Alert archive / Hawaii / Ashfall Advisories in 2026
Ashfall Advisory 6, NWS Honolulu, HI
NWS Honolulu, HI issued this ashfall advisory at Apr 23, 2026, 3:22 AM HST for Hawaii County, Hawaii. It was in force for 7 hr.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- Apr 23, 2026, 3:22 AM HST (13:22 UTC)
- Expired
- Apr 23, 2026, 10:14 AM HST
- In force
- 7 hr
- Issued by
- NWS Honolulu, HI
County Hawaii County, HI
The radar
The South Shore radar (PHWA), 57 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 13:25 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.
Open the radar archive at this moment
The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.
The nearest sounding before it
Hilo, (PITO), launched 12:00Z, 1.4 hours before the alert went out and 56 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 10 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -221 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 795 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 8 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 7 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 46 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
The text
As transmitted.
275 WWHW70 PHFO 231322 NPWHFO URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Honolulu HI 322 AM HST Thu Apr 23 2026 HIZ051-052-232000- /O.NEW.PHFO.AF.Y.0006.260423T1322Z-260423T2000Z/ Big Island South-Big Island Southeast- 322 AM HST Thu Apr 23 2026 ...ASHFALL ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM HST THIS MORNING... * WHAT...Kilauea is erupting lava fountains within the summit caldera. Fountaining episodes typically last less than 12 hours but ash can remain in the air longer depending on wind and weather conditions. * WHERE...Big Island South and Big Island Southeast, in particular over Naalehu and Pahala. * WHEN...Until 10 AM HST this morning. * IMPACTS...The public will be affected by a limited hazard extent. Varying levels of tephra, including ash, Pele’s hair and other lightweight pumice may fall downwind of the eruption. These small particles are eye and respiratory irritants, but will have low level impacts for most people. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Limit exposure to tephra, especially if you have respiratory sensitivities. Wear a mask, gloves, eye protection, and long clothing when clearing ashfall. Close windows and doors. Cover and disconnect water catchment systems to protect your water supply. && Submit your reports and photos of ashfall from volcanic eruptions to the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory at: Hawaiiash.science/report_form $$ M BALLARD
2 follow-up statements
110 WWHW70 PHFO 231904 NPWHFO URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Honolulu HI 904 AM HST Thu Apr 23 2026 HIZ051-052-240400- /O.EXT.PHFO.AF.Y.0006.000000T0000Z-260424T0400Z/ Big Island South-Big Island Southeast- 904 AM HST Thu Apr 23 2026 ...ASHFALL ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM HST THIS EVENING... * WHAT...Kilauea is erupting lava fountains within the summit caldera. Fountaining episodes typically last less than 12 hours but ash can remain in the air longer depending on wind and weather conditions. * WHERE...Big Island South and Big Island Southeast. * WHEN...Until 6 PM HST this evening. * IMPACTS...The public will be affected by a limited hazard extent. Varying levels of tephra, including ash, Pele’s hair and other lightweight pumice may fall downwind of the eruption. These small particles are eye and respiratory irritants, but will have low level impacts for most people. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Limit exposure to tephra, especially if you have respiratory sensitivities. Wear a mask, gloves, eye protection, and long clothing when clearing ashfall. Close windows and doors. Cover and disconnect water catchment systems to protect your water supply. && Submit your reports and photos of ashfall from volcanic eruptions to the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory at: Hawaiiash.science/report_form $$ Walsh
639 WWHW70 PHFO 232014 NPWHFO URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Honolulu HI 1014 AM HST Thu Apr 23 2026 HIZ051-052-232115- /O.CAN.PHFO.AF.Y.0006.000000T0000Z-260424T0400Z/ Big Island South-Big Island Southeast- 1014 AM HST Thu Apr 23 2026 ...ASHFALL ADVISORY IS CANCELLED... The threat has ended. Submit your reports and photos of ashfall from volcanic eruptions to the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory at: Hawaiiash.science/report_form $$ Walsh
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before this ashfall advisory went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Honolulu, HI wrote its last area forecast discussion before this ashfall advisory went out at Apr 22, 8:53 PM HST, 6 hours 29 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Apr 22, 8:53 PM HST, 6 hours 29 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Honolulu HI 853 PM HST Wed Apr 22 2026 .SYNOPSIS... A surface ridge building north of the islands will allow moderate trade winds to return to the islands Thursday. Rainfall will be limited into the weekend due to an upper level ridge over the islands. However low level moisture riding in on the trades will bring more typical windward and mauka showers by the end of the weekend. && .DISCUSSION... No updates to the forecast this evening, and not expecting any significant changes with the morning package. A low pressure system more than 700 miles northeast of the islands, combined with a surface trough about 600 miles to the north, are helping to maintain the lighter winds over the region this evening. Clouds are clearing out in the light wind pattern over the islands, and satellite shows few clouds near the islands. The low and trough are expected to dissipate over the next 24 hours, and that will allow a surface ridge to build back in north of the islands. This in turn will allow moderate trade winds to build back in at the surface. The global models agree on mid level ridging over the region which will help to maintain a stable airmass, thereby limiting shower activity over the next few days. The global models are in good agreement that moisture from the above mentioned low will get caught up in the trade wind flow over the weekend, and late in the weekend, make its way into the islands. This will help us return to a more typical trade wind weather pattern with some showers over the windward and mauka areas, along with the clouds and showers that form over the Kona slopes during the afternoon. && .AVIATION... Northeasterly trade winds will fill in tonight becoming moderate tomorrow and focus most showers over windward and mountain areas. VFR conditions will prevail with brief MVFR conditions any in showers. No AIRMETs in effect. && .MARINE... Trade winds will be making a come back through Thursday in response to an upper ridge building in west of the islands. The associated surface high will travel across to the north of the waters and be northeast of the state by early next week. This will produce a tight enough Central Pacific pressure gradient to maintain moderate to locally fresh trades Thursday and Friday. Trades will persist through the weekend as another high passes north of the state. Brief periods of locally strong winds will be possible this weekend over the windier areas surrounding Maui County and Big Island. A moderate size, medium period northwest swell that peaked early today will gradually decline the next few days. A pair of North Pacific gale lows will send a series of small north to northwest swells down into the local waters from Friday night through the first half of next week. These swells will likely maintain near to slightly below average north-facing shore surf into next week. A moderate size, medium period north northeast swell that quickly filled in last night and peaked during the day introduced advisory level surf along many northeast to eastern exposures, as well as lifting surf to above average heights along some select western shores in Maui and Big Island. This swell will slowly decline through the remainder of the week. Moderate to fresh trades this weekend will support near seasonal average east-facing shore wind wave surf. Small background energy from the west will continue to linger the next few days and fade out this weekend. A small southwest bump from very faded Tasman Sea energy is expected to arrive this weekend. No significant south swells are expected through the first half of next week. && .HFO WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... High Surf Advisory until 6 AM HST Thursday for Big Island East- Big Island North-Big Island Southeast-Kipahulu-Koolau Windward- Molokai Southeast-Molokai Windward-Olomana-Windward Haleakala. && DISCUSSION...M Ballard AVIATION...Tsamous MARINE...Blood
Nearby
Ashfall Advisories in Hawaii, 2026Every ashfall advisory in 2026
Sources
The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.