What to expect as a powerful storm approaches Hawaii
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Your First Alert Weather Team has declared FIRST ALERT WEATHER DAYS Tuesday via Saturday as a giant and powerful Kona storm strikes over the state. Here’s what to expect.
Flood watch issued
The National Weather Service has issued a statewide FLOOD WATCH on Tuesday morning.
The flood look ahead to Kauai will start on Tuesday morning and final via Saturday afternoon.
The flood look ahead to Oahu will start late Tuesday night and also will final via Saturday afternoon.
The flood look ahead to Maui County will start on Wednesday morning. Hawaii Island will probably be added later this week.
Hour-by-hour timeline
Here is the newest breakdown of the information from our First Alert Weather group. We can be monitoring this storm all through the week so verify again for updates.
Monday, March 9
Evening: Breezy southerly winds will proceed throughout the state. A couple of showers over jap and southeastern slopes are potential, however can be comparatively gentle in contrast to the rainfall anticipated later this week.
Tuesday, March 10
Morning: The Kona Low is predicted to strategy the Garden Isle all through Tuesday, and the flooding menace will improve all through the day. Scattered showers are potential all through Tuesday morning. An remoted heavy downpour might develop, however the heaviest rainfall will come later Tuesday night.
The remainder of the state ought to expect breezy southeasterly winds. The wind course will shift to be extra southerly all through the day on Tuesday.
Evening: Rainfall on Kauai will improve all through Tuesday afternoon, doubtlessly changing into torrential late Tuesday night time into Wednesday. The flooding menace will develop into vital late Tuesday night time for Kauai. Strong southerly (Kona) Winds may also develop right now, gusting above 30 miles per hour. Wind gusts might be regionally greater within the valleys and in windward areas.
The winds would be the strongest on the northern slopes of every island and in windward areas. The Kona winds will rush up the mountains and acquire velocity as they rush down the opposite facet.
Night: Heavier rainfall will begin to creep nearer to Oahu late Tuesday night time. Heavy rainfall continues for Kauai all through the night time. Isolated thunderstorms are potential. Strong Kona winds proceed.
Wednesday, March 11
Morning: The heaviest rainfall is forecast to attain Oahu on Wednesday morning. Heavy rainfall continues on each Kauai and Oahu, together with steady robust, southerly winds.
Evening: The impacts of the storm are forecast to attain Maui County all through Wednesday afternoon and night. Scattered showers might affect Hawaii Island right now, however a bulk of the moisture can be targeted over Maui County, Oahu, and Kauai.
The flooding menace for Hawaii Island will improve all through Wednesday, changing into extra regarding all through Thursday and Friday.
Night: Heavy rainfall will proceed all through the night time, however develop into extra scattered. The danger for flash flooding will lower barely all through Wednesday night time.
Thursday, March 12
Rainfall all through Thursday can be extra scattered, and the flooding menace will lower barely though it is going to nonetheless be current.
Widespread instability will nonetheless be within the environment. Torrential rainfall and flash flooding are nonetheless potential all through Thursday, however can be extra scattered in nature.
The southerly winds may also weaken barely, however might develop into robust in areas north of the mountains.
There can also be the potential for winter climate on the Big Island summits. Colder air wrapping into the storm system mixed with rising moisture might enable durations of heavy snowfall on the best elevations later within the week and into the weekend, doubtlessly main to vital snow accumulation.
Friday, March 13, via the weekend
Another, doubtlessly extra impactful spherical of rainfall is predicted to affect all the state Friday afternoon via Sunday.
This subsequent spherical of rainfall is presently forecast to drop extra rainfall than the primary spherical as described above. Some areas, particularly these within the mountains, might simply obtain above ten inches of rainfall.
While embedded thunderstorms are potential midweek, the setting might develop into more and more unstable by Friday and the weekend. This means storms that develop could have the potential to develop into robust and even extreme, able to producing damaging wind gusts, intense rainfall, and harmful lightning.
Winds may also develop into an vital issue as the storm intensifies. As the low stress system deepens northwest of the state and excessive stress stays to the east, the stress distinction between the 2 techniques might tighten. This setup could produce robust south to southwest kona winds Friday into the weekend.
In some areas, particularly alongside north and east going through slopes, these winds can speed up downslope and doubtlessly convey gusts robust sufficient to knock down timber and energy strains.
Download the HNN Weather app from the Apple App Store or Google Play for the newest updates out of your First Alert Weather Team: chief meteorologist Jennifer Robbins, meteorologist Drew Davis, and climate anchors Guy Hagi, Ben Gutierrez, and Billy V.
Copyright 2026 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
