How often do conditions match?

No opportunity windows are predicted in the next 10 days. Conditions can change quickly, so check back for updates.

More Fire Sky in Hawaii

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Rule Fire Sky

Waimea Canyon - Fire Sky - Hawaii

Q: What conditions does Fire Sky look for?

Golden Hour: Any. Fiery Red Sky Potential: ≥ 90.0%. Precipitation Chance: ≤ 15.0%. Visibility: ≥ 8000.0m

Lihue, Hawaii, United States

Those rare, intensely red and orange sunset skies

No opportunities right now

Here’s what usually blocks matches

No Fire Sky opportunities in the next 14 days

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Rule requirements (key thresholds)

Golden Hour · Any Fiery Red Sky Potential · ≥ 90.0% Precipitation Chance · ≤ 15.0% Visibility · ≥ 8000.0m

Tip: Scroll down to the 72-hour table to see exactly which condition fails hour by hour.

Most common blockers (next 72 hours)

Fiery Red Sky Potential 100% failing

Precipitation Chance 100% failing

Golden Hour 92% failing

Currently

Real-time conditions

Fiery Red Sky Potential

Low Cloud Cover100%

Mid Cloud Cover36%

Aerosol Optical Depth0.1dimensionless

Sun Elevation45.1° (Daylight)

Upcoming Opportunities

When all conditions match, PhotoWeather marks an opportunity window.

Times shown in Pacific/Honolulu

No opportunities in the next 10 days

See the blocker timeline below to understand which conditions are preventing matches.

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.

