El Niño could bring more storms and hotter days to Hawaii

Added: 2026-05-06

[00:00:00]Well, get ready for a busy hurricane season. That is just one of the impacts of El Nino, which experts say is going to impact our island weather into next year. So, our weather expert, our meteorologist Paul Drews, reports on this predicted stronger than normal El Nino.

[00:00:16]El Nino is largely influenced by sea surface temperatures and affects more than just the upcoming hurricane season, but also plays a big part in our summer and winter weather. El Nino happens when trade winds weaken and warm water piles up around the equator in the eastern Pacific, which is also the breeding ground for hurricanes.

[00:00:38]>> During Elino years, we tend to see higher than normal activity for hurricanes in the central Pacific.

[00:00:45]>> Not only is it expected to be El Nino conditions, but likely to be strong or even very strong. The last time we had a very strong El Nino was 2015 when there were 16 tropical cyclones in the central Pacific during hurricane season.

[00:01:01]>> You have a three major hurricanes concurrently. Okay.

[00:01:05]>> So that that was very very scary.

[00:01:09]>> None of those storms that year fortunately made landfall. As you can see, historically, hurricanes tend to pass to the south of the islands or curve to the north, weakening as they run over cooler water that usually sits around the state. Normally, we have cooler water near Hawaii that keeps us a little protected, causes hurricanes to weaken as they approach. We're already above normal as it is near us. And as we go into this lania pattern for the summertime, we're worried that that warmer that ocean temperature will stay warm and get warmer and not provide that cooling influence.

[00:01:46]>> That warmer water could also make for sweltering summer conditions >> which could lead to a warmer warmer temperatures, higher humidity and muggier conditions here in the islands as well. So sometimes you feel that during El Nino the wind is a very light, very sticky weather because you know here summer is hot. All you need is a wind.

[00:02:09]>> The stronger the El Nino, the greater the impact on our weather. El Nino conditions also tend to produce more storms across the Pacific, which generate more winter surf and western shores. And speaking of winter, when El Nino is expected to peak, it usually reduces the rain during our rainy season, which could raise drought conditions across the state. If strong occurs as predicted, then we we we anticipate dry winter and spring for the next for 2027, which means that actually very low rainfall for the whole year.

[00:02:48]Paul Drews, Island News.