Forecast: Trade winds will get downright gusty later this week!

Hold onto those hats! Moderate to occasionally breezy trade winds will continue for the first half of the week, with clouds and showers favoring the usual windward and mauka areas. A stationary upper level low several hundred miles to the north will combine with incoming moisture to bring more widespread windward showers, especially for Kauai and Oahu. There may be a stray downpour on Kauai, but the winds will keep clouds and showers from staying in one place for long.

Longer term, the low should drift to the northeast and weaken over the next few days, but a trough will remain north of the islands as the low dissipates, which will keep a more active trade wind shower pattern in place, especially again for the Garden Isle and Oahu. Meanwhile, high pressure will drift southward, which could bring rather windy conditions by the end of the week.

At the beach, a small, long-period west-northwest swell generated by Typhoon Mindulle in the western North Pacific will boost surf along north and west shores of Kauai by Monday afternoon, then spread to Oahu and Maui County Tuesday through Thursday. Small south and southeast swells will keep the ocean from going completely flat on south shores for most of the week. East shore surf will hold steady through Tuesday, then build near the end of the week as the trade winds strengthen.