KAILUA-KONA — Rainfall is expected to dissipate after today, but don’t expect much sunshine immediately thereafter.
Lingering moisture from a dissipated front will maintain somewhat wet conditions on Hawaii Island today before moving toward the north Wednesday and Thursday. Although the rainy conditions are forecast to subside to mainly afternoon showers, clouds will continue to blanket Hawaii Island.
“As far as high clouds that are blotting out your sun, I don’t think you’re going to see a complete clearing out this week,” said Derek Wroe, a Honolulu-based meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Honolulu.
On Wednesday and Thursday, an upper level trough is forecast to approach the state, leading to increased moisture and unsettled conditions. Forecasters, however, say the highest chances of rainfall will be across the western half of the state through Friday.
“At least the rainfall chances aren’t so bad” for Hawaii Island, said Wroe.
Heading into the weekend, uncertainty persists. However, current forecasts show a band of moisture will persist somewhere between Kauai and Maui on Saturday. The band is expected to move slowly eastward, toward Hawaii Island, on Sunday.
Normally, at the start of May, weather is improving with the return of trade winds and the state coming out of the “wet season,” which runs November to March.
“That’s not the case and hasn’t been the case” this year, Wroe said.
That’s likely because of an area of low pressure that’s been stalled for about a week some 1,000 miles north of the state. Usually, such a system will “move along,” but a “blocking pattern” has seemingly developed and is keeping the area of low pressure from breaking down and heading out.
“That’s why you haven’t had a whole lot of change lately,” Wroe said.