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Hawaii > Climate
Hawaii Climate
Hawaii climate is warm throughout the year, with an average temperature of 75-85° F (24-29° C). Other important features of Hawaii climate are moderate humidity and persistant northeasternly trade winds.
For most of Hawaii, there are only two seasons: "summer," between May and October, and "winter," between October and April. But there is no appreciable difference between the seasons in the climate of Hawaii. Hawaiian "winter" is the season of more frequent clouds and rainstorms, because the trade winds, usual for Hawaii, may be interrupted for days or weeks by the invasion of cyclones, that bring rainstorm and southerly and westerly winds.
Hawaii is more than 2,000 miles from the nearest continental land mass. This fact stipulates warm and mild Hawaii climate. The temperature of the ocean varies little compared with that of large land masses. The air that reaches Hawaii, regardless of source, spends enough time over the ocean to moderate its initial harsher properties. That's why there is no seasonal difference in Hawaii climate.
The highest temperature ever recorded in Hawaii was 100 at Pahala (elevation 870 feet) on the Big Island of Hawaii on April 27, 1931. The lowest ever recorded was 12 on Mauna Kea (elevation 13,770 feet), also on the Big Island, on May 17, 1979.
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However, the most influencing factor of Hawaii's weather is caused by the mountains. The higher the mountain the greater the extremes. Thus on the Big Island, the windward coast (north-east) receives an average 130 inches of rain each year whilst the dry leeward coast (west), protected from cloud by the 13,600 feet summits of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, receives less than 30 inches.
The temperature decreases with elevation by about 3 degrees per thousand feet. The slopes of upcountry Maui and the Big Island, including Volcano National Park are therefore much cooler than the coast. The temperatures on Hawaii's highest peaks (14,000 feet) are consistently below zero in winter resulting in snow.
Thunderstorms, lightning and hurricanes may occur. However, these phenomena are usually less frequent and less severe than their counterparts in continental regions.