Kula, Hawaii climate: Normal weather by month, frost dates and records
Kula's normal year runs from 53°F February nights to 76°F August afternoons, with 23.0 inches of precipitation a year. (NOAA 1991-2020 normals)
In metric: a yearly mean of 17.7°C, February lows of 12°C, August highs of 24°C, 584 mm of precipitation a year.
- NOAA stationKula Branch Station 324.5
- Station IDUSC00515000
- Location20.76°N 156.32°W
- Elevation3,100 ft (945 m)
- Population (census place)6,557
On October 14, the normal high in Kula is 74°F and the normal low 58°F, and the chance of measurable rain or snow is 22%.
Normals describe a typical year at the station, not a forecast. The National Weather Service forecast for Kula.
- Jan 68° 53°
- Feb 68° 53°
- Mar 69° 53°
- Apr 70° 54°
- May 71° 56°
- Jun 73° 57°
- Jul 75° 58°
- Aug 76° 59°
- Sep 75° 59°
- Oct 74° 58°
- Nov 72° 57°
- Dec 70° 55°
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 Kula each month?
August is the warmest month, with normal highs of 76°F; February the coldest, with normal lows of 53°F. The most precipitation falls in March (3.58 in), the least in June (0.77 in).
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. | Wet days | 90°F days | Freezing nights | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 68°F | 53°F | 60.6°F | 3.04 | 8 | <1 | <1 | 11 h |
| February | 68°F | 53°F | 60.4°F | 2.71 | 9 | <1 | <1 | 11 h 30 min |
| March | 69°F | 53°F | 61.0°F | 3.58 | 10 | <1 | <1 | 12 h |
| April | 70°F | 54°F | 62.3°F | 1.38 | 7 | <1 | <1 | 12 h 40 min |
| May | 71°F | 56°F | 63.6°F | 1.48 | 8 | <1 | <1 | 13 h 10 min |
| June | 73°F | 57°F | 65.1°F | 0.77 | 6 | <1 | <1 | 13 h 20 min |
| July | 75°F | 58°F | 66.6°F | 0.93 | 6 | <1 | <1 | 13 h 20 min |
| August | 76°F | 59°F | 67.3°F | 1.45 | 6 | <1 | <1 | 12 h 50 min |
| September | 75°F | 59°F | 66.9°F | 1.36 | 7 | <1 | <1 | 12 h 20 min |
| October | 74°F | 58°F | 66.2°F | 1.83 | 7 | <1 | <1 | 11 h 40 min |
| November | 72°F | 57°F | 64.2°F | 1.84 | 6 | <1 | <1 | 11 h 10 min |
| December | 70°F | 55°F | 62.1°F | 2.63 | 7 | <1 | <1 | 10 h 50 min |
| Year (annual) | 72°F | 56°F | 63.9°F | 23.00 | 87 | <1 | <1 |
The same normals in °C and millimetres
| Month | High | Low | Mean | Precip. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 20°C | 12°C | 15.9°C | 77 mm |
| February | 20°C | 12°C | 15.8°C | 69 mm |
| March | 20°C | 12°C | 16.1°C | 91 mm |
| April | 21°C | 12°C | 16.8°C | 35 mm |
| May | 22°C | 13°C | 17.6°C | 38 mm |
| June | 23°C | 14°C | 18.4°C | 20 mm |
| July | 24°C | 15°C | 19.2°C | 24 mm |
| August | 24°C | 15°C | 19.6°C | 37 mm |
| September | 24°C | 15°C | 19.4°C | 35 mm |
| October | 23°C | 15°C | 19.0°C | 46 mm |
| November | 22°C | 14°C | 17.9°C | 47 mm |
| December | 21°C | 13°C | 16.7°C | 67 mm |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00515000; 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 Kula?
Every month's normal high in Kula falls between 65°F and 85°F.
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 USC00515000.
How hot and how cold does it get in Kula?
In a normal year in Kula, a 90°F day is rare, nights almost never fall to freezing and 87 days bring measurable precipitation.
