I have some friends who just returned from their first trip to the islands. They had a few days on Oahu and then spent last week on Maui. I was disappointed to hear that they had some really unusual bad weather - only two days of sun and more than usual rain. We are looking forward to our first trip there in September. Our impression was that you can really count on fabulous weather in Hawaii year-round. By the way a bunch of us got together and hired a company to meet them at their plane with an island lei greeting. ( I got the idea through Aloha friends.com) I know it sounds corny, but it was a nice surprise for them and they really loved it.

There's been heavy rain the past few days and is expected to continue the rest of the week. It is indeed unusual, being more of spring rain season but not too surprising if you've read up on changes in global ocean temperatures.

By September, the only heavy rain will probably come from tropical storm remnants that linger off to the side, being nothing more than short thunderstorms. Doesn't happen too often.

What's bad about rain???!!! Hawai'i needs the water more than they need the tourists who come seeking the sun! Ooops, sorry about that! I get pretty emotional when someone refers to rain as "bad." Can you imagine what would happen to us earthlings if all rain ceased to fall?

Your right, Rainman, I can fully understand that. But, being from Michigan, we see more than our share of rainy, cloudy days and I crave sun when I go on vacation.

I too was in Maui last week for the first time and was quite surprised by the weather. Of course rain is good but give me a break...rain on your first and maybe only vacation in Hawaii???? Especially when you are traveling from the East Coast (long flight!). I'm entitled to feel a little dissapointed by the rain and not to mention the clouds that we had EVERY day. I'm not trying to sound bitter here. I loved Maui and I would go back in a heart beat if I'm able to. Thank god for the amazing experience we had at the Four Seasons. Highly recommend it. Worth every cent. Staying there and the road to Hana made our vacation.

Scientist are finding that Elnino is rearing it's ugly head and it has been predicted that the spring summer and fall will bring increased chances of hurricane and tropical storms. The upcoming winter is expected to be dry. Go to the Honolulu Star Bulletin and see if you can do an archive search I found this article a few weeks ago. Other weather searches on Hawaii will give you same info.

It's an unfortunate fact of life that weather is hard to predict accurately, and bad weather can surely spoil a vacation. We were very lucky for our first visit to the islands. We had only a little rain one morning on Oahu and off and on rain the day we did the Road to Hana. According to the guide books, Wailea has the least amount of rain and the most sunny days on Maui.

Oh boy, heading to Maui tomorrow! its a little upsetting to hear about "rain" on a trip i have been planning for 6 months. I am gathering these are not showers we are talking about but full days of the wet stuff. But because i cant control the weather i just have to find a way to "enjoy" the best i can!

I have spent a total of about 70 days on Maui over five different visits. In all that time I had only one bad day where it rained most of the day. There were also some showers and several days that were less than perfect but nonetheless they were very good beach days.

One bad day in 70 !! Have I been just lucky or is this normal.

PS the one day that it rained was a torrential downpour with high winds, roads washed out, golf courses under water, and six inches of water on the grounds of the condo where I was staying. The enxt day was back to beautiful.

Hi , probably a little lucky. If you check this week 's weather forcast and were going to be in Maui , i would suspect it will be a little wet. Thanks

I'm going to Oahu and Maui in less than 11 days. I hope the weather will turn back to normal when I go there. This is what the weather channel is saying:

Severe Weather Alert from the National Weather Service

...FLOOD WATCH NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 330 AM HST TUE MAY 7 2002
...A FLOOD WATCH HAS BEEN EXTENDED UNTIL 4 PM HST FOR PERSONS IN THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS...

KAUAI AND OAHU

...THE FLOOD WATCH FOR MOLOKAI IS CANCELED AT 4 AM HST...

THE ATMOSPHERE OVER THE STATE REMAINS UNSTABLE...BUT THE ABUNDANT MOISTURE APPEARS TO BE MOVING WITH THE TRADE WINDS AWAY FROM MOLOKAI. THE FLOOD WATCH FOR MOLOKAI IS THEREFORE CANCELED...BUT REMAINS IN EFFECT INTO THIS AFTERNOON FOR KAUAI AND OAHU.

A FLOOD WATCH MEANS THAT CONDITIONS ARE FAVORABLE FOR HEAVY RAINFALL AND FLOODING. FLOODING IS NOT IMMINENT...BUT PERSONS ON KAUAI AND OAHU SHOULD BE PREPARED TO TAKE QUICK ACTION IF HEAVY RAIN IS OBSERVED OR A WARNING IS ISSUED.

IF YOU ARE DRIVING...BE ALERT FOR FLOODING AND DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CROSS FAST FLOWING OR RISING WATER. MANY FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR WHEN MOTORISTS TRY CROSSING FLOODED ROADWAYS. ESCAPE RISING WATER BY GOING DIRECTLY TO HIGHER GROUND. NEVER TRY TO OUTRUN A FLOOD EITHER ON FOOT OR IN YOUR VEHICLE. DO NOT CAMP NEAR STREAMS OR OTHER AREAS SUBJECT TO FLOODING.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO...LOCAL TV OR RADIO FOR FURTHER NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INFORMATION.

If you go to the web site below you can see what the weather is like in Maui. This site is a live web cam in the town of Lahaina. Looks overcast today.

http://readyset.net/jumbolahainacam.hmx

From the looks of the cam. It doesn't look that bad. At least it's not wet!

please, some perspective!

yes, it rains in hawaii--that's why it's green, and that's how we get waterfalls.

yes, the rains sunday and monday on oahu have been bad. there has been some flooding along streams, but to keep things in perspective, locals affected by the floods say it's the worst in recent memory. today has been very warm and clear.

in hawaii, hilo and parts of kauai are generally known as places that tend to get more rain. but otherwise, as maggi said in her original post, bad weather here is unusual and not the norm.

Lots of rain the past couple of days! The mosquitoes and frogs are dancing for joy! And, oh yes, the mountains on the windward side are gorgeous!!!!!! I have never seen it so green in all my life.

I am very surprised to read these posts about bad weather in Maui in early May. I just got back from the Hyatt in Kaanappali from May 1 through May 11 and it only rained for 5 minutes the entire 10 days we were there and we had very sunny days every day. I guess it really depends on what part of Maui you are staying at.

ROBTN--You know these posts are a year old, right?

I posted this last year before our September trip to Kauai and Maui. As it turned out, my fears were groundless. The weather was perfect, even on the North Shore of Kauai, just a few sprinkles on the first day. The heavy rains did affect the "Seven Sacred Pools" area. They were brown and muddy and not swimable. I do appreciate Rainman's response. The islands would not be as beautiful as they are without rain. We all need it.