Dan Cooke
Weather Anchor
For weather anchor Dan Cooke, returning to Hawaii News Now is both a homecoming and a chance to continue doing what he has loved throughout his career: serving the people of Hawaii.
A familiar face to local viewers, Dan has spent nearly four decades in Hawaii television as a news anchor, weather anchor, and reporter. From natural disasters to breaking news, Dan has always believed that journalism is about more than just delivering information — it's about helping the public understand how these events impact their lives and communities.
Throughout his career, Dan has been recognized for his calm, conversational style and his commitment to clear, accurate reporting. He has spent countless hours on location during major weather events and natural disasters, earning the trust of viewers by providing timely, reliable information when it mattered most.
In recent years, Dan expanded his professional experience beyond broadcasting, building a successful career in residential and commercial real estate. Working with local businesses, developers, and community organizations gave him a fresh perspective on Hawaii's economy, neighborhoods, and the challenges facing residents and business owners. Those experiences strengthened his appreciation for the people and communities that make Hawaii unique and broadened the perspective he brings back to the newsroom.
Community service has also been an important part of Dan's life. He most recently volunteered with Child & Family Service, served on the Board of Directors for Boys & Girls Club of Hawaii, and supported numerous nonprofit and community organizations throughout the islands. He believes strong communities are built through service, mentorship, and giving back, and considers it a privilege to contribute to the place he has proudly called home for decades.
The trade winds continue to trend lighter as we approach the weekend. Expect copious amounts of sunshine and just a few showers over the next four or five days. The showers will fall on windward and mauka neighborhoods nights and mornings. Some leeward areas will experience afternoon pop-up showers, but nothing heavy or long-lasting.
The slow movement of the low and the intensity of the showers could combine to cause flash flooding.
After a stretch of breezy and wet weather, we’re in store for drier conditions with calmer winds the second half of the work week. Tomorrow is transition day, but you will likely notice the change first thing. The long-range forecast hints at wetter weather the first of next week and perhaps starting this weekend. That’s a little far out to know for sure.
The breezy trade winds will continue through Tuesday, with a transition to more moderate wind speeds on Wednesday/Thursday. Passing showers will be enhanced by a low-level trough tonight and tomorrow, mainly windward/mauka and mainly for Maui and Hawaii Island.
Look for winds out of the east at 15-20 mph with stronger gusts.
Moderate trade winds today will be breezy by tomorrow. The trades will pick up another notch on Friday and continue through the weekend and beyond. Expect plentiful sunshine and a few showers today and tomorrow. The shower frequency will increase a bit for Friday and the weekend.
Lots of blue sky and sunshine today and for the rest of the work week. The trade winds have settled in and will be with us for a while. The trades are moderate today and should build to the breezy category by the end of the week. Showers will also increase incrementally as we enter the weekend, but nothing too serious.
Stable and mostly dry trade wind weather is forecast for the week ahead. A smattering of showers will dampen windward and mauka neighborhoods mainly tonight and tomorrow and mainly Hawaii and Maui Islands. Breezy trades are in the works starting Thursday and getting to the “windy” category by Sunday.
Rainfall amounts will decrease through the weekend as light to moderate trades return. Showers will be mainly windward and mauka. We`ll see a brief increase in showers Monday night on the Big Island before a return to relatively dry trades through the end of next week.
Radar shows a much drier air mass upstream in the southerly wind flow, so the National Weather Service allowed a Flash Flood Warning for Oahu to expire at 4:15pm today and cancelled a Flood Watch for the island.
Low pressure developing to our north will turn our light winds southerly on Wednesday. Land/sea breezes will develop and interior sections will see some pop-up showers. By Wednesday night, deep southerly winds will bring potential for flooding rainfall and isolated thunderstorms through at least Thursday. Oahu and Kauai are likely to get the most of the wet weather with Maui County a close second. Don’t be surprised if the National Weather Service puts up a Flood Watch sometime Wednesday.
