Kahului continues record high temperature streak as isles face wet, humid weekend

Moderate tradewinds will stick around through Friday, according to weather forecasters, but muggy conditions are expected to spread across the Hawaiian Islands this weekend through Monday.

National Weather Service forecasters say wet, humid weather will spread from east to west across the state by Friday afternoon, due to an upper-level low and tropical moisture moving up from the south. Wind speeds are also expected to decrease this weekend.

Today’s highs range from 88 to 93 degrees Fahrenheit, with trades of 5 to 20 miles per hour. Lows tonight range from 75 to 80 degrees.

The heat index, a measure of what it feels like when temperature and relative humidity are combined, is expected to reach as high as 100 degrees in Kahului, 98 in Kapolei, 96 in Lihue, 94 in Honolulu and 90 in Hilo this afternoon.

On Wednesday, yet another record high of 96 degrees was set in Kahului on Wednesday, breaking the previous record of 94 set in 1953.

This was the third consecutive high for Kahului, which on Tuesday recorded a high of 95 degrees, surpassing its previous record in 1995, and on Monday recorded a high of 97.

On Wednesday, a high of 89 degrees in Lihue also matched the previous record set in 2017.

Since the start of the month, daily highs and ties have been recorded on a daily basis throughout the isles, continue a trend of record temperatures this summer.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials have noted that July and August temperatures in Hawaii were the second highest departure from average for those months since 2015.

Tropical Storm Kiko in the East Pacific is expected to slowly strengthen over the next few days, and possibly regain hurricane strength Friday as it moves closer to the Central Pacific, according to the National Hurricane Center.