Photo Credit: Laila Reiss

West Side

Today: Sunny, with a high near 92. Calm wind becoming southwest around 6 mph in the afternoon.

Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 69. Calm wind becoming east northeast 5 to 7 mph after midnight.

Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 92. Heat index values as high as 95. Calm wind becoming east northeast 5 to 8 mph in the afternoon.

South Side

Today: Sunny, with a high near 86. Calm wind becoming south around 6 mph.

Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 64. Calm wind becoming east northeast around 5 mph.

Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 87. Calm wind becoming east northeast 5 to 8 mph in the afternoon.

North Shore

Today: Sunny, with a high near 87. Breezy, with a south southeast wind 5 to 10 mph becoming east northeast 11 to 16 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 22 mph.

Tonight: Isolated showers after midnight. Partly cloudy, with a low around 66. East wind 7 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 87. Breezy, with an east wind 7 to 12 mph increasing to 13 to 18 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 25 mph.

Central Maui

Today: Sunny, with a high near 87. Northwest wind 5 to 11 mph becoming northeast in the morning.

Tonight: Isolated showers. Partly cloudy, with a low around 67. North northeast wind 5 to 9 mph becoming light and variable. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 87. Light and variable wind becoming northeast 9 to 14 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 18 mph.

Upcountry

Today: Sunny, with a high near 76. Calm wind becoming west northwest 5 to 8 mph in the afternoon.

Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 51. Northwest wind around 6 mph becoming calm in the evening.

Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 76. Calm wind becoming east 5 to 8 mph in the afternoon.

East Maui

Today: Scattered showers, mainly after noon. Mostly sunny, with a high near 81. East southeast wind 8 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Tonight: Scattered showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 67. Southeast wind 6 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Sunday: Scattered showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 81. East southeast wind 6 to 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

Lanai City

Today: Isolated showers after noon. Mostly sunny, with a high near 76. Calm wind becoming north northeast 5 to 9 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 62. North northeast wind 5 to 9 mph becoming calm after midnight.

Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 75. Calm wind becoming east northeast 5 to 7 mph in the afternoon.

Kaunakakai

Today: Isolated showers after noon. Sunny, with a high near 89. East southeast wind 5 to 11 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 69. East southeast wind around 6 mph becoming calm.

Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 88. East southeast wind 5 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph.

Detailed Forecast

Synopsis

A stalling cold front north of the islands will keep a weak high pressure ridge in place into Sunday. The ridge north of the islands will slowly build from Sunday onward. This means light to moderate trade winds will continue for most areas through the weekend, wind speeds will gradually increase into the moderate to locally breezy range from Monday onward. Fairly stable conditions aloft will keep only brief passing showers in the forecast through the week.

Discussion

Satellite and radar imagery this evening shows a cloud band drifting over portions of the Big Island and east Maui in a light wind weather pattern. A weak ridge lingers north of the islands with a stalling cold front currently located roughly 400 miles north of Kauai.
A weakened high pressure ridge north of the state will keep light to moderate trade winds in the forecast for most areas into Sunday with sea breezes developing during the day over some leeward locations. We start to transition back towards a moderate trade wind weather pattern on Sunday as trade winds are forecast to strengthen a little each day from Monday through Wednesday.
Fairly stable conditions aloft will keep only brief passing showers in the forecast. Shower coverage will tend to favor windward and mountain areas or in leeside cloud convergence zones that form southwest to west of each island. Some evening showers are likely to develop along the leeward slopes of the Big Island in this weather pattern as down slope mountain breezes converge with on-shore winds.

Aviation

The islands remain under a weak trade wind flow as the surface ridge is stalled 150 nm N of Kauai. Cloudiness from yesterday’s daytime heating continues to clear the Big Island this early Saturday morning. There are a few showers around Hana Maui, and isolated showers have just appeared on the lee side of the Big Island at Kawaihae and Waikoloa Beach Resort. Otherwise, skies are fair across the rest of the state.
With the ridge staying north of the islands for another day, we can expect more of the same for today as yesterday. Daytime heating will promote sea breezes that will lead to some afternoon clouds and spotty showers, especially over interior and lee areas. The Big Island slopes will cloud up once more as the day progresses, and there will be a few showers around. At night, a land breeze takes over that will disperse the clouds and nudge any showers off the island and into the adjacent waters. There will be a few showers embedded in the weak trade flow but the land breeze will keep them from moving onshore. More so, the air mass is rather dry and stable, so the showers will be limited. In essence, a VFR day ahead.

Marine

Light to locally moderate easterly trade winds are expected into early Sunday as a ridge lies north of Kauai. Trade winds will start to strengthen Sunday and Monday as the ridge moves north and high pressure northeast of the state strengthens. Locally breezy conditions may return by the middle of next week.
Lows passing by far north of the area will continue to produce small, out of season, short period northwest swells into the middle of next week, keeping surf above typical summertime flat levels. The peak of these swells is expected today with a gradual decline into next week. A series of small south and southeast swells is expected throughout the forecast period, with a slightly larger south swell possible late Tuesday and Wednesday. Due to the lack of significant trade winds over and upwind of the area, surf will remain small along east facing shores, with increasing surf possible next week as trade winds strengthen.

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