Hawaii County Weather Forecast for January 18, 2026
Hilo
Tonight: Mostly cloudy with scattered showers. Lows 54 to 64 near the shore to 44 to 51 at 4000 feet. Northwest winds up to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50 percent.
Sunday: Partly sunny. Scattered showers in the morning, then isolated showers in the afternoon. Highs 73 to 78 near the shore to around 61 at 4000 feet. Northeast winds up to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50 percent.
Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy with scattered showers. Lows 55 to 65 near the shore to 45 to 51 at 4000 feet. East winds up to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50 percent.
Kona
Tonight: Mostly clear. Lows 64 to 69 near the shore to 39 to 47 near 5000 feet. Light winds.
Sunday: Mostly sunny in the morning, then partly sunny with isolated showers in the afternoon. Highs 78 to 83 near the shore to around 63 near 5000 feet. Light winds. Chance of rain 20 percent.
Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy in the evening then becoming partly cloudy. Lows around 67 near the shore to 41 to 48 near 5000 feet. Light winds.
Waimea
Tonight: Partly cloudy. Breezy. Scattered showers in the evening, then isolated showers after midnight. Lows 55 to 65 near the shore to 46 to 55 near 3000 feet. East winds 10 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 30 percent.
Sunday: Mostly sunny in the morning then becoming partly sunny. Breezy. Isolated showers. Highs around 75 near the shore to 64 to 73 near 3000 feet. East winds 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.
Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy in the evening then becoming partly cloudy. Isolated showers. Lows 56 to 66 near the shore to 47 to 56 near 3000 feet. East winds up to 15 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.
Kohala
Tonight: Partly cloudy. Breezy. Scattered showers in the evening, then isolated showers after midnight. Lows 55 to 65 near the shore to 46 to 55 near 3000 feet. East winds 10 to 25 mph. Chance of rain 30 percent.
Sunday: Mostly sunny in the morning then becoming partly sunny. Breezy. Isolated showers. Highs around 75 near the shore to 64 to 73 near 3000 feet. East winds 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.
Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy in the evening then becoming partly cloudy. Isolated showers. Lows 56 to 66 near the shore to 47 to 56 near 3000 feet. East winds up to 15 mph. Chance of rain 20 percent.
South Big Island
Tonight: Mostly clear. Breezy. Lows around 68 near the shore to around 47 near 5000 feet. Northeast winds up to 20 mph.
Sunday: Mostly sunny. Breezy. Highs around 80 near the shore to around 62 near 5000 feet. East winds 10 to 20 mph.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy. Breezy. Lows around 69 near the shore to around 48 near 5000 feet. Northeast winds 10 to 20 mph.
Puna
Tonight: Mostly cloudy with scattered showers. Lows 54 to 64 near the shore to 44 to 51 at 4000 feet. Northwest winds up to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50 percent.
Sunday: Partly sunny. Scattered showers in the morning, then isolated showers in the afternoon. Highs 73 to 78 near the shore to around 61 at 4000 feet. Northeast winds up to 15 mph. Chance of rain 50 percent.
Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy with scattered showers. Lows 55 to 65 near the shore to 45 to 51 at 4000 feet. East winds up to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50 percent.
Waikoloa
Tonight: Mostly clear. Breezy. Lows 63 to 70 near the shore to 41 to 47 above 4000 feet. Southeast winds up to 20 mph.
Sunday: Sunny in the morning then becoming partly sunny. Highs around 80 near the shore to 61 to 67 above 4000 feet. East winds up to 10 mph shifting to the north in the afternoon. Gusts up to 30 mph.
Sunday Night: Partly cloudy. Lows 64 to 71 near the shore to 43 to 49 above 4000 feet. East winds up to 10 mph in the evening becoming light.
