What's New

The Hurricane Tracker and the storm card on the Overview now say what category a hurricane is, with its winds in mph.

• The tracker leads with the storm's top sustained winds in mph and a Category badge, with knots underneath for anyone reading along with an advisory
• The storm card on the Overview adds a line on the storm itself: its name, category, winds, how far it is from a place you know, and which way it is moving
• The Flooding Rain box now gives the forecast rain for your island in inches, like "10–15 in, up to 25". When the forecast splits an island, it shows the wettest part and names it
• The tracker lists the forecast rain totals region by region, above the advisory text they come from

The numbers come from the latest National Hurricane Center advisory. The category is for the winds at the storm's center, not what your island will feel, which can be far less. That is why the card keeps the National Weather Service's rating for each island ("Significant", "Devastating") right next to the numbers. Go by that rating, and by your county's instructions.

Seven cameras are live again.

On Hawaiʻi Island:

• Outrigger Kona Resort & Spa, which had been replaying an old recording and is live again
• Keauhou Bay
• Waikoloa Beach Marriott Resort & Spa, in 1080p. On the resort's own camera page it opens with a promo you have to skip; here it goes straight to the camera
• Westin Hapuna Beach Resort, in 1080p

On Kauaʻi and Maui, all in 1080p:

• Sheraton Kauai Resort, over Poʻipū
• Maui Eldorado, from the main roof in Kāʻanapali
• Maui Kai, looking straight down on the Kāʻanapali shoreline

All but Outrigger had been dark since August 31, when their host moved them to new stream addresses. Every Big Island camera we list is now live.

Also on the cameras page while Hurricane Nolo passes: meteorologist DL Scales streaming live from in and around Hilo. It is their stream, not ours, and Pacific Watch is not affiliated with them; the card says so and links to their channel. It leaves the page when their stream ends.

FEMA revised Oʻahu's flood maps on June 10, 2026. About 3,700 properties moved into high-risk flood zones for the first time in decades, and with them a flood insurance requirement for anyone with a mortgage. Pacific Watch looked your zone up once, when you saved your address, and kept that answer. If you saved it before June, the badge on your overview was showing the old map.

The zone is now re-checked against FEMA's current map about once a month, and on your next visit if it has never been dated. When the answer changes, the overview and Settings say so plainly: what it was, what it is now, and what that means for insurance, with a link to the city's page on the revision and how to appeal. The date FEMA was last asked now sits under every zone badge.

The tsunami map used to show the evacuation zones as colours and leave you to zoom in and decide which one your house was in. Now, once your address is saved, the Tsunami page and Settings say it plainly: in the Tsunami Evacuation Zone, in the Extreme zone, in a Safe Zone, or not in a mapped zone at all, with what each one means when a warning comes.

The answer comes from the State of Hawaiʻi's evacuation zone layers, which carry the county revisions: Oʻahu's from April 2025, Hawaiʻi Island's from March 2025. It is re-checked every few months. Set your address in Settings if you have not, and drag the house onto your roof on the map there; both zones are looked up again for the new spot.

And for when you are not at home: the overview and the Alerts page now show the tsunami zone where you are standing. If you have allowed Pacific Watch to use your location, the answer is simply there when the page opens, one line: outside the evacuation zones, or in one. If you have not, tap "Check where I am" once and your browser will ask. Your position is used for that check and not saved. During a tsunami warning the same check becomes the first card on the page: in the evacuation zone, leave now; outside it, stay put and keep off the coast roads.

A storm's rain reaches the streets long before anyone official can say which ones. The new Flood Reports page lets you say it yourself: tap "It's flooding here", pick how deep, and it is on the map for everyone nearby. Tap "Water has gone down" when it clears. No account, no typing.

The map colours each 300 m cell by how many different people report it, not how many times: one person is a grey dot, two or three turn it amber, four or more turn it red, and a cell where the reporters now say it has receded turns green. Reports fade over three hours. Your phone's position is rounded to the cell before it is saved; the exact spot is never stored.

Whenever the National Weather Service has a flood watch, warning, or advisory up for your island, or a hurricane or tropical storm watch or warning, the two taps appear at the top of your overview under the storm brief. Flood alert pushes now ask the same question. Every report is unverified and every one is a reason to slow down. Never drive through water.