Hawaii Weather in January

[balanceok]

Can anyone give me an idea of the weather we should expect cruising Hawaii in January? Is this a good time of the year in Hawaii? Will the water be warm enough for snorkeling and swimming?

 

Thanks.

[Retired not Expired]

Can anyone give me an idea of the weather we should expect cruising Hawaii in January? Is this a good time of the year in Hawaii? Will the water be warm enough for snorkeling and swimming?

 

Thanks.

 

My last three trips over have been in January to get away from MO winters. Day time highs were aways 80-82 and night time lows 68-72. The waters are great year round for the activities you want. I did a cruise this last January. Just a warning. If you've never sailed the Pacific before, the seas can be a little rougher than the Caribbean in winter. For the most part we had smooth sailing but it did get rough for a couple hours a time or two. January is also a great time for whale watching with the best between the islands of Maui and Lanai.

 

In short, I love Hawaii in January. Warm enough but not too hot, pleasant trade winds, and the aloha spirit. What more could I ask?

[GrandmaCat43]

Thank you for this information. Was worried about choppy waters. Will stock up on Dramamine for this trip.

[Jenninhawaii]

The weather in Hawaii is pretty much the same year round. The water is a little more rough in the winter, but it will still be warm. The Whales will be there during your trip and that is such a treat to see!

[Astro Flyer]

As others have said January's weather is just about perfect with less crowds between the holidays and primetime for snowbirds flocking to Hawaii in February to April.

 

The cooling tradewinds are less steady during the wintertime although with the milder temperatures it's still very comfortable. We recently returned from 3 weeks in Maui & tradewinds were missing over half of the time. Without the tradewinds sometimes VOG (volcanic fog) blows in from the Big Island creating some hazy skies.

 

Here's the best site I've found for Hawaii weather:

 

http://www.hawaiiweathertoday.com/

 

Here's the general description for Maui:

 

January – Summary of Average Monthly Weather for Maui Hawaii

One of the coolest months, cold fronts from the Northwest bring showery weather, with this month the wettest of the year. Clear and warm days prevail between these showery periods. Tradewinds blow only 42% of the time, compared with July’s 95%. One of the months to see snow on top of our 10.023 foot Haleakala…which sometimes occurs. Large surf impacts the North and West shores. Sea water temperature averages about 75 degrees F.

 

January averages for different locations on Maui Lahaina 82-64 F. (27.8C-17.8C) 3.49" precipitation Hana 79-64 F. (26.1C-17.8C) 9.45" precipitation. Kahului 80-64 F. (26.7C-17.8C) 4.14" precipitation

Edited January 2, 2014 by Astro Flyer