Detailed Forecast
Synopsis
Trade winds will gradually ease and turn southerly early next week as high pressure shifts east of the state, allowing temperatures and dew points to slowly rise. Rainfall should be limited as a relatively dry and stable air mass remains in place. Forecast confidence decreases by midweek as a cold front may move partway down the island chain Wednesday into Wednesday night, potentially bringing increased showers.
Discussion
An expansive deck of fair weather stratocumulus clouds continues to stream into windward and mauka areas across the island chain this afternoon, clearly evident on visible satellite imagery. This stable cloud layer has kept skies scattered to mostly cloudy in those areas, though it has produced very little rainfall so far, nor is it expected to.
In the wake of Thursdays cold front, a cooler and noticeably drier air mass settled over the region, bringing slightly below- normal temperatures and lower dew points that lingered through this morning. This wont last much longer. As the surface high roughly 350 miles north of the state slides east and the next cold front approaches from the northwest, moderate to locally breezy easterly trade winds will gradually weaken and turn more southerly from Monday into Tuesday. As winds ease and shift, temperatures and dew points should slowly climb as the air mass becomes modified by the warm tropical waters surrounding the islands. Despite these changes, rainfall is expected to remain limited through Tuesday, as moisture stays scarce and the atmosphere remains fairly stable.
By midweek, the forecast becomes less straightforward. Global model guidance begins to diverge, lowering confidence from Wednesday onward. Both the GFS and ECMWF suggest a cold front may move at least partway down the island chain Wednesday into Wednesday night, which would bring an uptick in shower coverage near the boundary. How far south the front ultimately gets, whether it reaches the Big Island, or whether it weakens and lifts back to the northeast remains uncertain given the wide model spread. Because of this, the details for the latter half of the week and into next weekend are still up in the air, and the forecast will likely evolve over the coming days.
Aviation
Moderate to locally breezy trades are expected to continue through the evening before veering southeasterly tomorrow. Brief, isolated showers are possible over windward and mauka areas, particularly during the early morning hours. Tempo MVFR conditions are expected within these showers, with VFR conditions prevailing elsewhere.
AIRMET Tango remains in effect for low level turbulence downwind of terrain. This may be lifted tomorrow as winds slightly weaken and veer southeasterly. A separate AIRMET Tango is also in effect for tempo moderate turbulence between FL240-FL320. This turbulence is expected to be out of the area by tomorrow.
Marine
An area of high pressure north of the state will continue to move eastward through Sunday and help maintain moderate to locally strong trades. The Small Craft Advisory for all waters waters from the Kaiwi channel eastward, was extended through late Sunday afternoon due to the gusty trades. Sunday night through Tuesday, winds will veer southeasterly and weaken ahead of an approaching cold front. Though a few model differences still exist with regards to timing, there is a general consensus of it passing through the waters by late Tuesday into Wednesday of next week.
Moderate, medium period, north northwest swell has continued to lower through the day, as noted on the near shore buoys. Thus, the High Surf Advisory (HSA) for north facing shores of the smaller islands was cancelled. On its heels, another moderate to large, long period, northwest swell is forecast to enter the coastal waters Sunday morning, then swiftly rise and peak during the afternoon. Surf heights along north and west facing shores should once again breach HSA criteria. This swell will fade though Monday. The next moderate, long period, northwest swell may affect the waters from Tuesday through mid-week and keep surf elevated for north and west facing shores.
Rough, choppy surf along east facing shores will hold through Sunday. Additionally, some east facing shores sensitive to northerly swells may be experiencing a slight uptick in surf heights through Sunday as the fading north northwesterly swell becomes more northerly. No noteworthy swells are expected for the next few days for south facing shores.
HFO Watches/Warnings/Advisories
Small Craft Advisory until 6 PM HST Sunday for Kaiwi Channel, Maui County Windward Waters, Maui County Leeward Waters, Maalaea Bay, Pailolo Channel, Alenuihaha Channel, Big Island Windward Waters, Big Island Leeward Waters, Big Island Southeast Waters.
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Data Courtesy of NOAA.gov





