What conditions does Fire Sky look for?

Golden Hour: Any. Fiery Red Sky Potential: ≥ 65.0%. Precipitation Chance: ≤ 15.0%. Visibility: ≥ 8000.0m

How often do conditions match?

There are 1 upcoming opportunity windows in the next 10 days.

More Fire Sky in Hawaii

Create your own alerts

Rule Fire Sky

Haleakala - Fire Sky - Hawaii

Makawao, Hawaii, United States

Those rare, intensely red and orange sunset skies

Currently

Real-time conditions

Fiery Red Sky Potential

Low Cloud Cover60%

Mid Cloud Cover0%

High Cloud Cover0%

Aerosol Optical Depth0.1

Sun Elevation-33.2° (Astronomical night)

Upcoming Opportunities

When all conditions match, PhotoWeather marks an opportunity window.

Times shown in Pacific/Honolulu

Next opportunity

Excellent Fiery Red Sky at Sunrise

Haleakala

Wed, May 27 · 06:00–06:15 · 1h window

Low confidence

39%

🔥Fiery Red Sky Potential71.6%

Low Cloud Cover: 0%

Mid Cloud Cover: 0%

High Cloud Cover: 33%

Sun Elevation: 2.8° (Golden hour)

What this forecast looks for

Plain-language explanation from the rule

This forecast tracks the spectacular sunset conditions that transform Hawaii's tropical skies into blazing displays. We combine cloud coverage patterns, volcanic haze levels, and atmospheric clarity to predict when Hawaiian sunsets will ignite with dramatic color.

Hawaii offers some of the Pacific's most dramatic fire-sky conditions, particularly when volcanic haze (vog) from Kilauea adds atmospheric particulates that scatter light into intense oranges and reds. The tropical location means the sun sets quickly at a steep angle, creating brief but intense color displays.

What makes Hawaii special for fire-sky photography:

Volcanic haze advantage - Vog from Kilauea volcano scatters light into intense sunset colors
Maui and Big Island drama - Leeward coasts receive the most dramatic vog-enhanced sunsets
Tropical intensity - Quick sunset at steep angle creates brief but fierce color
Ocean reflections - Calm leeward waters mirror fire skies perfectly

The Big Island's Kona coast offers Hawaii's most reliable fire-sky conditions, particularly when vog from Kilauea volcano drifts southwest. The volcanic particulates scatter light dramatically, creating sunsets of unusual intensity. Maui's western coast benefits from similar conditions when vog crosses the channel. The steep volcanic slopes provide dramatic foreground silhouettes—palm trees and volcanic peaks profiled against blazing skies. During periods of volcanic activity, vog levels increase and sunset colors become even more intense. The leeward (western/southern) coasts of islands offer the calmest water for reflections. Trade winds typically die down at sunset, creating mirror-like ocean surfaces that double the impact. Tropical sunsets happen quickly—the entire show from first color to darkness takes about 30 minutes, with peak color lasting only 5-10 minutes. Scout locations beforehand and be ready before the sun touches the horizon.

Create your own Fire Sky alerts

Get notified when these conditions match at your own locations.

