Hawaii
Weather stations are being built across Hawaii to assist in forecasting for extreme flood, fire events
HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Researchers at the University of Hawaii at Manoa are working to install a statewide tool to measure the ebb and flow of the atmosphere.
A mesonet is an interconnected network of automated weather stations that measure several atmospheric conditions.
So far, 62 stations have been installed across the island chain by researchers at UH Manoa, and over 100 are planned.
The name of this project is Hawaii Mesonet, which is modeled after similar work in other states. Most notably, the Oklahoma Mesonet assists in monitoring for approaching severe weather and tornadoes on the great plains.
Hawaii, historically, has been sparse in terms of weather data, meaning it is often hard to tell what is happening in more remote parts of the state. With this new mesonet, forecasters and weather models will have a clearer picture when it comes to forecasting the diverse microclimates across the island chain.
The recorded data from the mesonet sites is uploaded into future weather models, providing more information to the computer which results in a higher-quality forecast.
Hawaii News Now had the opportunity to look at one of the newest mesonet stations.
Dr. Thomas Giambelluca, project lead for the Hawaii Mesonet, explained, “The data provided by these stations really revolutionizes our ability to anticipate and prepare for and minimize risk during extreme events such as floods and wildfires.”
This new network is not only a tool for forecasters and emergency managers to protect both life and property; it also assists the agricultural sector of Hawaii.
The new weather monitoring stations also measure soil temperature and moisture, providing invaluable data to farmers across the state.
Giambelluca also emphasized the importance of finding continued funding for this network. He said that the program will be “asking the state Legislature to commit to supporting the remaining amount we need.”
Learn more about the Hawaii Mesonet on Instagram @hiclimateportal.
The collected data is also publicly available here.
Copyright 2025 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
Hawaii
Hawaii County Surf Forecast for March 04, 2026 | Big Island Now
Forecast for Big Island Windward and Southeast
| Shores | Tonight | Wednesday | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surf | Surf | |||
| PM | AM | AM | PM | |
| North Facing | 2-4 | 2-4 | 2-4 | 2-4 |
| East Facing | 3-5 | 4-6 | 4-6 | 5-7 |
| South Facing | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 |
| Weather | Mostly cloudy. Numerous showers. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low Temperature | In the upper 60s. | ||||||
| Winds | East winds 5 to 10 mph. | ||||||
|
|||||||
| Weather | Partly sunny. Numerous showers. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Temperature | In the upper 70s. | |||||
| Winds | East winds 10 to 15 mph. | |||||
|
||||||
| Sunrise | 6:37 AM HST. | |||||
| Sunset | 6:27 PM HST. | |||||
Forecast for Big Island Leeward
| Shores | Tonight | Wednesday | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surf | Surf | |||
| PM | AM | AM | PM | |
| West Facing | 2-4 | 2-4 | 2-4 | 1-3 |
| South Facing | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 | 1-3 |
| Weather | Mostly sunny until 6 PM, then mostly cloudy. Hazy. |
||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low Temperature | In the upper 60s. | ||||||||||
| Winds | West winds around 5 mph early in the afternoon, becoming light and variable. |
||||||||||
|
|||||||||||
| Weather | Partly sunny. Hazy. | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Temperature | In the mid 80s. | ||||||||
| Winds | Light and variable winds, becoming west around 5 mph in the afternoon. |
||||||||
|
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| Sunrise | 6:41 AM HST. | ||||||||
| Sunset | 6:31 PM HST. | ||||||||
The current moderate northwest swell will continue a gradual decline through Thursday. A small west-northwest swell will arrive on Friday and hold through the weekend, followed by a small north-northwest swell early next week. Choppy east shore surf will build to near seasonal average by Wednesday as trade winds strengthen over and east of the islands. Little change is expected along east facing shores through the weekend, followed by a possible decline early next week if winds veer southerly. Surf along south facing shores will remain small to tiny through the weekend, and some islands may an increase in choppy surf if southerly winds develop early next week.
NORTH EAST
am
pm
Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.
Conditions: Semi choppy with ESE winds 5-10mph in the morning increasing to 10-15mph in the afternoon.
NORTH WEST
am
pm
Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.
Conditions: Clean in the early morning with ESE winds less than 5mph. Bumpy/semi bumpy conditions move in during the morning hours with the winds shifting W 5-10mph.
WEST
am
pm
Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.
Conditions: Semi glassy in the morning with N winds less than 5mph. Bumpy/semi bumpy conditions for the afternoon with the winds shifting WNW 5-10mph.
SOUTH EAST
am
pm
Surf: Minimal (ankle high or less) surf.
Conditions: Light sideshore texture in the morning with NE winds 10-15mph. This becomes Sideshore texture/chop for the afternoon.
Data Courtesy of NOAA.gov and SwellInfo.com
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