West Kaua’i

Rest Of Tonight: Partly cloudy. Scattered showers after midnight. Lows 68 to 73 near the shore to around 62 above 3000 feet. Northeast winds up to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50 percent.

Thursday: Mostly sunny. Scattered showers in the morning, then isolated showers in the afternoon. Highs 83 to 89 near the shore to around 74 above 3000 feet. East winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40 percent.

Thursday Night: Mostly clear. Lows 63 to 72 near the shore to around 60 above 3000 feet. Northeast winds up to 15 mph.

South Kaua’i

Rest Of Tonight: Breezy. Partly cloudy with isolated showers in the evening, then mostly cloudy with scattered showers after midnight. Lows 69 to 75. Northeast winds 15 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50 percent.

Thursday: Breezy. Partly sunny with scattered showers in the morning, then mostly sunny with isolated showers in the afternoon. Highs 78 to 88. Northeast winds 15 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50 percent.

Thursday Night: Partly cloudy. Breezy. Isolated showers after midnight. Lows 68 to 76. Northeast winds 15 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.

Kaua’i Mountains

Rest Of Tonight: Breezy. Partly cloudy with isolated showers in the evening, then mostly cloudy with numerous showers after midnight. Locally heavy rainfall possible after midnight. Lows 65 to 70 in the valleys to around 58 above 4000 feet. Northeast winds 10 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 70 percent.

Thursday: Breezy. Partly sunny with scattered showers in the morning, then mostly sunny with isolated showers in the afternoon. Highs 72 to 79 in the valleys to around 65 above 4000 feet. East winds 10 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 50 percent.

Thursday Night: Partly cloudy. Breezy. Isolated showers in the evening, then scattered showers after midnight. Lows 63 to 68 in the valleys to around 56 above 4000 feet. East winds 15 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 40 percent.

North Kaua’i

Rest Of Tonight: Breezy. Partly cloudy with scattered showers in the evening, then mostly cloudy with numerous showers after midnight. Locally heavy rainfall possible after midnight. Lows 64 to 74. East winds 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 70 percent.

Thursday: Partly sunny in the morning then becoming mostly sunny. Breezy. Scattered showers. Highs 68 to 84. East winds 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50 percent.

Thursday Night: Partly cloudy. Breezy. Isolated showers in the evening, then scattered showers after midnight. Lows 61 to 75. East winds 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 40 percent.

East Kaua’i

Rest Of Tonight: Mostly cloudy. Breezy. Scattered showers in the evening, then numerous showers after midnight. Locally heavy rainfall possible after midnight. Lows 65 to 75. Northeast winds 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 70 percent.

Thursday: Partly sunny in the morning then becoming mostly sunny. Breezy. Scattered showers. Highs 75 to 83. Northeast winds 15 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 50 percent.

Thursday Night: Breezy. Partly cloudy with isolated showers in the evening, then mostly cloudy with scattered showers after midnight. Lows 64 to 76. Northeast winds 15 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 40 percent.

Detailed Forecast

Synopsis

Strong and gusty trade winds are expected into Thursday as high pressure builds south toward the state. Windward and mauka shower chances increase later tonight and Thursday as a band of moisture accompanying a decaying frontal boundary moves from north to south across the state. Moderate to locally breezy trades will return Friday.

Short term update

Minor updates were made to account for current trends but the previous forecast remains on track.

Prev discussion

Issued at 340 PM HST Wed Nov 11 2026
A high building far north of the state has strengthened the trade winds today. Gusts have not been overly impressive nor persistent, but peak gusts of 45 to 50 mph have been measured in the typical windy areas around Maui County and the Big Island. Have left the Wind Advisory in place until 6 AM Thursday with the potential for a further uptick this evening. Winds will be strongest through gaps and over and downslope of ridges, where gusts of 50 to 55 mph are possible. The combination of strong trade winds and dry conditions has elevated fire weather concerns today.
A weakening frontal boundary will bring somewhat deeper moisture south through the islands tonight into Thursday. Increased shower coverage is expected over mostly windward and mauka areas, but a few may make it into leeward areas too.
The strong trade winds should begin to ease some Friday down to breezy to locally strong speeds. Another high pressure ridge will slide east well to the north of the state this weekend. Some increase in the trades is possible again Saturday night and Sunday before the high stalls to our northeast early next week. A reduced pressure gradient should allow trades to relax some by that time. Brief pulses of better moisture in the trades will keep typical trade wind showers over windward and mauka areas mostly during the overnight and early morning hours through the period.