Get this template

72-hour requirements breakdown

What passed or failed, hour by hour

0matching hours in the next 95 hours

AND logic: all conditions required

Meets requirement

Misses requirement

Time Pacific/Honolulu	Golden Hour Any	Fiery Red Sky Potential ≥ 65.0%	Precipitation Chance ≤ 15.0%	Visibility ≥ 8000.0m
Sat, May 23
03:00	✕	18%	94%	856m
04:00	✕	20%	88%	13197m
05:00	✓	4.1%	82%	10460m
06:00	✓	17%	82%	2030m
07:00	✕	0.4%	82%	3848m
08:00	✕	7.1%	82%	165m
09:00	✕	0.6%	26%	249m
10:00	✕	0.1%	13%	6862m
11:00	✕	7.8%	0%	24135m
12:00	✕	10%	13%	8720m
13:00	✕	13%	26%	534m
14:00	✕	14%	39%	24135m
15:00	✕	6.5%	46%	24134m
16:00	✕	13%	54%	24135m
17:00	✕	14%	61%	1077m
18:00	✓	17%	72%	9084m
19:00	✓	35%	83%	8402m
20:00	✕	17%	95%	24134m
21:00	✕	18%	90%	8188m
22:00	✕	18%	86%	5775m
23:00	✕	1.3%	82%	7602m
Sun, May 24
24:00	✕	18%	82%	3955m
01:00	✕	12%	82%	8362m
02:00	✕	7.8%	82%	8897m
03:00	✕	18%	68%	7842m
04:00	✕	18%	53%	1162m
05:00	✓	18%	39%	8063m
06:00	✓	38%	39%	1086m
07:00	✕	11%	39%	5112m
08:00	✕	16%	39%	2195m
09:00	✕	20%	31%	8518m
10:00	✕	15%	23%	24134m
11:00	✕	12%	15%	24135m
12:00	✕	12%	23%	24134m
13:00	✕	17%	31%	24135m
14:00	✕	12%	39%	24135m
15:00	✕	6.3%	43%	24135m
16:00	✕	5.2%	48%	24135m
17:00	✕	6.8%	52%	24135m
18:00	✓	13%	62%	2274m
19:00	✓	39%	72%	24134m
20:00	✕	12%	82%	24134m
21:00	✕	7.1%	68%	24135m
22:00	✕	18%	53%	24134m
23:00	✕	17%	39%	24135m
Mon, May 25
24:00	✕	16%	53%	24135m
01:00	✕	9.3%	67%	18236m
02:00	✕	18%	82%	4845m
03:00	✕	17%	67%	3870m
04:00	✕	18%	53%	4204m
05:00	✓	20%	39%	4682m
06:00	✓	32%	45%	559m
07:00	✕	21%	50%	14736m
08:00	✕	21%	56%	4287m
09:00	✕	22%	49%	963m
10:00	✕	24%	42%	10564m
11:00	✕	22%	35%	18192m
12:00	✕	22%	42%	495m
13:00	✕	14%	49%	24134m
14:00	✕	17%	56%	8520m
15:00	✕	21%	56%	8354m
16:00	✕	28%	56%	3675m
17:00	✕	26%	56%	360m
18:00	✓	14%	60%	374m
19:00	✓	33%	64%	8266m
20:00	✕	15%	69%	3695m
21:00	✕	20%	64%	8253m
22:00	✕	18%	60%	4374m
23:00	✕	21%	56%	3220m
Tue, May 26
24:00	✕	13%	59%	8234m
01:00	✕	15%	61%	364m
02:00	✕	8.9%	64%	633m
03:00	✕	17%	56%	3811m
04:00	✕	14%	47%	3828m
05:00	✓	7.7%	39%	8250m
06:00	✓	18%	39%	3385m
07:00	✕	7.2%	39%	8244m
08:00	✕	5.3%	39%	712m
09:00	✕	0%	26%	8520m
10:00	✕	0%	13%	16327m
11:00	✕	0%	0%	24135m
12:00	✕	0%	13%	24135m
13:00	✕	0%	26%	24135m
14:00	✕	0%	39%	24135m
15:00	✕	0%	39%	24135m
16:00	✕	0%	39%	24135m
17:00	✕	0%	39%	24135m
18:00	✓	0%	45%	24135m
19:00	✓	16%	50%	24135m
20:00	✕	0%	56%	24135m
21:00	✕	0%	47%	24135m
22:00	✕	0%	37%	24135m
23:00	✕	0%	28%	24135m
Wed, May 27
24:00	✕	0%	37%	24135m
01:00	✕	0%	47%	24135m

How to read: colored cells show whether each predicate requirement is met; highlighted rows mean the full rule matched (an opportunity).

What does Fiery Red Sky Potential mean?

Inputs that drive the score

This derived score summarizes multiple raw weather signals. The table below shows the supporting inputs hour by hour, so you can see what's pushing the score up or down.

