# What is the weather like in Hawaii?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-weather-like-in-hawaii/111741
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [May 31, 2002, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-weather-like-in-hawaii/111741 "2002-05-31T15:30:49Z")
**Posts on this page:** 10
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@keeper0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/keeper0)
#### Post date: [May 31, 2002, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-weather-like-in-hawaii/111741/1 "2002-05-31T15:30:49Z")
**What’s the weather like in Hawaii?**
The first person to say “beautiful” or “hot” or such should please add their mailing address, so I can ship them a 2x4 to whack themselves upside the head.
I am working on a story idea in which a scene takes place in Hawaii and want to get the weather right. I go to [this weather site](http://www.almanac.com/weatherhistory/oneday.php?number=911820&day=27&month=12&year=1996) and can find the high/low temp, wind and rainfall for any given day.
On the day the link points to (December 27, 1996), Honolulu got 0.3 inches of rain. This is a particularly rainy day for Honolulu. Would this fall in a brief heavy downpour, or would it drizzle all afternoon? I suspect there wouldn’t be thunder, but I would appreciate confirmation of this.
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### Author:  [@LolaBaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaBaby)
#### Post date: [May 31, 2002, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-weather-like-in-hawaii/111741/2 "2002-05-31T15:44:58Z")
Ooh! I want a 2x4! 😃
I would say it was mildly overcast, with sprinkles here and there. December is not a particularly sunny month, nor is it a really rainy month. But it is COLD :eek: for us. By “cold” I mean 68F is pretty chilly at night. **For us**.
Air mail? UPS? 😛
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### Author:  [@LolaBaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaBaby)
#### Post date: [May 31, 2002, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-weather-like-in-hawaii/111741/3 "2002-05-31T15:47:53Z")
Dammit, too fast again. grr
99%, no thunder.
What are the details of the scene, if I may ask?
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### Author:  [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)
#### Post date: [May 31, 2002, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-weather-like-in-hawaii/111741/4 "2002-05-31T23:47:58Z")
Exactly where and at what time of year and day does the moment in question occur? Weather varies greatly there-- the weather in Kona is VERY different from Hilo, eg. Are we talking Honolulu?
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### Author:  [@GeorgeAECF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GeorgeAECF)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2002, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-weather-like-in-hawaii/111741/5 "2002-06-01T00:01:50Z")
Weather in Hawai’i depends on which island!
Let’s see… we have K’auai… with the wettest spot on earth… like 465 inches of rain a year? With total whiteout because of the cloud cover… sometimes the ocean swells and part of the island is inaccesable…
O’ahu… hmm… I was on the Northshore and Honolulu… occasional sprinkles… starry nights, warm breezes…
The Big Island (my favorite)… you go from lush rainforest Hilo side to almost desert like Kona side… plus, LIQUID MAGMA OOZING FORTH (I know magma is not weather, but, its just so damn cool).
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### Author:  [@LolaBaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaBaby)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2002, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-weather-like-in-hawaii/111741/6 "2002-06-01T00:23:41Z")
Yeah…you can be on the Waianae side of Kaena Point and it can be sunny, while Mokuleia/Wahiawa/Waipahu etc. will be cloudy and rainy.
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### Author:  [@handy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handy)
#### Post date: [June 1, 2002, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-weather-like-in-hawaii/111741/7 "2002-06-01T01:45:19Z")
“Honolulu got 0.3 inches of rain.”
Thats nothing. Some islands there get feet of rain. My brother got something like that a few times.
I thought he said something like three feet in 48 hours but that might be an exaggeration.
Well, it is basically hot, 80s, however an interesting thing is that my brother said is
that it never got over 87 on his island. That would depend on what island you are talking about though. When you ask about
hawaii, are you asking about the island or the state keeper?
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### Author:  [@keeper0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/keeper0)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2002, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-weather-like-in-hawaii/111741/8 "2002-06-02T16:30:26Z")
Wow. I didn’t realize the islands varied that much from one to the other. I knew there was some changes with elevation.
The basic idea of the scene is a group are sailing across the Pacific and stop in Honolulu for a brief stay.
It probably won’t amount to much. I am not much of a writer, and tend to spend too much time on things like getting the dimensions of the boat right and how much rain falls in Honolulu, and ignoring minor details like character development and interesting plots.
Thank you for your info.
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### Author:  [@LolaBaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaBaby)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2002, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-weather-like-in-hawaii/111741/9 "2002-06-02T20:24:20Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by handy \*
> \*\*
> Well, it is basically hot, 80s, however an interesting thing is that my brother said is
> that it never got over 87 on his island. That would depend on what island you are talking about though. \*\*
I wish I was on that island! 😃
Trust me, it gets over 92-93 easily.
I would say that if they are stopping off, it’s probably sunny and warm, but there are lots of clouds gathered over the Koolaus.
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### Author:  [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)
#### Post date: [June 2, 2002, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-weather-like-in-hawaii/111741/10 "2002-06-02T21:54:20Z")
In late December, I think it’s about a 50-50 chance of cloudiness and some drizzle versus a sunny day, in town anyway.