Honolulu residents can expect a diverse weather pattern over the next few days, with the National Weather Service in Honolulu predicting a cold front that will usher in moderate to heavy showers and a slight chance of thunderstorms through tomorrow, followed by a reinforcing shot of cooler weather. As reported by National Weather Service Honolulu, the cold front has begun to move onshore Kauai this morning, bringing with it gusty northwesterly winds and rainfalls of up to 1-2 inches per hour in isolated areas. The front is expected to make its way over Oahu during morning traffic hours and then progressively lose strength as it heads over Maui County in the afternoon, diminishing concerns about potential flooding.
Winds are projected to shift back to easterly trades briefly on Friday into Saturday, with another front anticipated to cause further disruptions by the weekend, the maritime community should be aware that near gale force winds may occur, especially over waters surrounding Kauai and Oahu. Despite the choppy conditions, the Small Craft Advisory remains in effect until 6 p.m. HST Thursday for multiple zones including Kauai Northwest Waters, Kauai Windward Waters, Kauai Leeward Waters, and the Kaiwi Channel; this advisory is indicating mariners take caution while out at sea during this turbulent weather window.
Surf conditions are also seeing the effects of the weather systems with a moderate long period northwest swell starting to build, this could lead to high surf advisories especially on north facing shores as swells are expected to increase tomorrow and on Friday amidst overlapping swell patterns. While the current surf along north and west facing shores is expected to stay below advisory criteria today, the developing storm to the north could lead to more significant conditions at the end of the week.
Concerning fire weather in the region, the upcoming dry air mass is expected to bring afternoon humidity levels down to near or slightly below 40 percent tomorrow and on Friday, however, with a passing front bringing in rainfall, critical fire weather concerns are not forecast through the rest of the period.