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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 ≥ 90.0%	Precipitation Chance ≤ 15.0%	Visibility ≥ 8000.0m
Sat, Feb 21
15:00	✕	0%	83%	9959m
16:00	✕	0%	66%	19459m
17:00	✕	0%	49%	19667m
18:00	✕	59%	52%	21078m
19:00	✕	98%	55%	23844m
20:00	✕	0%	57%	24134m
21:00	✕	0%	67%	24134m
22:00	✕	0%	43%	24134m
23:00	✕	0%	20%	24135m
Sun, Feb 22
24:00	✕	0%	23%	24135m
01:00	✕	0%	26%	24135m
02:00	✕	0%	30%	24134m
03:00	✕	0%	41%	24135m
04:00	✕	0%	44%	24135m
05:00	✕	0%	48%	24135m
06:00	✓	80%	64%	24135m
07:00	✓	76%	80%	24135m
08:00	✕	0%	95%	24135m
09:00	✕	0%	100%	24135m
10:00	✕	0%	100%	24135m
11:00	✕	0%	100%	24134m
12:00	✕	0%	100%	24134m
13:00	✕	0%	100%	24135m
14:00	✕	0%	100%	24134m
15:00	✕	0%	99%	24134m
16:00	✕	0%	98%	24135m
17:00	✕	0%	97%	23305m
18:00	✕	52%	98%	24134m
19:00	✕	78%	99%	18704m
20:00	✕	0%	100%	19274m
21:00	✕	0%	100%	18033m
22:00	✕	0%	99%	17805m
23:00	✕	0%	99%	9453m
Mon, Feb 23
24:00	✕	0%	99%	7844m
01:00	✕	0%	99%	5439m
02:00	✕	0%	99%	7847m
03:00	✕	0%	88%	7844m
04:00	✕	0%	77%	7192m
05:00	✕	0%	65%	7330m
06:00	✓	71%	67%	7710m
07:00	✓	66%	69%	6321m
08:00	✕	0%	71%	7503m
09:00	✕	0%	60%	13597m
10:00	✕	0%	50%	24134m
11:00	✕	0%	39%	24134m
12:00	✕	0%	39%	24135m
13:00	✕	0%	39%	24135m
14:00	✕	0%	39%	24134m
15:00	✕	0%	39%	24135m
16:00	✕	0%	39%	24134m
17:00	✕	0%	39%	24134m
18:00	✕	0%	45%	24135m
19:00	✕	71%	50%	24135m
20:00	✕	0%	56%	24135m
21:00	✕	0%	56%	24135m
22:00	✕	0%	56%	24135m
23:00	✕	0%	56%	24135m
Tue, Feb 24
24:00	✕	0%	60%	24134m
01:00	✕	0%	64%	24135m
02:00	✕	0%	69%	24135m
03:00	✕	0%	73%	24135m
04:00	✕	0%	77%	24135m
05:00	✕	0%	82%	23353m
06:00	✓	58%	82%	20624m
07:00	✓	58%	82%	20220m
08:00	✕	0%	83%	20452m
09:00	✕	0%	74%	19326m
10:00	✕	0%	65%	24135m
11:00	✕	0%	56%	24134m
12:00	✕	0%	65%	24134m
13:00	✕	0%	73%	24135m
14:00	✕	0%	82%	24134m
15:00	✕	0%	82%	24135m
16:00	✕	0%	82%	24135m
17:00	✕	0%	82%	24134m
18:00	✕	0%	86%	24135m
19:00	✕	58%	90%	24134m
20:00	✕	0%	95%	24135m
21:00	✕	0%	78%	24135m
22:00	✕	0%	62%	24135m
23:00	✕	0%	45%	24135m
Wed, Feb 25
24:00	✕	0%	47%	24135m
01:00	✕	0%	48%	24135m
02:00	✕	0%	49%	24135m
03:00	✕	0%	45%	24135m
04:00	✕	0%	40%	24135m
05:00	✕	0%	36%	24135m
06:00	✓	68%	37%	24135m
07:00	✓	68%	38%	24135m
08:00	✕	0%	40%	24135m
09:00	✕	0%	35%	24135m
10:00	✕	0%	30%	24135m
11:00	✕	0%	25%	24135m
12:00	✕	0%	29%	24135m
13:00	✕	0%	34%	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)	Air Pressure hPa	Dust AOD (550nm)	Golden Hour	High Clouds %	Low Clouds %	Mid-Level Clouds %	RH @ 700 hPa %	Relative Humidity %	Smoke AOD (550nm)	Temperature °C	Wind Speed m/s	Ångström Exponent
