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Weather in Maui
The wind stats here come from Windfinder's database which records from Kahului on Maui. The average wind stats, and the forecasts on which they're based can be misleading as the trade winds are accelerated by Mount Haleakala rising up over 10,000 feet and funneling the wind. Basically if the forecast shows at least 11 knots and a wind from the North, it's going to be windy, and probably 5.0 weather.
| Month |
% days >F4 |
Avg Wind Speed (knots) |
Avg Air Temp (c) |
| Jan |
55 |
12 |
25 |
| Feb |
64 |
13 |
24 |
| March |
61 |
12 |
25 |
| April |
76 |
15 |
25 |
| May |
77 |
15 |
27 |
| June |
90 |
17 |
28 |
| July |
90 |
17 |
28 |
| Aug |
91 |
17 |
28 |
| Sept |
83 |
15 |
28 |
| Oct |
71 |
14 |
27 |
| Nov |
62 |
13 |
26 |
| Dec |
59 |
12 |
25 |
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Notes
Maui is known as the Mecca of the windsurfing world. Warm air and water all year round and consistent trade winds are what drew windsurfers here in the first place and they are still going strong now. Generally, the season for big NW swells goes from October to May, but you also get wind swell all summer long on the more exposed reefs. The summer months usually offer better conditions for bump and jump blasting, while the winter months offer more purist wave sailing conditions. Although the winter is renowned for it's waves, the truth is that it is rarely not windy here on Maui. During the winter we might experience the odd 4-5 days of perfectly still conditions, but mostly the wind returns within a week.
There are a variety of spots on Maui to cater for just about any level of sailor, and allow for sailing in just about any wind direction. Some people are put off by the heavy wave sailing reputation of the island, but this is really not the case at all. Kanaha has a beautiful grassy area to rig up on and a long white sandy beach where you launch into around 200m of flat water before you get to the reef where there are great little waves for learning to jump or improve your riding.
As a general rule, whenever you check on WindGuru and see that there is one star of wind from a NE or E direction (13 knots or more), there should be enough wind to sail on a 5.0 for the lighter guys or a 5.4-5.8 for the heavier sailor. Once the wind is up to 16 knots on WindGuru, I am generally out on a 4.7 or fully powered 5.0. Basically if the wind is from the North East or East, you can just about double the forecast wind strength. |
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