- Days at 90°F or more
- fewer than 1a 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
- 87a normal year
The highest temperature in this station's record (since 1978) is 89°F, on August 17, 1993; the lowest is 36°F, on January 26, 2019.
The wettest calendar year on that record is 1989, with 44.50 in.
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 annual normals, station USC00515000; records: ACIS (NOAA Regional Climate Centers), station USC00515000. Records use complete months only; a month missing more than three days is left out.
How sunny is Kula?
Over a year 86% of the sunlight that would reach the ground under clear skies gets through the clouds in the area around Kula, 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 Kula need?
A normal year in Kula brings 684 heating degree days, 87% fewer than the median U.S. place (5,373), and 271 cooling degree days, 70% fewer than the median (908). No month reaches 300 heating degree days. For gardens and crops, NOAA counts 5,063 growing degree days a year above 50°F.
| Month | Heating | Cooling |
|---|---|---|
| January | 138 | 1 |
| February | 131 | 1 |
| March | 125 | 1 |
| April | 82 | 1 |
| May | 50 | 6 |
| June | 15 | 19 |
| July | 4 | 52 |
| August | 1 | 73 |
| September | 3 | 60 |
| October | 7 | 43 |
| November | 35 | 12 |
| December | 94 | 2 |
| Year (annual) | 684 | 271 |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 monthly normals, station USC00515000. 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.
Has Kula been warmer than normal lately?
Over 34 complete years from 1981 to 2020, the station's annual mean temperature rose at a fitted 1.9°F per century (+0.11°C per decade). A fitted rate summarizes the whole record; single years swing well above and below it.
Source: trend: NOAA GHCN-Monthly v4. A year counts only with all twelve months complete.
How does Kula's climate compare?
Kula is warmer than 0 of the other 17 places with their own NOAA record in Hawaii, and wetter than 6. Across the 7,247 U.S. stations with normals, its annual mean of 63.9°F is warmer than 85%.
In the Köppen classification computed from these normals, Kula is Csb: temperate, dry-summer, warm summer. 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 Kula share this climate record?
3 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.
- Pukalani, HI8,490 people · 5 mi N
- Makawao, HI7,263 people · 6 mi N
- Olinda, HI996 people · 5 mi N
Source: Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer (place centers) and Vintage 2024 population estimates. Distance and direction from the station to each place's center.
What do Kula's other NOAA stations record?
One more NOAA station keeps 1991-2020 normals in or near Kula. This page uses Kula Branch Station 324.5; the other differs by site and elevation, and the linked ones have pages of their own:
| Station | From this station | Elevation | Year | Jan low | Jul high | Precip. | Snow | Last frost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kula Hospital 267 USC00515004 | 5 mi SW | 3,030 ft | 62.9°F | 51°F | 74°F | 31.0 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals for each station. Last frost: the median last spring date of 32°F.
Questions about Kula's climate
What is the coldest month in Kula?
February, with a normal high of 68°F and a normal low of 53°F. The warmest is August (76°F by day, 59°F at night).
Does it snow in Kula?
Rarely: NOAA's normal is no measurable snow a year.
What is the rainiest month in Kula?
March, with 3.58 in of precipitation in a normal year; the driest is June with 0.77 in.
What plant hardiness zone is Kula in?
The USDA's 2023 map puts Kula in zone 12a in ZIP code 96790. By the same method at Kula's NOAA station, the coldest night of a typical year reaches 46°F (27 years, 1991-2020): zone 11b.
Nearby and next
- Hawaii climateThe statewide normals and every place in the state
- Kula Hospital 267, HI4 miles from this station, 62.9°F a year
- Haleakala Ranger Station 338, HI5 miles from this station, 54.5°F a year
- Makena, HI11 miles from this station, 75.1°F a year
- Kahului, HI12 miles from this station, 77.1°F a year
- Compare two placesMonth by month, side by side
Download these normals (CSV) · JSON · How these figures are made