An upper trough will slide from north of the state to the east through Wednesday before settling northeast of the area. Moderate to fresh trade winds will continue to funnel in clouds and showers that will be enhanced by the upper trough over the next several days.
Issued at 355 PM HST Tue Apr 28 2026 Whilst undergoing modest strengthening into tomorrow, locally breezy trades continue to deliver showers windward and mauka. Isolated MVFR possible within heavier showers, but VFR prevails, except perhaps Windward Big Island where observational trends and the latest guidance suggest a greater coverage of showers and MVFR potential tonight.
AIRMET Sierra may be needed for Windward Big Island tonight.
AIRMET Tango for lee turb may be needed as early as Wednesday afternoon as trades strengthen.
No AIRMETs in effect.
Issued at 355 PM HST Tue Apr 28 2026 Moderate to fresh east-northeast trades will continue tonight before strengthening on Wednesday as a weak trough shifts to the west and a ridge builds north of the state. A Small Craft Advisory (SCA) has been issued for the typically windier waters surrounding Maui County and the Big Island beginning Wednesday morning. The SCA is likely to be extended through at least Friday before a trough approaches from the northwest this weekend, which will lead to a period of more relaxed trade winds.
Offshore buoys continue to show the new northwest swell around or below 1 ft. As a result, surf along north and west facing shores will remain small tonight before a small bump is possible on Wednesday. An upward trend is then expected during the second half of the week as another northwest swell arrives as early as Wednesday night. This swell originates from a storm-force low that tracked into the Bering Sea this past weekend, as confirmed by scatterometry. Therefore, this swell appears more likely to materialize. Looking further ahead, a storm-force low east of Japan will send a moderate, longer-period northwest swell toward the islands for Friday and Saturday, with surf heights potentially approaching advisory levels along exposed north and west facing shores.
Surf along south-facing shores will remain small through much of the week, with mainly background south to southwest swell expected. Another south-southwest pulse may arrive by this weekend from recent activity within our swell window east of New Zealand, providing a small increase in surf.
Surf along east-facing shores will remain relatively small and choppy through midweek, with a slight rise possible Thursday and Friday as trades strengthen.
Small Craft Advisory from 6 AM Wednesday to 6 AM HST Thursday for Kahoolawe.
Small Craft Advisory from 6 AM Wednesday to 6 AM HST Thursday for Alenuihaha Channel-Big Island Leeward Waters-Big Island Southeast Waters-Maalaea Bay-Pailolo Channel.
