Hilo, HI Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Annual temperature and rainfall from NOAA NCEI's 1991–2020 normals →; comfort score computed by PlainClimate
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Hilo's primary NOAA station, HILO INTL AP - 2 stations mapped to the area.
The climate verdict for Hilo
Warm-season cooling demand defines Hilo, Hawaii, running at more than twice its heating total. The NOAA normal records an annual average of 74°F. August is the warmest month at 77°F and February the coldest at 71°F.
- 74°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 120.4"
- precipitation, annual total
Hilo: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USW00021504 · Hilo, HI 74°F mean · 120.4" precip
TEMP-HOT · RANK-WARM · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-WET · SWING-NARROW · COMF-UNK · LOAD-COOL · STN-MULTI · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-HOT 74°F
- RANK-WARM #6,724
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Kilauea
- PRCP-WET 120.4"
- SWING-NARROW 5°F
- COMF-UNK Comfort n/a
- LOAD-COOL 3,283 CDD
- STN-MULTI USW00021504
- BOOK-FULL 5/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Kilauea, HI ( -0.1 °F mean)
Instrument codes from this station's NOAA 1991–2020 normals, mean temperature, corpus warmth rank, photo-finish peer station, precipitation band, seasonal swing, comfort composite, degree-day load, and field book, not a livability rating.
Mean-temperature neighbourhood
Nationwide NOAA normal poles and nearest peers, not a reprint of every HI station list.
- Hilo (this station) 74°F
- Cold Princeville Rch, HI 74°F
- Hot Hana, HI 74°F
- Near Kilauea, HI 74°F
- Near Puukolii, HI 74°F
Hilo sits in Hawaii, the #2 hottest U.S. state at 72.4°F statewide annual average - see all 50 hottest states ranked by NOAA normals
Climate Living Index · Hilo
Hilo: 60/100 · grade C
Hilo publishes 4 of 6 Living Index dimensions (NOAA annual/seasonal normals · NOAA daily multivariate normals · NOAA hourly normals); 2 missing weights rescale to 100.
PlainClimate-derived for Hilo, not an official NOAA rating. Breakpoints and limits.
| Dimension | Station value | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Normal heat + freeze calendar | 0 calendar days | 100/100 · A |
| Annual temperature balance | 74.0°F · 6.5° from 67.5°F | 80/100 · B |
| Summer moisture balance | 68.4°F mean dew point | 20/100 · F |
| Precipitation balance | 120.4 in · 85.4 from 35 in | 0/100 · F |
Hilo · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method .
Hilo stays in the tropical Köppen band: Af
Every month stays warm (coldest ≥18°C) and the driest month still averages ≥60 mm: tropical rainforest (Af). Class Af is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: tropical, specifically tropical rainforest.
- Köppen code
- Af
- Group
- Tropical
- Warmest month
- 76.6°F
- Coldest month
- 71.2°F
Source: official public datasets monthly normals (1991–2020) at the city’s primary station. This is a station classification, not a mapped regional consensus.
National standing · cooling-led station
Where Hilo sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Hilo's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Top 2% warmest
- Among 6,861 stations, Hilo sits in the warmer third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Top 1% wettest
- Hilo's annual total ranks in the wetter third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Narrower than 100%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Hilo is compact versus 6,861 complete station-years.
Hilo's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 38 complete annual observations from 1983 to 2025, HILO INTL AP warmed at a fitted rate of 0.19°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Hilo primary station fitted change +0.19 °C/decade
Monthly Temperatures
Average daily high and low temperatures by month
| Month | Avg High | Avg Low | Mean | Precip | Freeze Days | 90°F+ Days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 79°F (26°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 71°F (22°C) | 7.9" | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| February | 78°F (26°C) | 64°F (18°C) | 71°F (22°C) | 10.2" | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| March | 79°F (26°C) | 65°F (18°C) | 72°F (22°C) | 12.7" | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| April | 79°F (26°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 73°F (23°C) | 9.4" | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| May | 81°F (27°C) | 67°F (20°C) | 74°F (23°C) | 7.0" | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| June | 82°F (28°C) | 69°F (20°C) | 75°F (24°C) | 7.3" | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| July | 83°F (28°C) | 70°F (21°C) | 76°F (25°C) | 9.2" | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| August | 83°F (28°C) | 70°F (21°C) | 77°F (25°C) | 11.3" | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| September | 83°F (29°C) | 70°F (21°C) | 77°F (25°C) | 8.7" | 0.0 | 0.7 |
| October | 82°F (28°C) | 69°F (21°C) | 76°F (24°C) | 10.2" | 0.0 | 0.3 |
| November | 80°F (27°C) | 68°F (20°C) | 74°F (23°C) | 14.4" | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| December | 79°F (26°C) | 66°F (19°C) | 72°F (22°C) | 12.1" | 0.0 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
The calendar barely moves in Hilo: no date carries a normal high of 90°F or a normal low at freezing. The year runs between 64°F near January 23 and 83°F near September 14.
No freezing date
Not one calendar date in the 1991–2020 record carries a normal low at or below 32°F. The coldest normal low of the year is 64°F around January 23.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is August 3, when 88% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is January 19 at 52%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 273 wet dates a year.
The widest day
January 23 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 15°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Hilo.
