As the winds take a gentle turn over the Hawaiian Islands, locals and visitors can expect steady trade winds through Tuesday, before the breezes pick up later in the week, according to the Natioal Weather Service Honolulu's latest forecast. An entrenched high-pressure ridge to the north of the state is keeping things calm for now, but not without a stationary front nearby in the Central Pacific Basin playing its part to keep those winds on a lighter note.
Satellite images show clusters of clouds riding in on easterly trade winds, bringing brief morning showers to windward and mountain areas. These showers should ease as the weather becomes more stable later in the day, according to the National Weather Service. Winds may shift slightly near Kauai due to a low-level trough, and are expected to strengthen by Wednesday, becoming moderate to breezy and increasing into the weekend.
In the realm of aviation, the enduring high-pressure ridge means business as usual for pilots with predominantly VFR conditions persisting through Tuesday; low clouds may obscure some mountain vistas, particularly for those flying north and east of Oahu, but are expected to lift by mid-morning, around 9 AM HST or 19Z, the National Weather Service predicts.
Matters are similarly stable on the seas where the high-pressure ridge lingers, promising a few days of calm before setting up shop northeast towards the week's end, a period which may also usher in a Small Craft Advisory with the increased winds "A high pressure ridge will remain far north of Hawaii over the next several of days, then set up northeast of the state towards the end of the week," according to the forecast from the National Weather Service Honolulu. As for surfers, the current south-southwest swell has reached its zenith and will recede as the workweek progresses, while east facing shores should anticipate moderate surf maintained by a persistent northeast swell that's staying put for now.
