Light winds.

Friday: Sunny and haze. Highs 76 to 82. Light winds becoming southwest around 10 mph in the afternoon.

South Side

Today: Sunny. Haze through the day. Isolated showers in the afternoon. Highs around 83. Northeast winds up to 10 mph shifting to the west around 10 mph in the afternoon. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Tonight: Clear and haze. Lows 62 to 71. East winds around 10 mph.

Friday: Sunny and haze. Highs around 83. Southwest winds up to 10 mph.

North Shore

Today: Mostly sunny. Isolated showers in the morning, then scattered showers in the afternoon. Haze through the day. Highs 74 to 81 near the shore to around 66 near 5000 feet. Southeast winds up to 10 mph shifting to the east around 10 mph in the afternoon. Chance of rain 50 percent.

Tonight: Mostly clear with isolated showers. Haze through the night. Lows 65 to 70 near the shore to 49 to 54 near 5000 feet. Southeast winds up to 10 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Friday: Sunny in the morning, then partly sunny with scattered showers in the afternoon. Haze through the day. Highs 75 to 81 near the shore to around 67 near 5000 feet. Southeast winds up to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40 percent.

Central Maui

Today: Mostly sunny with isolated showers. Haze. Highs 79 to 84. East winds up to 10 mph shifting to the north around 10 mph in the afternoon. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Tonight: Clear and haze. Lows around 65. East winds around 10 mph in the evening becoming light.

Friday: Sunny. Haze through the day. Isolated showers in the afternoon. Highs around 82. South winds up to 10 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Upcountry

Today: Mostly sunny. Isolated showers in the morning, then scattered showers in the afternoon. Haze through the day. Highs around 62 at the visitor center to around 57 at the summit. Light winds becoming east around 10 mph in the afternoon. Chance of rain 50 percent.

Tonight: Mostly clear. Scattered showers early in the evening. Haze through the night. Lows around 50 at the visitor center to around 46 at the summit. East winds up to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40 percent.

Friday: Mostly sunny. Haze through the day. Scattered showers in the afternoon. Highs around 64 at the visitor center to around 59 at the summit. Light winds. Chance of rain 30 percent.

East Maui

Today: Mostly sunny. Isolated showers in the morning, then scattered showers in the afternoon. Haze through the day. Highs 74 to 81 near the shore to around 66 near 5000 feet. Southeast winds up to 10 mph shifting to the east around 10 mph in the afternoon. Chance of rain 50 percent.

Tonight: Mostly clear with isolated showers. Haze through the night. Lows 65 to 70 near the shore to 49 to 54 near 5000 feet. Southeast winds up to 10 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Friday: Sunny in the morning, then partly sunny with scattered showers in the afternoon. Haze through the day. Highs 75 to 81 near the shore to around 67 near 5000 feet. Southeast winds up to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40 percent.

Lanai City

Today: Sunny in the morning, then partly sunny with scattered showers in the afternoon. Haze through the day. Highs 71 to 77. Light winds becoming southwest around 10 mph in the afternoon. Chance of rain 40 percent.

Tonight: Mostly cloudy early in the evening then becoming partly cloudy. Scattered showers early in the evening, then isolated showers in the late evening and overnight. Haze through the night. Lows around 64. Light winds. Chance of rain 30 percent.

Friday: Sunny and haze. Highs 71 to 77. South winds around 10 mph.

Kaunakakai

Today: Sunny in the morning, then partly sunny with scattered showers in the afternoon. Haze through the day. Highs 68 to 82. Light winds becoming west around 10 mph in the afternoon. Chance of rain 50 percent.

Tonight: Mostly clear with isolated showers. Haze. Lows 56 to 70. Light winds becoming southeast around 10 mph after midnight. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Friday: Sunny and haze. Highs 68 to 83. South winds up to 10 mph increasing to 10 to 15 mph in the afternoon.

Detailed Forecast

Synopsis

A series of upper level disturbances passing north of the islands will lead to a more unstable airmass for the next few days, especially over the western end of the chain. These disturbances, combined with moisture riding in on southerly winds, will lead to showers and a slight chance for thunderstorms mainly for Kauai today. Unsettled weather is expected to persist into the weekend, but the atmosphere should become drier and more stable by Sunday as trade winds make a long awaited return to the Aloha State.

