Honolulu residents can expect stable and moderate trade winds to continue tomorrow. Showers are likely to remain light and mainly focused over the windward and mountain areas. Starting mid-week, though, stronger trade winds and a slight increase in wet conditions are on the horizon, which could extend into the following weekend, according to the National Weather Service.
Forecasters at the NWS Honolulu have made minor adjustments to the predictive models based on the latest data. Today's particular emphasis includes "a small uptick in showers for the windward side of the Big Island," as stated in the NWS discussion. By tomorrow and Tuesday, as the ridge to the north solidifies, residents should fully expect to see the increased pressure gradient causing the winds to grow gradually stronger. The mid-level ridge's northward movement will start to gradually allow more showers to spread across the islands during the early days of next week.
Those traveling by air should be ready for "moderate to locally breezy trade winds" to persist through Monday, with brief periods of MVFR conditions due to clouds and passing showers, primarily over windward and mauka areas, as detailed in the aviation section of the NWS forecast. VFR conditions are expected to dominate despite these intermittent episodes of reduced visibility.
For maritime conditions, "High pressure far northeast of the state" is maintaining gentle to fresh trade winds tomorrow, the NWS forecasts. Sailors and boaters should anticipate that a Small Craft Advisory could potentially be reinstated by Tuesday for the typically windier waters near Maui County and the Big Island. Beachgoers can expect small surf conditions to carry through the next several days on south-facing shores, whereas the north-facing shores will see only modest wave activity, which is projected to decrease by tomorrow.
Additionally, higher-than-normal water levels coupled with spring tides have elevated the risk of minor coastal flooding around the Big Island and Maui, particularly during peak high tide this afternoon. Though no advisories are currently in place, residents in coastal areas should remain alert to changing conditions and the potential for water levels to rise over a half foot above the expected values.
