Maui (Kaanapali) weather in October
October in Maui: nice, rainy, with clean air — fine if you can take 19 rainy days.
Updated September 2026 · climate normals from ERA5 reanalysis
#6 of 12 months in Maui · #255 of 1413 destinations to visit in October · comfort 87/100 (tier A)
- Days
- 19°C
- Nights
- 16°C
- Wet days
- 19
- Sun
- 10.4 h
- Humidity
- 79%
- Daylight
- 12 h

Traveller notes on Maui in October
Other months in Maui
Regulars are specific this counts as a lovely month here, flowering trees in bloom and the wet season largely behind it, temperatures commonly cited in the low-to-mid 80s Fahrenheit at the beach resorts with real bikini weather the norm despite occasional evening or early-morning showers. Our row backs that mild, genuinely wet read, 17.5C over 13.8C nights, with a substantial 81.7mm of rain across 21.4 days and a real 22.3 kph wind - a wider island-average figure pulled down by cooler upcountry and summit elevations far from the beach resorts themselves. Regulars are consistent conditions vary a lot by coast, South Maui turning windy with rough water after noon while West Maui often stays calm, water activities before noon or a West Maui base the practical workaround. The sea sits at a warm, swimmable 25.2C. The record: 11.6 hours of sun, humidity 79 percent and AQI 32.
September is the month Maui regulars name for the combination: the warmest air and water of the year, the fewest people and the low-season prices, in a month that is not part of the rainy season unless a hurricane turns up. That caveat is real - late August into early September is the peak of the Pacific hurricane season, and they call September the worst month for trade wind disruption, which is what stops the island's breeze doing its job. On temperature our row and the forum disagree sharply: they give upper-80s Fahrenheit days, our row 19.3C with 21.4 precipitation days, which reads as an upcountry measurement rather than a coastal one. Take the coast as theirs. The record: 15.6C nights, 64.8mm of rain, 11.1 hours of sun and a 26.4C sea.
August on the Maui forum is a question about the trade winds. They blow their strongest in summer and they are what makes the heat pleasant; the risk is that a distant storm - hurricane season runs June to November and peaks in August and September - stalls them, and regulars describe what follows bluntly: without the trades it turns into a sauna and the vog rolls in off the Big Island. That is the argument for taking a room with air conditioning if it is offered. The compensation is timing: the island starts to empty from mid-August as the school year comes back. One caveat on the record below - our coordinates for Maui sit upcountry rather than on the leeward resort coast, so the air figures read cooler and cloudier than Kihei or Kaanapali: 19.6C days, 15.8C nights, 21.5 precipitation days, a 26.4C sea and a 23 kph trade wind.
Forum posters describe December daytime highs typically in the low 80sF, with water temperatures in the high 70sF - warm enough for swimming and snorkeling year-round. December does mark the start of Hawaii's rainy season, but posters are consistent this gets overstated: when rain falls it's usually brief, lasting only a few minutes, rather than a washed-out day. The leeward side (Kihei and Wailea) is named as the driest part of the island, since Kona storms that hit south Maui first often have little effect on West Maui. Posters repeatedly name the first two weeks of December as their favorite window - the quietest stretch of the year, with good weather and activities feeling almost private compared to the holiday crush that follows.
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Maui climate normals — October
Monthly averages from ERA5 reanalysis. AQI is the mean US Air Quality Index for the month.
Crowds in Maui in October
How busy the place itself is — school and mass holidays, the months an editor tagged, and how sought-after the weather makes them. Never part of the comfort score.
BusyThe Hana road convoy(estimated)
Peak crowdsBusyShoulder seasonQuiet
Best months for Maui's weather
Ranked by this destination's own climate comfort score across the year — a different thing from how busy it gets (see Crowds above).
Fair weatherMaui's weather doesn't swing hard through the year — comfort stays fairly steady in every month.
What's on in Maui in October
Recurring seasonal events, natural spectacles, closures and holidays — curated and sourced.
- Rule
Haleakala sunrise reservation
1 Jan – 31 DecBook earlyEvery private vehicle entering the summit between three and seven in the morning needs a timed reservation, released sixty days ahead and gone within minutes. Sunset needs none. Source ↗
- Rule
Waianapanapa timed entry
1 Jan – 31 DecBook earlyThe black sand beach at the far end of the Hana road takes non-residents by reservation only, in a set arrival window released thirty days ahead. Turning up without one is a turn-around at the gate. Source ↗
- Season
The Hana road convoy
1 Jan – 31 Dec · usuallyDay-tripper crushCrowdedAround 620 bends and 46 one-lane bridges, taken by everyone at once between nine and three. Leaving Paia before seven, or staying the night in Hana, is the difference between a drive and a queue. Source ↗
- Hazard
Box jellyfish influx
1 Jan – 31 Dec · usuallyInsects & diseaseSeven to ten days after each full moon the box jellyfish come into the leeward beaches and the south-shore parks put signs out. The lifeguards have the dates in advance and it lasts two or three days. Source ↗
- Hazard
Central Pacific hurricane season
1 Jun – 30 NovMost systems track well south of the islands and pass as a few days of heavy swell and rain. A direct hit is rare, but the season is also when the trade winds are least reliable. Source ↗
- Season
Calmest water and warmest sea
15 Jun – 15 Oct · usuallySea warm enoughSummer flattens the north and west shores and warms the water into the high twenties, which is why the snorkelling boats to Molokini run best then. The south swell only affects the Kihei side.
Nearby, and something's on
Within 300 km of Maui — a day trip or a short hop — with something on this month. Never part of the comfort score.
Where is Maui?
Maui in October — FAQ
- Is October a good time to visit Maui?
- October in Maui: nice, rainy, with clean air — fine if you can take 19 rainy days. It ranks #6 of 12 months for Maui on SeasonMap's comfort score (87/100).
- What is the weather like in Maui in October?
- In October, Maui averages a daily high of 19.1°C and a low of 15.6°C, with about 94 mm of rain over roughly 19.1 rainy days.
- What is the air quality in Maui in October?
- Maui has a mean US Air Quality Index of about 23 in October.
Within 300 km: Lahaina's Rebuilding access rules on 1 Jan – 31 Dec.