Time Pacific/Honolulu	Aerosol Optical Depth (550nm)	Clear Sky Probability (Ensemble) %	Cloud Cover Uncertainty (Ensemble) %	Dust AOD (550nm)	Golden Hour	High Clouds %	Low Clouds %	Mid-Level Clouds %	RH @ 700 hPa %	Smoke AOD (550nm)	Solar Elevation °	Sunshine Duration seconds
Sun, May 24 Sunrise 05:45 Sunset 18:59
03:00 ☾	0.13	98%	6%	0.02	-	0%	60%	0%	2.9%	0.009	-33°	0seconds
04:00 ☾	0.13	96%	9%	0.02	-	0%	52%	0%	2.8%	0.009	-22°	0seconds
05:00 ☾	0.14	94%	11%	0.02	-	0%	54%	0%	2.6%	0.009	-10°	0seconds
06:00	0.14	95%	10%	0.02	-	0%	42%	0%	2.5%	0.009	2.7°	0seconds
07:00	0.14	97%	9%	0.02	-	0%	41%	0%	2.5%	0.009	16°	0seconds
08:00	0.13	98%	8%	0.02	-	0%	55%	0%	2.4%	0.009	29°	0seconds
09:00	0.13	98%	8%	0.02	-	0%	49%	0%	2.4%	0.009	43°	3600seconds
10:00	0.13	97%	9%	0.02	-	0%	47%	0%	2.3%	0.009	57°	3600seconds
11:00	0.14	97%	9%	0.02	-	0%	17%	0%	2.3%	0.01	71°	3600seconds
12:00	0.14	98%	8%	0.02	-	0%	2%	0%	2.6%	0.01	85°	3600seconds
13:00	0.14	98%	8%	0.02	-	0%	11%	0%	2.9%	0.01	81°	3600seconds
14:00 ☾	0.14	99%	7%	0.02	-	0%	17%	0%	3.2%	0.009	67°	3600seconds
15:00 ☾	0.14	99%	5%	0.02	-	0%	22%	0%	3.3%	0.009	53°	3600seconds
16:00 ☾	0.14	100%	3%	0.02	-	0%	17%	0%	3.5%	0.009	39°	3600seconds
17:00 ☾	0.14	100%	1%	0.02	-	0%	21%	0%	3.6%	0.009	26°	3600seconds
18:00 ☾	0.14	100%	2%	0.02	-	0%	47%	0%	4%	0.01	12°	3600seconds
19:00 ☾	0.14	100%	2%	0.02	-	0%	43%	0%	4.3%	0.01	-0.56°	3600seconds
20:00 ☾	0.14	100%	3%	0.02	-	0%	38%	0%	4.7%	0.01	-14°	3600seconds
21:00 ☾	0.14	98%	6%	0.02	-	0%	31%	0%	4.6%	0.01	-25°	0seconds
22:00 ☾	0.13	95%	10%	0.02	-	1%	30%	0%	4.6%	0.01	-36°	0seconds
23:00 ☾	0.13	93%	13%	0.02	-	26%	40%	0%	4.5%	0.01	-44°	0seconds
Mon, May 25 Sunrise 05:44 Sunset 18:59
24:00 ☾	0.13	92%	14%	0.02	-	15%	36%	0%	4.5%	0.01	-48°	0seconds
01:00 ☾	0.12	92%	15%	0.02	-	0%	44%	0%	4.5%	0.01	-47°	0seconds
02:00 ☾	0.12	91%	16%	0.02	-	4%	70%	0%	4.5%	0.01	-42°	0seconds
03:00 ☾	-	88%	18%	-	-	4%	69%	0%	4%	-	-33°	0seconds
04:00 ☾	-	85%	20%	-	-	9%	71%	0%	3.6%	-	-22°	0seconds
05:00 ☾	-	82%	22%	-	-	31%	72%	0%	3.1%	-	-10°	0seconds
06:00	-	82%	21%	-	-	17%	60%	0%	3.1%	-	2.7°	0seconds
07:00	-	81%	19%	-	-	5%	76%	0%	3.2%	-	16°	0seconds
08:00	-	81%	18%	-	-	21%	65%	0%	3.2%	-	29°	0seconds
09:00	-	79%	19%	-	-	0%	57%	0%	3.4%	-	43°	3600seconds
10:00	-	77%	21%	-	-	60%	56%	0%	3.5%	-	57°	3600seconds
11:00	-	75%	22%	-	-	12%	74%	0%	3.7%	-	71°	3600seconds
