Hilo

Tonight: Mostly cloudy in the evening then becoming partly cloudy. Haze in the evening. Scattered showers. Lows 57 to 66 near the shore to 46 to 53 at 4000 feet. North winds up to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50 percent.

Saturday: Mostly sunny. Highs 73 to 79 near the shore to 59 to 65 at 4000 feet. North winds up to 15 mph.

Saturday Night: Partly cloudy. Lows 57 to 65 near the shore to 45 to 52 at 4000 feet. North winds up to 15 mph.

Kona

Tonight: Mostly cloudy with scattered showers in the evening, then partly cloudy after midnight. Haze after midnight. Lows around 68 near the shore to 41 to 47 near 5000 feet. North winds up to 15 mph shifting to the northeast after midnight. Chance of rain 30 percent.

Saturday: Mostly sunny. Haze. Highs 79 to 84 near the shore to around 65 near 5000 feet. Light winds.

Saturday Night: Partly cloudy. Haze. Lows around 68 near the shore to 41 to 48 near 5000 feet. Light winds.

Waimea

Tonight: Mostly cloudy in the evening then becoming partly cloudy. Scattered showers. Lows 57 to 67 near the shore to 50 to 57 near 3000 feet. West winds up to 10 mph shifting to the northeast after midnight. Chance of rain 50 percent.

Saturday: Mostly sunny. Highs around 75 near the shore to 65 to 74 near 3000 feet. Northeast winds up to 15 mph.

Saturday Night: Mostly clear. Breezy. Lows 56 to 67 near the shore to 49 to 57 near 3000 feet. East winds up to 20 mph.

Kohala

Tonight: Mostly cloudy in the evening then becoming partly cloudy. Scattered showers. Lows 57 to 67 near the shore to 50 to 57 near 3000 feet. West winds up to 10 mph shifting to the northeast after midnight. Chance of rain 50 percent.

Saturday: Mostly sunny. Highs around 75 near the shore to 65 to 74 near 3000 feet. Northeast winds up to 15 mph.

Saturday Night: Mostly clear. Breezy. Lows 56 to 67 near the shore to 49 to 57 near 3000 feet. East winds up to 20 mph.

South Big Island

Tonight: Breezy. Mostly cloudy with scattered showers in the evening, then partly cloudy with isolated showers after midnight. Haze after midnight. Lows around 69 near the shore to around 47 near 5000 feet. Northwest winds up to 20 mph in the evening becoming light. Chance of rain 30 percent.

Saturday: Mostly sunny. Haze. Highs around 81 near the shore to around 64 near 5000 feet. South winds up to 10 mph.

Saturday Night: Partly cloudy. Haze. Lows around 69 near the shore to around 48 near 5000 feet. Light winds becoming northeast up to 10 mph after midnight.

Puna

Tonight: Mostly cloudy in the evening then becoming partly cloudy. Haze in the evening. Scattered showers. Lows 57 to 66 near the shore to 46 to 53 at 4000 feet. North winds up to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50 percent.

Saturday: Mostly sunny. Highs 73 to 79 near the shore to 59 to 65 at 4000 feet. North winds up to 15 mph.

Saturday Night: Partly cloudy. Lows 57 to 65 near the shore to 45 to 52 at 4000 feet. North winds up to 15 mph.

Waikoloa

Tonight: Breezy. Mostly cloudy with scattered showers in the evening, then partly cloudy with isolated showers after midnight. Lows 66 to 71 near the shore to 44 to 50 above 4000 feet. Light winds becoming east up to 20 mph after midnight. Chance of rain 50 percent.

Saturday: Sunny and breezy. Highs 79 to 86 near the shore to around 65 above 4000 feet. Northeast winds up to 20 mph.

Saturday Night: Mostly clear. Breezy. Lows 65 to 71 near the shore to 44 to 50 above 4000 feet. East winds up to 25 mph.

Detailed Forecast

Synopsis

Cooler air is filtering into the region this evening. Dry and stable weather will continue into next week.

Discussion

A weak and diffuse cold front over Maui County is bringing a brief round of clouds and showers there as it continues its trek southeastward. The front is expected to clear the Big Island early Saturday morning. A cooler and strongly stable airmass is building into the forecast area in its wake. Stratus is seen developing along the northern slopes of Kauai where dewpoints have fallen by a couple of degrees so far. Expect cooler weather with dewpoints in the 50s to around 60 by Saturday morning. Stable trades continue through mid- week before weakening once more in advance of the next and much stronger mid-latitude wave that will dig toward the islands during the middle of next week. Extended model consensus is excellent that this energy will usher another cold front through the area late next week. However, models are struggling greatly with the evolution of the upper wave with solutions ranging from benign progressive frontal passage to various kona low scenarios. Thursday onward represents a period of interest going forward.

Aviation

A shallow cold front will continue to break apart as it moves through the eastern half of the island chain into the overnight period. Brief MVFR conditions are possible in showers ahead of and with the front. Northerly winds will build in from west to east behind the front, with cooler and drier conditions expected for Saturday. No AIRMETs are currently in effect nor expected through Saturday.

Marine

The tail end of a cold front is currently passing through Maui this afternoon and will move across the Big Island tonight then dissipate on Saturday. The threat for thunderstorms is now just east of our far eastern offshore waters and will continue to move further away from our area. High pressure building in behind the front this weekend will bring the return of locally strong trade winds. Fresh to locally strong trade winds will likely persist through Monday then decrease through Tuesday.
An extra-large, long period west-northwest to northwest (300-320 degree) swell will peak this afternoon and evening. Buoy 51101 northwest of Kauai showed a steady decline during the day today, which should translate to declining surf later tonight into Saturday. This swell should drop to borderline warning levels by mid day Saturday. A High Surf Warning remains in effect for the north and west- facing shores of Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, along with north facing shores of Maui through Saturday afternoon. Due to the westerly component of this swell, a High Surf Warning is also in effect for the west facing shores of the Big Island through Saturday. Surf should peak tonight into early Saturday morning for west facing shores of the Big Island. A Small Craft Advisory is also in effect due to the extra-large west-northwest to northwest swell. The next northwest swell is scheduled to arrive next Tuesday into Wednesday and could bring advisory level surf along north and west facing shores.
An out-of-season south swell continues to fill in this afternoon and is producing surf near the summer average. This swell is expected to peak tonight then gradually decline this weekend. Surf should return to background levels (nearly flat) by the middle of next week.
East-facing shore surf will remain small the next couple of days as a result of disrupted trades downstream of the front. East shore surf becomes more rough Sunday and Monday in response to strengthening northeasterlies. Select east surf spots may experience some wrap from the passing northwest swells.&&

Fire weather

Moderate to locally breezy N to NE winds will funnel drier air into the area for the weekend. The probability for critical fire weather conditions to develop is low, mainly owing to winds failing to reach the threshold. The greatest probability for Red Flag conditions to develop is Sunday.

HFO Watches/Warnings/Advisories

High Surf Warning until 6 PM HST Saturday for Niihau, Kauai Leeward, Waianae Coast, Oahu North Shore, Maui Windward West, Kona, Kohala, Kauai North, Molokai Windward, Molokai North, Molokai West, Maui Central Valley North, Windward Haleakala, Big Island South.
Small Craft Advisory until 6 AM HST Sunday for all Hawaiian waters,

Big Island Now Weather is brought to you by Blue Hawaiian Helicopters.

Check out their Big Island Helicopter Tours today!

Data Courtesy of NOAA.gov