Kapalua, Hawaii climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Kapalua's normal year runs from 66°F January nights to 87°F September afternoons, with 27.8 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 24.4°C, January lows of 19°C, September highs of 30°C, 705 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationKapalua-W Maui Airport 462.4
- Station IDUSC00513317
- Location20.96°N 156.68°W
- Elevation240 ft (73 m)
- Population (census place)392
On October 14, the normal high in Kapalua is 85°F and the normal low 72°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 42%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Kapalua.
- Jan 79° 66°
- Feb 79° 66°
- Mar 79° 66°
- Apr 81° 68°
- May 83° 69°
- Jun 85° 70°
- Jul 86° 72°
- Aug 86° 72°
- Sep 87° 72°
- Oct 85° 71°
- Nov 82° 70°
- Dec 80° 68°
Each month: normal high (large) and low, °F. Fill: the month's normal mean, colder blue to hotter red.
What is the weather like in Kapalua each month?
September is the warmest month, with normal highs of 87°F; January the coldest, with normal lows of 66°F. The most precipitation falls in March (3.92 in), the least in June (1.07 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 79°F | 66°F | 72.3°F | 3.51 | 11 | <1 | <1 | 11 h |
| February | 79°F | 66°F | 72.4°F | 2.43 | 12 | <1 | <1 | 11 h 30 min |
| March | 79°F | 66°F | 72.7°F | 3.92 | 15 | <1 | <1 | 12 h |
| April | 81°F | 68°F | 74.3°F | 2.22 | 14 | <1 | <1 | 12 h 40 min |
| May | 83°F | 69°F | 75.9°F | 1.49 | 12 | 1 | <1 | 13 h 10 min |
| June | 85°F | 70°F | 77.7°F | 1.07 | 14 | 1 | <1 | 13 h 20 min |
| July | 86°F | 72°F | 78.7°F | 1.58 | 16 | 2 | <1 | 13 h 20 min |
| August | 86°F | 72°F | 79.2°F | 1.37 | 13 | 2 | <1 | 12 h 50 min |
| September | 87°F | 72°F | 79.3°F | 1.22 | 12 | 3 | <1 | 12 h 20 min |
| October | 85°F | 71°F | 78.2°F | 2.23 | 13 | 1 | <1 | 11 h 40 min |
| November | 82°F | 70°F | 75.8°F | 2.88 | 14 | <1 | <1 | 11 h 10 min |
| December | 80°F | 68°F | 73.7°F | 3.85 | 15 | <1 | <1 | 10 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 83°F | 69°F | 75.9°F | 27.77 | 160 | 10 | <1 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 26°C | 19°C | 22.4°C | 89 mm |
| February | 26°C | 19°C | 22.4°C | 62 mm |
| March | 26°C | 19°C | 22.6°C | 100 mm |
| April | 27°C | 20°C | 23.5°C | 56 mm |
| May | 28°C | 20°C | 24.4°C | 38 mm |
| June | 29°C | 21°C | 25.4°C | 27 mm |
| July | 30°C | 22°C | 25.9°C | 40 mm |
| August | 30°C | 22°C | 26.2°C | 35 mm |
| September | 30°C | 22°C | 26.3°C | 31 mm |
| October | 30°C | 22°C | 25.7°C | 57 mm |
| November | 28°C | 21°C | 24.3°C | 73 mm |
| December | 27°C | 20°C | 23.2°C | 98 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00513317; annual normals. Wet days: 0.01 inch or more; 90°F days and freezing nights: NOAA's day counts. Daylight: sunrise to sunset on the 15th, computed from the latitude.
When is the best weather to visit Kapalua?
Normal highs sit between 65°F and 85°F in January, February, March, April, May, June, November and December. Of those, January has the fewest days with rain (11).
That is a measurement, not a recommendation: it counts the months whose normal afternoon high sits between 65°F and 85°F, where a light layer is enough by day.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00513317.
How hot and how cold does it get in Kapalua?
