Cold front to bring widespread rains to Kauai and Oahu; Another record high set in Kahului
A cold front is still on track to arrive in Hawaii, bringing an extended period of rainfall to the state’s western isles, forecasters said, while yet another record high was set in Kahului.
The National Weather Service said satellite imagery this morning showed the cold front at roughly 250 miles northwest of Kauai. However, the forecast now has the front stalling near Kauai from Saturday through Monday, with light, southerly winds developing ahead of it, which will bring rains to Oahu through the weekend.
Today’s forecast is cloudy for most isles, with isolated showers and highs from 87 to 92 degrees Fahrenheit. Tonight is expected to be cloudy as well, with lows from 71 to 76 degrees. Trades have slowed down to variable winds of 5 to 10 mph.
Surf is expected to remain below advisory levels along all shores through the weekend and into next week.
Surf is expected at 1 to 3 feet on east and west shores through Friday morning, with a bump up to 2 to 4 feet for west shores on Friday evening.
Surf on north shores at 1 to 3 feet today is expected to bump up to 5 to 7 feet Friday evening.
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Surf on south shores is expected to remain at 2 to 4 feet through Friday evening.
A record high of 94 degrees, meanwhile, was set at Kahului on Wednesday, beating the previous record of 93 set for that day in 1997. A high of 89 in Hilo matched the previous record set for that day in 1991.
It was the fifth time Kahului has broken a record high so far this month, in addition to several record high matches.
Forecasters say a widespread rainfall event is expected for the western isles, with isolated thunderstorms mostly impacting Kauai County. Areas under the stalled cold front will experience slow-moving rain bands, bringing moderate to locally heavy rainfall, elevating the risk for flash flooding.
The highest precipitation amounts are forecast over the southern slopes and mountains of Kauai from Friday night to Sunday evening.
For Maui and Hawaii counties, conditions are expected to remain more stable, with sea breezes and isolated to scattered showers each day.