Aviation

Locally strong trade winds will continue tonight before gradually weakening through the second half of the week. A dying frontal boundary will push through the island chain tonight into Thursday, providing an increase in shower activity. Windward and mountain areas will see most of the showers, but leeward areas could see some spillover showers as well. MVFR conditions are expected within showers while VFR prevails elsewhere. Showers will quickly decrease during the afternoon across Kauai and Oahu, and linger around Maui County and the Big Island a bit longer on Thursday.
AIRMET Tango is in effect for low level moderate turbulence downwind of terrain, upper level moderate turbulence between FL350 and FL380, and for strong surface winds 30 kt or greater over Maui County and the Big Island. Expect the strong surface winds to weaken by tomorrow morning, and the upper level moderate turbulence to diminish by early tonight. AIRMET Tango will likely remain in effect for low level moderate turbulence through the next several days.
Mountain obscurations are likely across windward sections of the islands as the frontal boundary moves down the island chain later tonight.

Marine

Strong high pressure north of Hawaii will maintain fresh to locally gale force winds across the marine areas tonight. A Gale Warning is in effect through 6 am Thursday for the windier waters and channels around Maui County and the Big Island. The current Small Craft Advisory (SCA) has been extended for all other coastal water zones through 6 pm Thursday. A front will drop south from the northern offshore waters to reach the central waters as it weakens tonight. This disturbance will bring increased shower activity to the area through Thursday. Through the weekend, the trade winds will trend down slightly to fresh to locally strong speeds across all waters.
PacIOOS Buoy 51201 near Waimea Bay has recently observed (as of 7 pm this evening) the incoming north-northwest swell energy at nearly 11 feet with a 15 second period. This large, long-period north-northwest swell (340 deg) will peak late tonight into early Thursday morning before declining through Friday. A High Surf Advisory (HSA) remains in effect for north-facing shores of Kauai, Oahu, Molokai and Maui and west-facing shores of Kauai and Oahu through Thursday afternoon. Seas will exceed 10 feet late tonight into Thursday so the Small Craft Advisory will also include large seas. Surf will decrease Friday followed by a north swell this weekend which could push surf back to advisory levels on Sunday.
Surf along east-facing shores will remain rough and choppy due to the strong trade winds through Friday, then may diminish slightly this weekend. A small, long-period south swell may bring a small bump to south shore surf through Thursday. Surf becomes tiny again Friday into the weekend for south-facing shores.

HFO Watches/Warnings/Advisories

High Surf Advisory until 6 PM HST Thursday for Kauai North, Maui Central Valley North, Maui Windward West, Molokai North, Molokai West, Molokai Windward, Niihau, Oahu North Shore, Waianae Coast, Windward Haleakala.
Wind Advisory until 6 AM HST Thursday for Big Island North, Big Island South, Big Island Southeast, Kahoolawe, Kohala, Lanai Leeward, Lanai Mauka, Lanai Windward, Maui Central Valley North, Maui Central Valley South, Maui Leeward West, Molokai Leeward South, Molokai North, Molokai Southeast, Molokai West, Molokai Windward, South Haleakala.
Small Craft Advisory until 6 PM HST Thursday for Big Island Windward Waters, Kaiwi Channel, Kauai Channel, Kauai Leeward Waters, Kauai Northwest Waters, Kauai Windward Waters, Maui County Leeward Waters, Maui County Windward Waters, Oahu Leeward Waters, Oahu Windward Waters.
Gale Warning until 6 AM HST Thursday for Alenuihaha Channel, Big Island Leeward Waters, Big Island Southeast Waters, Maalaea Bay, Pailolo Channel.

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Data Courtesy of NOAA.gov