Hawaii Weather - Information

Hawaii weather is one of the most commonly asked questions we get from people who are going to vacation or move to the islands so we'll try to cover the basics of all things weather related here. If you plan on moving to or living in Hawaii you may also want to read Hawaii Living: Weather.

Let's get all of the basic stuff out of the way first. Hawaii is in the tropics and average temperatures at sea level remain fairly consistent year round when compared to most places on the mainland and other parts of the world.

So what temperature is it in Hawaii on an average day? Around 83 degrees Fahrenheit is a good bet (that's around 28 degrees celsius).

Of course, there is a lot more to that story because everything depends on altitude, which island you are on, which part of the island, what time of year it is, and what time of day it is. If you want to complicate it further, the temperature will feel different based on humidity levels and if the trade winds are blowing or not.

For the average person visiting the islands you can expect average daily highs in the mid to high 80's (Fahrenheit) during our summer months (which runs from around May and into October) and average daily highs in the high 70's to low 80's during our winter months (around November through April).

At night, the lows will usually be around 10-15 degrees lower than the daytime high was and you can often sleep with windows wide open year round (it may be too hot for a few days in summer and too cold for a few days in winter but those are the exception to the rule).

If you increase your altitude by hitting the mountains the temperatures will drop the higher you go and it can actually snow in some high altitude areas of Hawaii at certain times of the year!

Each island also has a windward side and leeward side. Windward sides usually cover the north and east sides of each island and often get most of the wind and rain as the tradewinds provide a near constant breeze which blows in moist air coming from the northeast that then hits the mountains where it rises, cools, and drops the water as rain. The leeward sides are the west and south sides of each island and are generally drier and warmer. Worried about the rain? Don't! There are plenty of rainy day activities in Hawaii!

When the trade winds are blowing (which they usually are in some form but slow, speedup, and even stop at times) the temperature can feel very different. For example, on a hot summer day in Waikiki the temperature might reach high into the 80's but if the trades are blowing it won't feel nearly that hot. If those same winds stop it might feel like it's well over 90 degrees, especially because of the heat island effect you get where there are lots of buildings and concrete that retain heat.