The weather patterns that have marked this week should continue through New Year’s weekend, according to the National Weather Service.
According to the NWS in Honolulu, the weather forecast for the next few days in the Hilo area is for daytime high temperatures in the upper 70s with overnight lows in the mid to lower 60s.
“We should be seeing increasing trade winds,” said Matthew Foster, a NWS Honolulu meteorologist. “For places such as Puna, South Point, the Volcano area, Upolu Point, Pahala, which are a little more exposed, they should see increasing winds.”
Precipitation, Foster said, will be “the usual kind of passing showers that you get in Hilo all the time — nothing heavy, though.”
“The trade winds should be ushering in a little more showers,” he continued. “Most of the rain will be focused during the nighttime and early morning hours, pretty typical weather. The winds should be trending down Sunday, and then we’ll go into a lighter wind regimen through the end of the next week.”
The chances of rain for the evening and early morning hours range from 60%-70% daily throughout the weekend for East Hawaii.
The forecast for West Hawaii is for slightly warmer weather than the east side, with daytime highs in the lower 80s and overnight lows in upper 60s.
There are scattered nighttime showers in the forecast, with the chance of precipitation each night pegged at 20%.
The one constant predicted for West Hawaii through the weekend is for vog from the summit eruption of Kilauea volcano at Halema‘uma‘u crater.
“We can see on the satellite that it’s setting up in the normal areas, Kona and the Ka‘u district,” Foster said. “There’ll pretty much be no change unless (the volcano) stops emitting the (sulfur dioxide).”
Email John Burnett at jburnett@hawaiitribune-herald.com.