Maunakea Observatories Forecast
5 PM HST Monday 09 February (0300 UTC Tuesday 10 February) 2026
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Warning(s)
Fog, ice and light snow
Decreasing Winds.
Cloud Cover and Fog/Precipitation Forecast
Fog, high humidity, ice and precipitation (light snow/flurries) are still likely. Wintery weather will continue at the summit throughout this evening and tonight, slowly easing in time.
Summary of Key Meteorological Variables
Summit temperatures will be near -1.5 C this evening and -2.0 C tomorrow morning. Winds will be from the SW starting at 10-20 mph this evening and decreasing through the night. Precipitable water will largely exceed the 4 mm threshold. In general, unoperable observing conditions are to be expected.
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Discussion
The latest sounding shows the "hint" of a very elevated inversion. This should allow for the chances of fog to decrease some for this evening. Nevertheless, a mostly saturated and unstable environment is to be expected through tomorrow. Conditions will improve with time but the airmasses will be slow in drying out. The inversion is expected to start strenghtening from late tomorrow through Thursday but the models project the inversion to lift and vanishes again completely by late Friday and through the weekend.
Cloud cover will plague the summit throughout most of this forecast period. Clouds are expected to start thinning late tomorrow and through Friday, but more high clouds are expected from Friday onward.
Precipitable water will exceed the 4 mm threshold throughtout this forecast period.
Summit conditions will be unoperable tonight. There is a chance that conditions might slightly improve from Tuesday through Thursday, but seeing will remain rather poor regardless. Conditions will worsen again from Friday onward.
Not much change since the morning forecast... As the deep upper-level trough and its associated frontal band that have affected the central Pacific over the past several days weaken and shift away from the area, conditions will gradually ease at the summit, winds will decrease through tonight. Nevertheless, the air masses will be slow to dry out. Conditions will remain nearly saturated through most of today and tomorrow, then improve somewhat on Wednesday and Thursday as the bulk of the moisture slides southwestward. Unfortunately, another trough is projected to approach the islands late Friday and may bring another bout of wintry weather to the summit over the coming weekend.
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5 Day Forecast Summary (Graphical Trend)
| HST |
Cloud |
Fog/Precip |
Temp |
Wind |
Seeing |
PW |
| Cover (%) |
Height (km) |
Probability (%) |
(Celsius) |
(Dir/MPH) |
(Arcseconds) |
(mm) |
| Mon Feb 09 - 8 PM | 5-9-5-9 | Clear | 90 / 60 | -1.5 | S/10-20 | NaN | 8-16 |
| Tue Feb 10 - 2 AM | 5-9-5-9 | Clear | 90 / 60 | -2.0 | SW/5-15 | NaN | 8-16 |
| 2 PM | 3.5-8-3.5-8 | Clear | 80 / 50 | 0 | NE/10-20 | NaN | 8-16 |
| 8 PM | 3.5-8-3.5-8 | Clear | 80 / 40 | -2.5 | E/10-20 | 1-2 | 8-16 |
| Wed Feb 11 - 2 AM | 5-8-5-8 | Clear | 70 / 30 | -2.5 | E/15-30 | 1-2 | 8-16 |
| 2 PM | 3.5-5-3.5-5 | Clear | 40 / 5 | 0.5 | ENE/10-20 | NaN | 6-12 |
| 8 PM | 3.5-5-3.5-5 | Clear | 30 / 0 | -2.5 | NE/5-15 | 1-1.4 | 6-12 |
| Thu Feb 12 - 2 AM | 3.5-5-3.5-5 | Clear | 30 / 0 | -2.0 | WSW/5-15 | 1-1.4 | 4-8 |
| 2 PM | 3.5-6-3.5-6 | Clear | 40 / 0 | 0.5 | NW/10-20 | NaN | 4-8 |
| Fri Feb 13 - 2 AM | 3.5-7-3.5-7 | Clear | 40 / 5 | -1.5 | WNW/5-15 | 0.8-1.2 | 4-8 |
| 2 PM | 3.5-8-3.5-8 | Clear | 60 / 20 | 1 | SE/5-15 | NaN | 4-8 |
| Sat Feb 14 - 2 AM | 3.5-8-3.5-8 | Clear | 80 / 50 | -1.0 | SE/5-15 | NaN | 4-8 |
| 2 PM | 3.5-8-3.5-8 | Clear | 90 / 60 | 0 | SE/5-15 | NaN | 4-8 |
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Rise and Set times for the Sun and Moon
| Night (HST) |
Sun Set |
Twilight End |
Twilight Beg |
Sun Rise |
Moon Rise |
Moon Set |
Illumination (%) |
RA |
DEC |
| Mon Feb 09 - Tue Feb 10 |
18:28 |
19:33 |
5:39 |
6:44 |
1:25 |
N/A |
41 |
15 55.7 |
-25 42 |
| Tue Feb 10 - Wed Feb 11 |
18:28 |
19:34 |
5:38 |
6:44 |
2:19 |
N/A |
32 |
16 47.6 |
-27 41 |
| Wed Feb 11 - Thu Feb 12 |
18:29 |
19:34 |
5:38 |
6:43 |
3:12 |
N/A |
24 |
17 40.9 |
-28 25 |
| Thu Feb 12 - Fri Feb 13 |
18:29 |
19:34 |
5:37 |
6:43 |
4:03 |
N/A |
16 |
18 34.9 |
-27 50 |
| Fri Feb 13 - Sat Feb 14 |
18:30 |
19:35 |
5:37 |
6:42 |
4:51 |
N/A |
10 |
19 28.5 |
-25 56 |
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Forecast Issued by: Tiziana Cherubini
Next update at 10 AM HST (2000 UTC) Tuesday 10 February 2026.
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Additional Information
For public road conditions and snow report message please call (808) 935-6268.
This message is also available at the MKWC road conditions page.
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