Honolulu, HI Climate: Temperature & Rain by Month
Pulled from NOAA NCEI 1991–2020 normals →: climate measurements used in PlainClimate's documented score
30-year climate normals (1991-2020) from Honolulu's primary NOAA station, HONOLULU INTL AP.
The climate verdict for Honolulu
Honolulu, Hawaii is cooling-led and dry. Its 16.4 inches of annual precipitation pairs with an annual average of 78°F. August is the warmest month at 82°F and January the coldest at 74°F.
- 78°F
- annual average temperature (NOAA normal)
- 16.4"
- yearly precipitation total
Honolulu: NOAA 1991-2020 normals describe a typical year, not a forecast. Method: /methodology.
Normals record plate
Sheet USW00022521 · Honolulu, HI 78°F mean · 16.4" precip
TEMP-HOT · RANK-WARM · PHOTO-FINISH · PRCP-DRY · SWING-NARROW · COMF-UNK · LOAD-COOL · STN-1 · BOOK-FULL
- TEMP-HOT 78°F
- RANK-WARM #6,792
- PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Dry Tortugas
- PRCP-DRY 16.4"
- SWING-NARROW 9°F
- COMF-UNK Comfort n/a
- LOAD-COOL 4,767 CDD
- STN-1 USW00022521
- BOOK-FULL 5/6 fields
Nearest mean-temperature peer: Dry Tortugas, FL ( -0.3 °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.
- Honolulu (this station) 78°F
- Cold Waikiki, HI 78°F
- Near Dry Tortugas, FL 78°F
- Near John Pennekamp…, FL 78°F
- Near Bahia Honda Sta…, FL 78°F
Honolulu 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 · Honolulu
Honolulu: 63/100 · grade C
Honolulu 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 Honolulu, 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 | 78.0°F · 10.5° from 67.5°F | 66/100 · C |
| Precipitation balance | 16.4 in · 18.6 from 35 in | 34/100 · F |
| Summer moisture balance | 67.3°F mean dew point | 25/100 · F |
Honolulu · 2026-08-04 · NOAA NCEI Climate Normals · method .
Honolulu's normals sit in a dry climate class: BSh
Precipitation is low relative to temperature but above true desert thresholds: hot semi-arid steppe (BSh). Class BSh is the Peel et al. (2007) label for this station's monthly mean temperature and precipitation normals: dry (arid or semi-arid), specifically hot semi-arid steppe.
- Köppen code
- BSh
- Group
- Dry (arid or semi-arid)
- Warmest month
- 82.2°F
- Coldest month
- 73.6°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 Honolulu sits across the climate record
Three NOAA fields for Honolulu's primary station, temperature, precipitation, and seasonal swing, are ranked against every station-mapped normal that carries the same field.
- Annual temperature
- Top 1% warmest
- Among 6,861 stations, Honolulu sits in the warmer third of annual means.
- Annual precipitation
- Drier than 79%
- Honolulu's annual total ranks in the drier third of 6,352 measured normals.
- Seasonal temperature swing
- Narrower than 99%
- Warmest-to-coldest month gap for Honolulu is compact versus 6,861 complete station-years.
Honolulu's measured station temperature trend
MethodologyAcross 128 complete annual observations from 1883 to 2025, HONOLULU INTL AP warmed at a fitted rate of 0.10°C per decade. The line shows the fitted change relative to its first year, not raw year-to-year temperatures or a forecast.
- Honolulu primary station fitted change +0.10 °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 | 81°F (27°C) | 67°F (19°C) | 74°F (23°C) | 1.8" | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| February | 81°F (27°C) | 67°F (19°C) | 74°F (23°C) | 1.9" | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| March | 81°F (27°C) | 68°F (20°C) | 75°F (24°C) | 2.4" | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| April | 83°F (28°C) | 70°F (21°C) | 77°F (25°C) | 0.8" | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| May | 85°F (29°C) | 72°F (22°C) | 78°F (26°C) | 0.8" | 0.0 | 0.7 |
| June | 87°F (31°C) | 74°F (23°C) | 80°F (27°C) | 0.5" | 0.0 | 1.7 |
| July | 88°F (31°C) | 75°F (24°C) | 82°F (28°C) | 0.5" | 0.0 | 6.6 |
| August | 89°F (32°C) | 76°F (24°C) | 82°F (28°C) | 0.8" | 0.0 | 10.3 |
| September | 88°F (31°C) | 75°F (24°C) | 82°F (28°C) | 0.9" | 0.0 | 8.7 |
| October | 87°F (31°C) | 74°F (23°C) | 80°F (27°C) | 1.5" | 0.0 | 3.3 |
| November | 84°F (29°C) | 72°F (22°C) | 78°F (26°C) | 2.3" | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| December | 82°F (28°C) | 69°F (21°C) | 76°F (24°C) | 2.2" | 0.0 | 0.0 |
The year, day by day
The calendar barely moves in Honolulu: no date carries a normal high of 90°F or a normal low at freezing. The year runs between 67°F near January 15 and 89°F near August 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 67°F around January 15.
Where the wet dates fall
The likeliest wet date is November 27, when 29% of years recorded at least a hundredth of an inch. The driest is August 13 at 19%. Summed across the calendar, that is about 89 wet dates a year.
The widest day
January 15 carries the biggest normal gap between afternoon and dawn, 14°F between the normal high and the normal low.