A low pressure system is developing just to our north and that will change up the weather for the second half of the week.
It was a little wet this afternoon in windward neighborhoods, particularly for Kauai and Oahu. It’s the last bit of trailing moisture behind Hurricane Nolo, now 500+ miles west of Lihue. Drier air is moving in with the winds that have turned from southerly to more easterly. Weekend weather will be pleasant with some afternoon showers popping up over windward neighborhoods.
At 8pm, Tropical Storm Nolo was 455 miles WNW of Lihue with winds of 65 mph. It was moving WNW at 6 mph. Nolo is forecast to regain hurricane strength over the weekend, but will be far enough away that its influence on our weather will finally end.
The outer bands of showers associated with Hurricane Nolo are starting to dampen Kauai and Niihau. Depending on the storm’s track, Oahu and Maui County could get some of the moisture as well. The wet weather will last through Thursday and perhaps into Friday mainly for the west end of the island chain.
Nolo remains a very strong category 4 hurricane about 420 miles SW of Honolulu. Wind shear and drier air will slowly weaken the storm as it turns north on Tuesday. The center of the system is forecast to stay west of the state, but trailing moisture will mean another episode of wet weather Wednesday and Thursday. The showers could start as early as Tuesday.
At 11am Hawaii time, Nolo was a category 1 hurricane with winds of 90mph. The storms center was 160 miles south of South Point and 340 miles SSE of Honolulu. It was moving west at 5mph.
At 11am, the eye of Nolo was about 175 miles south of South Point on Hawaii Island. It’s maximum sustained winds were 105 mph. Radar shows a very large and well-developed eye about 75 miles across. The system is moving north at about 5 mph. So far, most of the heavy showers have stayed off-shore to the south. But it won’t take much more northerly movement for that wet weather to come on-shore.
At 5pm, the National Hurricane Center classified Nolo as a category 1 hurricane with sustained winds of 75 mph. It was centered 270 miles south of South Point on Hawaii Island.
The updated forecast calls for Nolo to rapidly intensify to a category 2 storm by tomorrow morning and a category 3 storm sometime Saturday. Nolo will eventually be a category 4 as it passes to the south of the islands.
A wet batch of weather (soon-to-be-named Nolo) is southeast of Hawaii and moving this way. As it moves closer, it’s getting more organized and is forecast to be a tropical depression in the next day or two. Continued strengthening is possible and it could be a tropical storm (or even a hurricane) when the system’s center approaches the islands later this week.
What used to be tropical depression 15-E is showing signs of organization as it approaches the islands from the southeast. The forecast models are all over the place with the system’s path, intensity and timeline. But it’s a very good idea to be getting ready for some strong winds and wet weather, particularly if you are on Hawaii Island or anywhere in Maui County. The easter half of the island chain is expected to get the worst of Nolo. That’s the next name on the list for storms formed in the Central Pacific.
There are a few lingering showers as the remnants of Norbert make their exit stage right. Upslope Kailua-Kona even has some thunder and lightning this afternoon. But the trend is drier just in time for the weekend.
In the last hour, heavy showers have been coming down on the North and South Kona districts on Hawaii Island. The Ka’u district is also seeing some flooding. The National Weather Service has issued a Flood Advisory for those areas until 3:30pm. That advisory could be extended and/or expanded.
The remnants of tropical cyclone Norbert are percolating just upstream in the trade wind flow and they are expected to start dampening our state sometime tonight. The wet weather will last into Friday. Windward and mauka neighborhoods are expected to get the lion’s share of the moisture, but leeward areas should be ready.
It’s been a wet day so far for windward Oahu and East Maui. There’s even heavier showers just off shore and moving west. With a little luck they should stay away. Our weather eyes are mainly focused about 750 miles upstream in the trade wind flow. That’s where the remnants of former Hurricane Norbert are gathered and heading this way. It’s not Norbert wind or surf that’s concerning. It’s the moisture.
