Kona weather in May

Hawaii Volcanoes-forum threads on a May visit describe eruption timing as genuinely unpredictable, one couple recalling a trip booked before any activity started, posters warning it could end the next day or run longer. Regulars call several stops genuinely worthwhile regardless of lava activity, several posters naming Chain of Craters Road, Devastation Trail, Steam Vents and Sulphur Banks as standard non-lava options. Posters call the Crater Rim Trail a real highlight, several regulars naming the stretch between Volcano House and Kilauea Military Camp reliable regardless of the volcano. Regulars call Kipukapuaulu, also known as Bird Park, a real quieter alternative, several threads naming this a good add for a break from crater views. Posters recommend real flexible expectations around lava, several regulars calling this standard given how much eruption activity varies. The record: 19.4C days, 14.3C nights, an extraordinarily high 229.8mm across over 22 days and 83 percent humidity.

Kona forum regulars are consistent about September: it's hot and sticky, and the trade winds that usually cool the coast can break down for stretches, so there's less relief than you'd expect. It's still technically hurricane season, and while a direct hit is rare, the remnants of a passing system can bring heavy surf and a burst of heavy rain even on an otherwise sunny week. That said, several posters described near-perfect two-week stretches with no crowds and easy access to snorkeling spots - it's a gamble, but one that tends to pay off more often than not.

March in Kona is the tail of whale season — humpbacks run from about mid-December to late March, thinning as the month goes on, so mid-March is still reliable and the very end of it is not. On rain, the forum's line that March is one of the Big Island's wettest months is about the windward side: on Kona's leeward coast March is one of the drier months, ten rain-days against fourteen through the summer. The variable that is genuinely local is vog — volcanic haze concentrates in the Kailua-Kona area and can bring headaches and eye and lung irritation, more seriously for asthma. The regulars' fix is geographic: drive north a few beaches and it largely clears.