Look up any date
Any date's 1991–2020 normal for Honolulu.
Where Honolulu Stands Nationally
Among the steadiest day-night climates ranked: even the widest normal daily swing holds to roughly 14°F.
Honolulu earns one nationally notable standing (outer quintile) against 6,860 NOAA 1991–2020 normals stations, middle-of-the-pack metrics stay silent here.
Monthly Precipitation
Average monthly rainfall
7.7 days with precipitation
7.6 days with precipitation
8.7 days with precipitation
7.5 days with precipitation
6.0 days with precipitation
6.3 days with precipitation
7.3 days with precipitation
5.7 days with precipitation
7.2 days with precipitation
7.7 days with precipitation
8.6 days with precipitation
8.9 days with precipitation
Honolulu's wet season runs through the cold months
December, January and February carry 36% of the year's precipitation here, while June through August contribute 11%. That is the cool-season-dominant pattern of the West Coast and the higher inland West, where storm tracks swing south in winter and summer turns dry; the thermometer meanwhile shows an unusually narrow 8.6°F seasonal spread.
- Wettest month
- March, 2.4"
- Driest month
- June, 0.5"
- Wettest three months
- March, November, December (41% of the year)
Shares are computed from this station's own 1991-2020 monthly precipitation normals. A cool-season label means the December-February share reaches 35%. Where snow falls, the monthly figures above report liquid-equivalent precipitation, so a wet winter month is not necessarily a rainy one.
Honolulu is dry, and what does fall arrives gently
Only about 89 days a year record measurable precipitation here, 24% of the calendar, and they carry 16.4" between them. At roughly 0.18 inches on an average wet day, this is not the damp drizzle of a marine climate; it is an arid record in which precipitation is both uncommon and light when it appears.
The wettest month by count is December at about 9 wet days; the driest is August at about 6.
A low per-event average in a dry record is a statement about typical days only. Arid regions can still take a large share of a year's total from a single convective storm, which a normal cannot show.
A wet day is one recording at least 0.01 inches. These are 1991-2020 normals: they describe an average year, not the extremes within it.
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
4,767
Higher = more cooling needed
Warmest Month
August
Coldest Month
January
Humidity & Wind
Monthly averages from hourly observations
| Month | Humidity | Wind (mph) | Clear Sky % | Overcast % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 71% | 8.6 | 12% | 6% |
| February | 68% | 9.4 | 10% | 6% |
| March | 68% | 10.4 | 7% | 6% |
| April | 66% | 10.4 | 8% | 5% |
| May | 65% | 10.8 | 9% | 2% |
| June | 64% | 11.7 | 6% | 3% |
| July | 64% | 12.2 | 7% | 3% |
| August | 65% | 11.0 | 8% | 2% |
| September | 67% | 9.7 | 10% | 3% |
| October | 70% | 9.2 | 6% | 6% |
| November | 70% | 10.1 | 7% | 7% |
| December | 71% | 8.4 | 10% | 7% |
Nationwide similar cities
Other rankable U.S. places outside HI closest to Honolulu 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 (78°F here).
- Tavernier, FL 78°F · 0.2°F off
- Duck Key, FL 78°F · 0.5°F off
- Miami, FL 77°F · 0.6°F off
- Key West, FL 79°F · 0.8°F off
Closest by annual precipitation
Nearest out-of-state peers by annual precipitation (16.4" here), excluding temperature-peer places.
- Coalville, UT 16.4" · 0.0" off
- Colstrip, MT 16.4" · 0.0" off
- Superior, MT 16.4" · 0.0" off
- Pleasant Grove, UT 16.4" · 0.0" off
Data-derived climate profile
How Honolulu's climate pattern fits together
cooling led · dry · low swing
Warm-season load persists through a relatively even calendar in Honolulu. Cooling totals 4,767 degree days, more than double the 0 heating measure, and the 8.6°F seasonal range is compact rather than sharply divided.
Heat demand sits beside limited local precipitation: Honolulu receives 16.4 inches in a normal year, inside PlainClimate's dry range. Snowfall is not added to the interpretation because its annual value is missing. Month-level precipitation is the useful check on when that small annual total arrives.
The calendar stays thermally compact and dry. August and January mark the typical warm and cold ends of the calendar, only 8.6°F apart, while the annual precipitation total remains below PlainClimate's dry threshold. The annual average is 78°F. The monthly rows show whether that limited precipitation is spread through the year or concentrated in a shorter interval.
A frost-free growing-season length is not available for Honolulu. 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 Honolulu'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 Honolulu that means a descriptive range only — not an official NOAA classification and not a prediction for next summer.
Questions about Honolulu's climate
How much rain does Honolulu get? ▼
How many days above 90°F does Honolulu get? ▼
How much energy does heating and cooling require in Honolulu? ▼
Data Sources
Data source: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals v1.0.1 (1991-2020). All figures on this page are from Honolulu's primary station: HONOLULU INTL AP (USW00022521). For informational purposes only.
Place identity: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer places. The conservative exact name-and-state crosswalk finds no Census place match, so PlainClimate treats this as a station-mapped location and does not claim it is a municipality. No exact Gazetteer row for Honolulu; facility counts that depend on place identity are therefore an upper bound, not a municipal census.
On this page every temperature, precipitation, and derived score for Honolulu 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.