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 Less rainy on its east side, but still rainy enough to support lush tropical growth. Hilo’s streets, parks, and yards are bursting with flowers. A rainforest flourishes on the northeast slope of Kilauea volcano. Just think how much rain it must take to nourish a rainforest on the rim of the world’s most active volcano!

 Driest and hottest on the south and west. These areas lie in the rain shadows of the island’s volcanoes. While a rainforest grows on Kilauea’s northeast slope, a desert stretches down its southwest slope.

 Rainier in the mountains on any side of the island. However, the summits of Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea are frigid alpine deserts. At nearly 14,000 feet, altitude, not latitude, governs the climate of those summits.

The dry Kona and north Kohala coasts attract the most visitors, have the principal resorts, and have the most popular beaches. The figure below summarizes the situation:

The long of it

Hawaii’s coastal weather is temperate to a degree that puts the so-called “temperate” zones of the world to shame. The humidity is moderate, too: 50 to 60%, not the sweltering horror of some other tropical lands. It is warmer in the summer and cooler in the winter, but the “extremes” are only a few degrees apart—nothing like those on the mainland. (Hawaii’s mountainous interior, however, is quite another matter.)