Where Hilo Stands Nationally
This is one of the wettest normals climates ranked: about 120 inches of precipitation in a normal year, a total fewer than one station in ten surpasses.
Among the steadiest day-night climates ranked: even the widest normal daily swing holds to roughly 15°F.
Hilo earns 2 nationally notable standings (outer quintiles) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations; only those extremes render.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall
15.7 days with precipitation
16.6 days with precipitation
21.8 days with precipitation
24.5 days with precipitation
22.9 days with precipitation
25.4 days with precipitation
26.6 days with precipitation
27.2 days with precipitation
23.3 days with precipitation
23.4 days with precipitation
23.3 days with precipitation
22.3 days with precipitation
Hilo spreads its precipitation across the year
Neither half of the year dominates here: June through August take 23% of the annual total and December through February 25%, with neither reaching the 35% that would mark a distinct wet season. Hilo has no dry season to plan around, though it does carry an unusually narrow 5.4°F seasonal spread.
The gap between the wettest and driest month still matters: November averages 14.4" and May 7.0". The three wettest months together take 33% of the year, against the 25% a perfectly flat distribution would give them.
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. "Spread across the year" means neither the June-August nor the December-February share reaches 35%; it describes an average year, not the variability of any single one.
When it rains in Hilo, it arrives in quantity
120.4" of precipitation falls across only about 273 wet days here, averaging 0.44 inches each. Fewer days carry more water: the year's total is delivered in comparatively heavy events rather than persistent damp.
- Days with measurable precipitation
- about 273 a year, 75% of all days
- Average depth per wet day
- 0.44 inches
- Most wet days
- August, about 27
- Fewest wet days
- January, about 16
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year, and a per-day average is not a forecast of any individual storm.
Frost Dates & Growing Season
First Fall Freeze
N/A
50% probability date
Last Spring Freeze
N/A
50% probability date
Heating & Cooling Degree Days
Annual totals indicate energy demand for heating and cooling
Heating Degree Days
0
Higher = more heating needed
Cooling Degree Days
3,283
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
August
Coldest Month
February
Humidity & Wind
Monthly averages from hourly observations
| Month | Humidity | Wind (mph) | Clear Sky % | Overcast % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 74% | 6.9 | 19% | 30% |
| February | 75% | 7.1 | 12% | 39% |
| March | 78% | 6.8 | 8% | 42% |
| April | 77% | 6.7 | 7% | 42% |
| May | 76% | 6.4 | 8% | 30% |
| June | 77% | 6.5 | 7% | 34% |
| July | 79% | 6.3 | 6% | 38% |
| August | 78% | 6.4 | 10% | 34% |
| September | 77% | 6.2 | 11% | 32% |
| October | 80% | 6.1 | 10% | 37% |
| November | 80% | 6.3 | 11% | 39% |
| December | 76% | 6.4 | 19% | 32% |
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside HI closest to Hilo on two NOAA annual-normal axes (mean temperature and annual precipitation). Chip rows use distinct link sets.
Closest by average temperature
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual mean temperature (74°F here).
- Clewiston, FL 74°F · 0.0°F off
- Port Isabel, TX 74°F · 0.0°F off
- Bradenton, FL 74°F · 0.1°F off
- Del Rio, TX 74°F · 0.1°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (120.4" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Forks, WA 119.9" · 0.5" off
- Cougar, WA 115.3" · 5.1" off
- Naselle, WA 112.2" · 8.2" off
- Petersburg, AK 110.2" · 10.2" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Hilo's climate pattern fits together
cooling led · wet · low swing
Warm-season load persists through a relatively even calendar in Hilo. Cooling totals 3,283 degree days, more than double the 0 heating measure, and the 5.4°F seasonal range is compact rather than sharply divided.
Warm-season demand is paired with a wet annual normal: 120.4 inches of precipitation at Hilo. Snowfall is not added to the interpretation because its annual value is missing. The month-by-month bars distinguish a concentrated wet season from moisture spread across the calendar.
Hilo's 5.4°F seasonal spread is compact even though precipitation is abundant. August and February mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar. The annual average is 74°F. Temperature is relatively steady; the monthly rows show how rain and snow observations vary across the calendar.
A frost-free growing-season length is not available for Hilo. That missing field is kept separate from the observed temperature and precipitation record rather than filled from a regional estimate.
These labels group NOAA 1991-2020 normals from Hilo's primary station, so the summer figures are a thirty-year average rather than a ceiling: individual years have run hotter and will again. For Hilo that means a descriptive range only — not an official NOAA classification and not a prediction for next summer.
Questions about Hilo's climate
How much rain does Hilo get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Hilo? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Hilo's primary station: HILO INTL AP (USW00021504). 2 NOAA stations are mapped to the Hilo area; the primary station's record is used for consistency. For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The 2024 Census Gazetteer identifies the exact name-and-state match as a census-designated place (GEOID 1514650), not an incorporated municipality. Match rule for Hilo: exact normalized name + state only, no fuzzy expansion, so nearby differently spelled facilities stay unmatched.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Hilo comes from its primary NOAA station record. No figure on this page is typed in by an editor - each value is rendered from NOAA 1991-2020 U.S. Climate Normals. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 1991–2020 normals.