Sun, Feb 22 Sunrise 07:03 Sunset 18:38
15:00 ☾	0.07	1006hPa	0.001	-	18%	100%	36%	51%	73%	0.004	22°C	1.4m/s	0.93
16:00 ☾	0.06	1006hPa	0.001	-	12%	96%	16%	51%	74%	0.004	22°C	1.7m/s	0.9
17:00 ☾	0.06	1007hPa	0.001	-	58%	90%	62%	51%	74%	0.003	22°C	2.4m/s	0.88
18:00 ☾	0.05	1007hPa	0.001	-	100%	70%	100%	55%	76%	0.003	22°C	3.7m/s	0.89
19:00 ☾	0.05	1008hPa	0.001	-	83%	61%	85%	59%	79%	0.003	21°C	4.8m/s	0.92
20:00 ☾	0.06	1009hPa	0.001	-	45%	58%	43%	63%	79%	0.003	21°C	5.9m/s	0.86
21:00 ☾	0.06	1010hPa	0.001	-	36%	51%	26%	73%	79%	0.003	21°C	6.1m/s	0.81
22:00 ☾	0.07	1010hPa	0.001	-	23%	36%	26%	82%	77%	0.003	21°C	6m/s	0.77
23:00 ☾	0.07	1010hPa	0.001	-	23%	74%	80%	92%	76%	0.003	22°C	6m/s	0.79
Mon, Feb 23 Sunrise 07:03 Sunset 18:38
24:00 ☾	0.1	1010hPa	0.001	-	11%	97%	89%	92%	77%	0.003	22°C	6.1m/s	0.71
01:00 ☾	0.11	1010hPa	0.001	-	3%	95%	33%	93%	79%	0.003	21°C	7.4m/s	0.7
02:00 ☾	0.12	1010hPa	0.001	-	0%	56%	8%	93%	79%	0.003	21°C	7.1m/s	0.71
03:00 ☾	0.12	1010hPa	0.001	-	0%	75%	63%	94%	77%	0.003	21°C	6.9m/s	0.76
04:00 ☾	0.14	1009hPa	0.001	-	0%	78%	13%	95%	77%	0.004	21°C	7.8m/s	0.76
05:00 ☾	0.15	1010hPa	0.001	-	0%	100%	21%	97%	77%	0.004	21°C	8.2m/s	0.75
06:00 ☾	0.19	1010hPa	0.001	-	0%	98%	42%	97%	76%	0.004	21°C	8.8m/s	0.69
07:00 ☾	0.22	1011hPa	0.001	-	0%	97%	48%	97%	76%	0.004	21°C	9.5m/s	0.65
08:00 ☾	0.21	1012hPa	0.002	-	0%	86%	91%	98%	76%	0.005	21°C	9.9m/s	0.67
09:00 ☾	0.21	1013hPa	0.002	-	0%	94%	83%	94%	74%	0.005	21°C	10m/s	0.68
10:00 ☾	0.19	1013hPa	0.003	-	0%	83%	80%	90%	72%	0.005	21°C	9.4m/s	0.71
11:00 ☾	0.18	1013hPa	0.003	-	0%	98%	97%	87%	70%	0.005	22°C	8.9m/s	0.73
12:00 ☾	0.16	1012hPa	0.004	-	0%	99%	96%	78%	68%	0.005	22°C	8.6m/s	0.78
13:00 ☾	0.16	1012hPa	0.004	-	0%	100%	98%	69%	67%	0.006	22°C	7.5m/s	0.78
14:00 ☾	0.16	1011hPa	0.004	-	0%	100%	99%	61%	66%	0.006	22°C	7.1m/s	0.79
15:00 ☾	0.15	1011hPa	0.004	-	0%	100%	99%	52%	66%	0.005	21°C	6.9m/s	0.79
16:00 ☾	0.15	1011hPa	0.004	-	0%	92%	99%	43%	68%	0.005	21°C	7.3m/s	0.8
17:00 ☾	0.14	1011hPa	0.004	-	0%	89%	45%	34%	67%	0.005	21°C	7.1m/s	0.79
18:00 ☾	0.14	1012hPa	0.004	-	0%	95%	2%	26%	64%	0.005	21°C	6.6m/s	0.75
19:00 ☾	0.14	1013hPa	0.004	-	0%	98%	0%	19%	62%	0.005	22°C	5.9m/s	0.75
20:00 ☾	0.13	1013hPa	0.003	-	0%	100%	0%	11%	61%	0.005	22°C	6.1m/s	0.74
21:00 ☾	0.12	1014hPa	0.003	-	0%	100%	0%	9.7%	62%	0.004	21°C	5.8m/s	0.74
22:00 ☾	0.12	1014hPa	0.002	-	0%	100%	0%	8%	63%	0.004	21°C	5.8m/s	0.72
