If you’ve spent any time driving on the Big Island, you’ve probably noticed that the weather can change pretty quickly.
You can leave our Big Island bed and breakfast under cool, misty skies, head down to the coast for warm sunshine, pass through a sudden shower in Hilo, and look up to see an entirely different climate near the mountain peaks.
The combination of elevation, mountains, trade winds, and the island’s size creates an incredible range of climates and landscapes. Under the commonly used Köppen climate classification system, the Big Island has 8 of the world’s 13 climate sub-zones and four of the five major climate groups.
You don’t have to be a meteorologist to notice the difference. Just drive across the island.
It Starts With the Mountains
One of the biggest reasons the Big Island has such a varied climate is also one of the easiest to see: the mountains are enormous.
Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa both rise to nearly 14,000 feet above sea level, and temperatures change considerably as you climb. But the mountains don’t just make things colder at higher elevations. They also have a major effect on rainfall.
Hawaiʻi’s trade winds generally arrive from the northeast carrying moisture from the ocean. When that air reaches the mountains, it rises and cools, which causes moisture to fall as rain. That’s a big reason the windward side of the island is so green. Once the air crosses the mountains and moves back toward the leeward side, it’s generally much drier.
It’s one of the reasons you can leave a rainy part of the island and find yourself under completely different skies without driving very far at all. The Big Island’s mountains create some pretty dramatic differences in weather from one side to the other.
Head Toward the Coast and Things Change
The easiest way to notice the change is to drive downhill from Volcano toward the southern coast. As you lose elevation, temperatures generally get warmer, and the landscape begins to change. The dense, green forest around Volcano gradually gives way to more open terrain, with larger stretches of exposed lava and less vegetation.
The leeward side of the island is considerably drier than the windward side. Parts of the Kona coast receive very little rainfall and fall within arid or semi-arid climate zones. The island even has a true desert climate in parts of its western coast.
The Big Island Has More Than One Kind of Rainforest
Even the word “rainforest” doesn’t tell the whole story.
The Hāmākua Coast and areas around Hilo are lush and tropical, with warm temperatures and abundant rainfall. Volcano is lush, too, but the higher elevation makes it cooler.
So while both places can be green and rainy, they don’t necessarily feel the same.
That’s something you’ll notice throughout the island. Climate isn’t just about whether it’s raining. Temperature, elevation, rainfall patterns, and the landscape all play a part.
And because the Big Island has so much elevation packed into a relatively small area, those differences can happen surprisingly close together.
The Ultimate Climate Shortcut: Driving Saddle Road
If you want to see the Big Island’s climate drama unfold in real time, take Saddle Road. Cutting straight through the high country between the massive shields of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, this highway takes you from Hilo’s tropical rainforest through a stark, high-elevation plateau, and down into the dry leeward side.
Within a 45-minute drive, the scenery shifts from lush ferns to sprawling, wind-swept lava deserts. The wide-open, rugged landscape exists because you are driving through the rain shadow of Mauna Kea, where the mountain blocks incoming moisture from reaching the plateau below.
What Happens When You Keep Going Up?
Eventually, you reach a point where Hawaii doesn’t look very tropical at all.
As you climb toward the summits of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, the temperatures drop, and the vegetation becomes much more sparse. Near the top, you’ll find rocky, alpine terrain instead of rainforest.
And in the winter, you may even find snow-capped summits in Hawaii.
Both Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa can get snow at their highest elevations, which can be a little hard to picture when you’re standing in a rainforest in Volcano. Mauna Kea is especially famous for its snowy summit, and when the mountain is covered in white, it looks almost completely out of place against the tropical landscape below.
What Does the Hawaii Climate Mean for a Stay in Volcano?
The Hawaii climate you experience in Volcano is very different from what you’ll find along the coast.
Volcano Village sits at roughly 4,000 feet in elevation, in a cool, wet upland forest. The area falls within a temperate, continuously wet climate zone, which helps explain the dense rainforest surrounding the village.
You aren’t waking up to the humid heat of the beach. Instead, mornings in the rainforest are cool, quiet, and often misty. Rain passes through the canopy without much warning, leaving the forest damp and green throughout the day.
Because the weather shifts quickly across the island, we always recommend packing in layers. You might want shorts and sandals for an afternoon at the coast, but you’ll be glad to have a fleece, a light rain shell, and warm socks when you return to Volcano. Having those layers lets you enjoy the cool mountain air comfortably, whether you’re drinking coffee on your lanai or sitting by the fire in the evening.
And if you wake up to rain, there’s no need to change your plans. It’s simply the reason the forest outside your window looks the way it does.
One Island, A Lot of Different Weather
The Big Island is a quiet reminder that the islands aren’t defined by a single landscape. Within a few miles, warm tropical beaches give way to dry lava fields, dense rainforests, and cool, mountain terrain.
That variety is what makes exploring here so unique. You can spend your morning on a sun-drenched coast, drive through a high-country plateau, and by afternoon, enjoy the quiet stillness of the volcanic uplands.
And here in Volcano, we’re lucky to be surrounded by one of the island’s greenest and coolest environments.
It’s a very different side of Hawaii, but one we think you’ll fall in love with.
Come experience the cool side of the island with a stay at Volcano Village Lodge.