Forecasters expect warm, wet weather

By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer

What do Halloween candy and Hawai'i residents have in common? They're both sticky.

The warm, muggy and still days of the past two weeks are expected to last through next week, meaning several more days of uncomfortable weather. Add to the mix expected showers and possible thunderstorms for O'ahu and Kaua'i and things can get downright ugly.

National Weather Service lead forecaster Tim Craig said a cold front west of the Islands may bring isolated thunderstorms to those two islands. When rain isn't falling, the light winds from the south and southeast will prevail, he said.

"We're going to have more of the same, except wetter," Craig said. He said the cooling trade winds aren't expected for at least a week.

Craig said the muggy weather isn't unusual for this time of year. He said fall and spring are transitional seasons surrounding summer, during which trade winds blow 90 percent of the time.

"The fall is the period where the trade winds are still trying to hang tough, but the cold fronts and the westerlies are trying to get to the Islands as well. So it's sort of like a battle royal going on," Craig said.

Today's forecast for O'ahu calls for partly cloudy skies with scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms. The high will be in the upper 80s and the low in the mid-70s.

Craig had a reminder for residents who complain about the weather: "We're in the tropics. It's warm here."

Reach Curtis Lum at 525-8025 or culum@honoluluadvertiser.com.