12:00	-	75%	22%	-	-	23%	49%	0%	4.3%	-	85°	3600seconds
13:00	-	76%	21%	-	-	96%	53%	0%	4.8%	-	81°	3600seconds
14:00 ☾	-	76%	21%	-	-	100%	44%	0%	5.4%	-	67°	3600seconds
15:00 ☾	-	69%	23%	-	-	100%	65%	0%	6.2%	-	53°	3600seconds
16:00 ☾	-	62%	25%	-	-	100%	66%	0%	7.1%	-	39°	3600seconds
17:00 ☾	-	55%	27%	-	-	98%	64%	0%	7.9%	-	26°	3600seconds
18:00 ☾	-	56%	26%	-	-	0%	59%	0%	7.1%	-	12°	3600seconds
19:00 ☾	-	57%	26%	-	-	0%	67%	0%	6.4%	-	-0.43°	3600seconds
20:00 ☾	-	58%	25%	-	-	100%	60%	0%	5.6%	-	-13°	3600seconds
21:00 ☾	-	63%	26%	-	-	100%	67%	0%	5.4%	-	-25°	0seconds
22:00 ☾	-	69%	27%	-	-	2%	69%	0%	5.2%	-	-35°	0seconds
23:00 ☾	-	74%	28%	-	-	69%	71%	0%	5%	-	-43°	0seconds
Tue, May 26 Sunrise 05:44 Sunset 19:00
24:00 ☾	-	73%	27%	-	-	62%	68%	0%	5.4%	-	-48°	0seconds
01:00 ☾	-	73%	27%	-	-	77%	72%	0%	5.8%	-	-47°	0seconds
02:00 ☾	-	72%	26%	-	-	73%	68%	0%	6.2%	-	-42°	0seconds
03:00 ☾	-	71%	26%	-	-	100%	69%	0%	6.3%	-	-33°	0seconds
04:00 ☾	-	71%	27%	-	-	100%	56%	0%	6.4%	-	-22°	0seconds
05:00 ☾	-	70%	27%	-	-	47%	62%	0%	6.5%	-	-10°	0seconds
06:00	-	71%	25%	-	-	6%	69%	0%	6%	-	2.8°	0seconds
07:00	-	73%	23%	-	-	5%	71%	0%	5.5%	-	16°	0seconds
08:00	-	74%	21%	-	-	6%	75%	0%	5%	-	29°	0seconds
09:00	-	79%	20%	-	-	4%	58%	0%	4.8%	-	43°	1200seconds
10:00	-	83%	18%	-	-	2%	42%	0%	4.7%	-	57°	2400seconds
11:00	-	88%	17%	-	-	0%	26%	0%	4.5%	-	71°	3600seconds
12:00	-	88%	17%	-	-	0%	18%	0%	4.5%	-	85°	3600seconds
13:00	-	87%	16%	-	-	0%	11%	0%	4.4%	-	81°	3600seconds
14:00 ☾	-	87%	16%	-	-	0%	4%	0%	4.4%	-	67°	3600seconds
15:00 ☾	-	85%	17%	-	-	2%	5%	0%	4.5%	-	53°	2400seconds
16:00 ☾	-	84%	18%	-	-	3%	5%	0%	4.5%	-	40°	1200seconds
17:00 ☾	-	82%	19%	-	-	5%	6%	0%	4.6%	-	26°	0seconds
18:00 ☾	-	76%	20%	-	-	3%	4%	0%	4.4%	-	12°	0seconds
19:00 ☾	-	70%	20%	-	-	2%	3%	0%	4.2%	-	-0.29°	0seconds
20:00 ☾	-	64%	21%	-	-	0%	1%	0%	4%	-	-13°	0seconds
21:00 ☾	-	60%	25%	-	-	2%	1%	0%	3.7%	-	-25°	0seconds
22:00 ☾	-	55%	29%	-	-	3%	0%	0%	3.4%	-	-35°	0seconds
23:00 ☾	-	51%	33%	-	-	4%	0%	0%	3.1%	-	-43°	0seconds
Wed, May 27 Sunrise 05:44 Sunset 19:00
24:00 ☾	-	53%	32%	-	-	3%	0%	0%	3%	-	-47°	0seconds
01:00 ☾	-	56%	30%	-	-	1%	0%	0%	3%	-	-47°	0seconds
02:00 ☾	-	58%	29%	-	-	0%	0%	0%	2.9%	-	-42°	0seconds

How to read: these inputs help produce the derived score; they are not requirements by themselves.

Get Notified of Opportunities

Create your own custom alerts for this location and more.

Create Free Account