In a normal year in Kapalua, 10 days a year reach 90°F, nights almost never fall to freezing and 160 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- 10a normal year
- Days at 100°F or more
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Nights at 32°F or colder
- fewer than 1a normal year
- Days that stay below freezing
- fewer than 1high of 32°F or less
- Days with 0.01 inch of precipitation
- 160a normal year
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00513317.
How sunny is Kapalua?
Over a year 86% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Kapalua, 5.8 kWh per square metre a day. August is the sunniest month (88%) and March the cloudiest (81%).
| Month | Share of clear-sky sunshine | Sunshine, kWh/m² a day |
|---|---|---|
| January | 85% | 4.5 |
| February | 84% | 5.1 |
| March | 81% | 5.6 |
| April | 85% | 6.5 |
| May | 87% | 6.8 |
| June | 87% | 7.0 |
| July | 88% | 7.0 |
| August | 88% | 6.8 |
| September | 88% | 6.3 |
| October | 86% | 5.4 |
| November | 84% | 4.6 |
| December | 83% | 4.1 |
Source: NASA POWER solar climatology, 2001-2020 (CERES SYN1deg). Satellite-based, for the 1-degree cell (about 100 km across) around the station, so it describes the area rather than the airport.
How much heating and cooling does Kapalua need?
A normal year in Kapalua brings 0 heating degree days, 100% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 3,969 cooling degree days, 4.4 times the median (908). No month reaches 300 heating degree days. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 9,444 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 0 | 228 |
| February | 0 | 207 |
| March | 0 | 240 |
| April | 0 | 278 |
| May | 0 | 338 |
| June | 0 | 381 |
| July | 0 | 423 |
| August | 0 | 439 |
| September | 0 | 429 |
| October | 0 | 411 |
| November | 0 | 326 |
| December | 0 | 270 |
| Year (annual) | 0 | 3,969 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00513317. A degree day is one degree of a day's mean temperature below 65°F (heating) or above it (cooling); utilities use them to estimate energy use.
How does Kapalua's climate compare?
Kapalua is warmer than 12 of the other 17 places with their own NOAA record in Hawaii, and wetter than 7. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 75.9°F is warmer than 99%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Kapalua is Aw: tropical savanna. What the classes mean.
Places with the most similar year elsewhere
Measured month by month on the normal high, low and precipitation, among places of 20,000 or more people in other states:
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for every station PlainClimate covers. Similarity: the root-mean-square difference of the 36 monthly figures, precipitation weighted so an inch counts like 6°F.
Which places near Kapalua share this climate record?
2 places have no NOAA station with 1991-2020 normals of their own, and this station is the nearest full record. A place's own climate can differ from these figures, by several degrees where it sits much higher or lower than the station, nearer the coast, or inside a large city's heat; for the larger places the next nearest records are named with their yearly mean, so the spread around them is visible, and places of 50,000 or more have their own page with NOAA's gridded normals.
- Napili-Honokowai, HI6,897 people · 1 mi NE
- Mahinahina, HI1,051 people · 1 mi SE
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
Questions about Kapalua's climate
What is the coldest month in Kapalua?
January, with a normal high of 79°F and a normal low of 66°F. The warmest is September (87°F by day, 72°F at night).
Does it snow in Kapalua?
Rarely: NOAA's normal is no measurable snow a year.
What is the rainiest month in Kapalua?
March, with 3.92 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is June with 1.07 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Kapalua in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Kapalua in zone 12b in ZIP code 96761, the nearest ZIP area. By the same method at Kapalua's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 60°F (22 years, 1991-2020): zone 12b.
Nearby and next
- Hawaii climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Puukolii 457.1, HI2 miles from this station, 74.1°F a year
- Puu-O-Hoku Ranch 542.1, HI13 miles from this station, 74.0°F a year
- Kahului, HI17 miles from this station, 77.1°F a year
- Lanai Airport 656, HI21 miles from this station, 71.5°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made