23:00 ☾	0.13	1014hPa	0.002	-	0%	100%	0%	6.3%	63%	0.004	21°C	5.9m/s	0.68
Tue, Feb 24 Sunrise 07:02 Sunset 18:38
24:00 ☾	0.12	1014hPa	0.001	-	0%	87%	0%	6.3%	58%	0.003	21°C	5.9m/s	0.67
01:00 ☾	0.12	1014hPa	0.001	-	0%	88%	0%	6.2%	59%	0.003	21°C	5.8m/s	0.65
02:00 ☾	0.12	1013hPa	0.001	-	0%	94%	0%	6.2%	59%	0.004	21°C	5.8m/s	0.64
03:00 ☾	-	1013hPa	-	-	0%	100%	0%	6%	59%	-	21°C	5.8m/s	-
04:00 ☾	-	1013hPa	-	-	0%	98%	0%	5.9%	56%	-	22°C	5.4m/s	-
05:00 ☾	-	1013hPa	-	-	0%	18%	0%	5.7%	66%	-	21°C	6.8m/s	-
06:00 ☾	-	1013hPa	-	-	0%	27%	0%	5.6%	76%	-	20°C	7.3m/s	-
07:00 ☾	-	1014hPa	-	-	0%	41%	0%	5.4%	76%	-	20°C	7.7m/s	-
08:00 ☾	-	1014hPa	-	-	0%	58%	0%	5.3%	74%	-	21°C	7.6m/s	-
09:00 ☾	-	1015hPa	-	-	0%	82%	0%	5.7%	70%	-	21°C	8.1m/s	-
10:00 ☾	-	1015hPa	-	-	0%	91%	0%	6.1%	68%	-	21°C	8.4m/s	-
11:00 ☾	-	1015hPa	-	-	0%	100%	0%	6.5%	67%	-	21°C	7.9m/s	-
12:00 ☾	-	1015hPa	-	-	0%	100%	0%	6.9%	66%	-	21°C	7.6m/s	-
13:00 ☾	-	1014hPa	-	-	0%	100%	0%	7.2%	65%	-	21°C	6.8m/s	-
14:00 ☾	-	1014hPa	-	-	1%	94%	0%	7.6%	64%	-	21°C	6.2m/s	-
15:00 ☾	-	1013hPa	-	-	0%	48%	0%	8.2%	62%	-	21°C	6m/s	-
16:00 ☾	-	1013hPa	-	-	0%	10%	0%	8.7%	62%	-	21°C	6.6m/s	-
17:00 ☾	-	1012hPa	-	-	0%	12%	0%	9.3%	62%	-	21°C	7.1m/s	-
18:00 ☾	-	1013hPa	-	-	0%	8%	0%	8.5%	63%	-	21°C	6.9m/s	-
19:00 ☾	-	1014hPa	-	-	0%	12%	0%	7.8%	63%	-	21°C	6.4m/s	-
20:00 ☾	-	1015hPa	-	-	0%	11%	0%	7%	63%	-	21°C	6m/s	-
21:00 ☾	-	999hPa	-	-	0%	16%	0%	7%	72%	-	19°C	5m/s	-
22:00 ☾	-	983hPa	-	-	0%	22%	0%	7%	80%	-	16°C	3.9m/s	-
23:00 ☾	-	968hPa	-	-	0%	28%	0%	7%	88%	-	13°C	2.9m/s	-
Wed, Feb 25 Sunrise 07:01 Sunset 18:39
24:00 ☾	-	968hPa	-	-	6%	19%	0%	5.8%	83%	-	14°C	2.9m/s	-
01:00 ☾	-	969hPa	-	-	12%	11%	0%	4.6%	78%	-	14°C	2.9m/s	-
02:00 ☾	-	969hPa	-	-	18%	2%	0%	3.4%	73%	-	14°C	2.8m/s	-
03:00 ☾	-	969hPa	-	-	13%	5%	0%	2.7%	66%	-	16°C	2.9m/s	-
04:00 ☾	-	969hPa	-	-	8%	8%	0%	2%	60%	-	17°C	3m/s	-
05:00 ☾	-	969hPa	-	-	2%	11%	0%	1.3%	54%	-	19°C	3.1m/s	-
06:00 ☾	-	968hPa	-	-	3%	23%	0%	1.2%	54%	-	19°C	3.2m/s	-
07:00 ☾	-	968hPa	-	-	3%	34%	0%	1.1%	54%	-	20°C	3.3m/s	-
08:00 ☾	-	967hPa	-	-	4%	45%	0%	1%	54%	-	20°C	3.4m/s	-
09:00 ☾	-	967hPa	-	-	3%	48%	0%	1%	56%	-	19°C	3.3m/s	-
10:00 ☾	-	967hPa	-	-	1%	50%	0%	1.1%	57%	-	19°C	3.2m/s	-
11:00 ☾	-	967hPa	-	-	0%	53%	0%	1.1%	58%	-	18°C	3.1m/s	-
12:00 ☾	-	967hPa	-	-	0%	36%	2%	1.2%	64%	-	17°C	2.9m/s	-
13:00 ☾	-	968hPa	-	-	0%	19%	3%	1.2%	71%	-	15°C	2.8m/s	-
14:00 ☾	-	968hPa	-	-	0%	2%	5%	1.3%	78%	-	14°C	2.6m/s	-

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

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