Discussion

A surface ridge is just north of Kauai will keep light southeast wind flow across the state. An area of low level clouds and persistent showers has moved over Kauai overnight. A few thunderstorms have popped up along the windward coast as well. 12Z sounding at Lihue shows layered clouds up to around 30 kft with precipitable water of 1.93 inches.
This moisture will begin to feel the influence of a weak, but digging trough aloft to the west of the islands, as well as a weak surface trough which has been lingering northwest of Kauai. All of this will lead to a more unstable airmass across the western end of the chain today. Daytime sea breezes should be quite effective in putting this instability and moisture to work by this afternoon and a slight chance of thunderstorms is in the forecast for Kauai and surrounding waters through the early evening. Oahu will also be on the cusp of the instability and moisture and could also a boost in shower coverage and intensity today.
Meanwhile, Maui county and the Big Island should be relatively drier and more stable air holding on. The models do not show as much moisture advection or destabilization near the Big Island although there should be some afternoon showers over the slopes.
The surface ridge will weaken over the next couple of days and shift south, turning our low level flow around to southerly by tonight, especially for the western islands. The models show the stronger instability from a passing shortwave trough remaining just north of the islands and shifting northward, where most of the deeper convection should focus. The weak southerly flow will keep the weather somewhat unsettled through about Saturday, with bands of scattered showers coming northward especially near Kauai. The upper trough should push east of the islands Friday night, resulting in decreasing instability.
Not to get anyone's hopes up too much, but it still looks like a long-awaited return of trade winds starting about Sunday as a ridge becomes established a several hundred miles N of the islands. Initially the pattern looks like dry, fair weather trades with limited moisture, weak ridging aloft, and a stable atmosphere Sunday and Monday, but a digging upper trough toward the middle of next week may return more instability and lead to wetter, locally breezy trades.

Aviation

A trough northwest of the Hawaiian islands will generate light southeasterly flow across the state today and bring an increase in moisture and instability, mainly to areas west of Oahu. Thus, afternoon sea breezes are expected to initiate scattered shower activity over mainly interior and leeward areas of Oahu and Kauai. The greatest instability will remain near Kauai, however, and allow for a slight chance of thunderstorms thru the day. MVFR ceilings and visibility will likely accompany any of the heavier activity.
Partly cloudy conditions elsewhere with VFR conditions and isolated afternoon showers.
AIRMET SIERRA remains in effect for tempo mountain obscuration above 2500 feet for the entire island of Kauai due to low clouds and showers.

Marine

Weak fronts will clip the northern offshore waters before a stronger front approaches the northwest offshore waters Friday and pushes through the northern offshore waters over the weekend. Isolated thunderstorms are possible over the northern offshore waters as these boundaries move through. There is a chance for thunderstorms entering the coastal waters tonight and Friday.
Winds will be light and variable over the waters near Kauai and Oahu and a touch stronger out of the east-southeast over the waters near Maui County and the Big Island today. Winds will veer to southerlies and strengthen to moderate to fresh ahead of an approaching front Friday and Saturday. Gentle to moderate trades may return Sunday and gradually strengthen to moderate to fresh speeds through early next week as the front dissipates and a new area of high pressure builds north of the island chain. Winds and seas are forecast to remain below Small Craft Advisory thresholds through at least Saturday.
A northwest swell will maintain moderate surf along north facing shores today. A larger northwest swell should bring advisory level surf to north and west facing shores Friday, then dip below advisory levels Saturday. A much larger northwest swell is expected to ramp up quickly Saturday night, peak Sunday, then slowly decline Monday through mid-week next week. Surf heights will reach well above warning thresholds and possibly approach over 40 feet during the peak of the swell along north facing exposures of the smaller islands. The combination of rising surf and the high tides from the new moon Saturday night and Sunday night could produce coastal impacts with waves washing across roads near the shorelines.
Background south swell energy is expected through the weekend. A new small long-period south swell could give south shore surf a minor boost early next week. Surf along east facing shores will remain small due to the lack of trade winds over and upstream of the islands.

HFO Watches/Warnings/Advisories

None.

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Data Courtesy of NOAA.gov