Powerful Kona Low Set To Bring Flooding Rainfall, Gusty Winds And Potential Blizzard Conditions To Hawaii Through This Weekend

Jonathan Belles Sun, March 15, 2026 at 1:39 PM UTC

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A powerful system called a Kona storm will bring flooding rainfall, strong winds, some severe thunderstorms, even mountain summit blizzard conditions to Hawaii into this weekend.

Flood watches and high wind warnings are in effect throughout Hawaii.

A potent low pressure system located some 1500 miles northwest of Kauai is pulling deep tropical moisture northeastward across the island chain.

Around 30 inches of rain has fallen on the Haleakalā Summit of Maui since late Thursday. In fact, parts of Maui County have reported over 20 inches of rainfall in just 24 hours. Numerous totals well over a foot have been reported for most of higher elevations across the islands.

Several trees were downed by strong wind gusts Friday on the southern side of Oahu and gusts exceeded 60 mph on several islands. The highest reported so far was 81 mph on Makapuu Beach; however, stronger gusts are likely occurring across the higher elevations. Power was knocked out to around 125,000 customers throughout the state by early Saturday morning. By Sunday morning, that number dropped to roughly 50,000.

Forecast Timing And Threats

Unfortunately, this Kona low will remain relatively parked in place into the weekend, continuing to pump moisture into the state.

While conditions will improve from west to east during the weekend, the eastern part of the state will continue to see heavy rain and gusty winds this weekend.

Flash flooding is the greatest threat from this storm, with the Big Island and Maui picking up at least four inches of additional rain everywhere except the immediate north coast of the Big Island. The heaviest rainfall totals should occur on the south- or southwest-facing coasts and mountain slopes.

A few severe thunderstorms are possible through Sunday with damaging winds and large hail. Unusually conducive conditions for Hawaii standards are expected to come together for severe weather.

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Gusty and potentially damaging winds are possible during this period of peak impact. Winds in the lower elevations could exceed 50 mph, but the Big Island volcanic summits could see gusts over 100 mph. These gusty winds below the tree line could cause tree limbs to break and block roadways and cause additional power outages.

The summits on the Big Island could also see significant winter impacts, after more than a foot of snow was forecast. Strong wings will create blowing snow and dangerous conditions.

Hurricane force winds are possible over the coastal waters creating hazardous offshore conditions.

(MORE: For even more granular weather data tracking in your area, view your 15-minute details forecast in our Premium Pro experience.)

What Is A Kona Low?

Kona lows are storm systems that set up to the west or northwest of the islands and draw up lots of moisture from the south, creating messy and sometimes dangerous conditions. They can bring widespread heavy rain to the islands with the threat of flash flooding, as well as damaging, gusty winds.

This is a phenomenon that occurs most often in January, although it can happen anytime between October and May.

This is a reversal from typical Hawaii weather.

The trade winds across Hawaii typically blow from the northeast. That means windward areas, generally the northeast sides of the islands, typically see more showers. On the Big Island, Hilo is the best example of this. They average a whopping 120.39 inches of rain a year.

But when a Kona storm moves in, it will bring winds from the southwest or “kona” side (or southwest side) of the islands. It's these storms that soak normally drier locations in the islands, including Honolulu and the Kona coast of the Big Island. Honolulu averages only 16.41 inches of rain a year.

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Source: “AOL Breaking”