Photo Credit: Allen Tate

West Side

Today: Sunny. Highs 73 to 79. Light winds.

Tonight: Mostly clear. Lows 59 to 64. South winds around 10 mph.

Sunday: Sunny. Highs 74 to 80. Southwest winds 10 to 15 mph.

South Side

Today: Sunny. Highs around 78. Southwest winds around 10 mph.

Tonight: Mostly clear. Lows around 60. Southwest winds around 10 mph.

Sunday: Sunny. Highs around 79. Southwest winds 10 to 15 mph.

North Shore

Today: Sunny. Isolated showers in the afternoon. Highs 71 to 76 near the shore to around 58 near 5000 feet. North winds up to 10 mph shifting to the east around 10 mph in the afternoon. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Tonight: Mostly clear. Lows 57 to 63 near the shore to around 46 near 5000 feet. Southeast winds around 10 mph shifting to the southwest after midnight.

Sunday: Sunny. Isolated showers in the afternoon. Highs 72 to 77 near the shore to around 60 near 5000 feet. Southwest winds up to 10 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Central Maui

Today: Sunny. Highs around 77. Southwest winds up to 10 mph shifting to the north around 10 mph in the afternoon.

Tonight: Mostly clear. Lows 58 to 63. Light winds becoming south around 10 mph after midnight.

Sunday: Sunny. Highs around 78. Southwest winds 10 to 15 mph.

Upcountry

Today: Sunny and breezy. Highs around 53 at the visitor center to around 49 at the summit. Southwest winds 10 to 20 mph.

Tonight: Mostly clear. Breezy. Lows around 42 at the visitor center to around 37 at the summit. Southwest winds 10 to 20 mph.

Sunday: Sunny and breezy. Isolated showers in the afternoon. Highs around 55 at the visitor center to around 51 at the summit. Southwest winds 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.

East Maui

Today: Sunny. Isolated showers in the afternoon. Highs 71 to 76 near the shore to around 58 near 5000 feet. North winds up to 10 mph shifting to the east around 10 mph in the afternoon. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Tonight: Mostly clear. Lows 57 to 63 near the shore to around 46 near 5000 feet. Southeast winds around 10 mph shifting to the southwest after midnight.

Sunday: Sunny. Isolated showers in the afternoon. Highs 72 to 77 near the shore to around 60 near 5000 feet. Southwest winds up to 10 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Lanai City

Today: Sunny. Highs 69 to 76. West winds around 10 mph.

Tonight: Mostly clear. Lows around 59. Southwest winds 10 to 15 mph.

Sunday: Sunny. Isolated showers in the afternoon. Highs 70 to 77. Southwest winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Kaunakakai

Today: Sunny. Highs 67 to 77. Southwest winds up to 10 mph.

Tonight: Mostly clear. Lows 50 to 62. Southwest winds 10 to 15 mph.

Sunday: Sunny. Isolated showers in the afternoon. Highs 68 to 78. Southwest winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Detailed Forecast

Synopsis

Light winds with limited showers will continue through tonight. South to southwest winds will pick up Sunday and Monday for Kauai and Oahu as a system tracks by the islands. A front will move over the islands Tuesday night and Wednesday with an expected increase in showers.

Discussion

Infrared satellite early this morning shows a band of midlevel clouds over the western and central portion of Hawaii associated with a jet stream. The Big Island summits are picking up the strong winds aloft with peak gusts reaching over 75 mph. A High Wind Warning is in place for the summits through the weekend. Meanwhile, light and variable winds at the surface due to a surface ridge over the area will allow land breezes to develop today and tonight. Expect relatively cool and dry conditions with little precipitation forecast through tonight.
A low passing north of the area will push the ridge south Sunday and Monday, allowing southwest flow to return over Kauai and Oahu. Expect an increase in low clouds and showers within this flow by as moisture levels increase, particularly for Kauai and the Big Island. This system will track northeast away from the state Tuesday. Another, stronger low will develop to the west of the state on Tuesday and drag a front over the west and central part of the state Tuesday night and Wednesday and bring an increase in showers. Winds will again become light and variable as the front dissipates over the islands. Yet another low pressure system will pass just north of the islands Thursday into Friday.

Aviation

A high pressure ridge over the Hawaiian Islands will keep light and variable winds in the forecast for most airfields with fairly dry conditions into Sunday. An upper level jet stream will produce a band of middle and high level cloud cover today. These layered clouds above the freezing level will produce periods of moderate rime icing in cloud through the morning hours. Also stronger winds aloft will produce moderate turbulence in the middle levels. AIRMET's Tango for moderate turbulence and Zulu for moderate rime icing remain in effect for a portion of the region through the morning hours.

Marine

Light and variable winds will continue through tonight as a ridge remains over the state. The gale that brought the rough conditions and westerly winds through the area earlier this week will continue to lift northeastward and away from the region. A compact low developing around Midway overnight will follow it on a northeast track through the weekend. Although its attendant front is expected to hang up north of the area Sunday, moderate to locally fresh southwest winds developing out ahead of it appear likely over the Kauai and Oahu waters beginning late Saturday night and continuing into Sunday night. A brief period with light southwest winds will follow late Sunday night into Monday before the southerlies ramp up again Monday night through early Wednesday as a second low passes to the northwest on a similar track. The front associated with this second feature may reach the western end of the state by Wednesday.
Surf along north and west facing shores will steadily ease over the weekend as a north-northwest swell moving through begins to move out. Observations at the offshore buoys to the northwest reflect this trend with the swell energy peak now centered around the 11 second band. Guidance lines up well with the current pattern and depicts well below normal conditions next week with mainly small background northwest and northeast energy moving through exposed shores.
Surf along east facing shores will remain small through next week due to the lack of trades locally and upstream across the eastern Pacific. Only the wrap from the current north-northwest swell moving through or from a small north-northeast swell expected Sunday into early next week are expected to generate surf for easterly exposures. Early morning PacIOOS buoy observations at Mokapu and Kaneohe reflect this northerly energy wrapping down the coast this morning with a swell height hanging in the 4 to 5 ft range centered around the 10 to 12 second band.
Surf along south facing shores will remain small with a mix of some background southerly pulses moving through and some short period chop due to the periods of moderate southwest winds anticipated Sunday and again Tuesday into Wednesday.

HFO Watches/Warnings/Advisories

High Wind Warning until 6 PM HST Sunday for Big Island Summits.

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Data Courtesy of NOAA.gov