FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM Shannon Lau, right, and her sister Malia Lau soaked up the heat of the sun yesterday at Sandy Beach. The temperature hit 90 degrees Sunday in Honolulu, and normal tradewinds are expected to drop this week.

It’s gettin’
hot in here

Hot weather, humidity
and dropping trades make
for a sticky situation

---

Star-Bulletin staff

It is hot, and it's going to stay hot.

In the last two days, the temperature hit 90 degrees.

And it will hover near 90 degrees for the rest of the week, said lead weather forecaster Hans Rosendal.

To make the matter worse, Tropical Storm Fausto, passing north of the islands, will cut off the cooling tradewinds later this week.

Rosendal said the trade winds may be as weak as 5 mph on Thursday and Friday.

"When people complain about the weather being hot, it's because the winds are gone," Rosendal said.

The lack of breezes contributes to higher humidity, making it hot and sticky, he said.

"It can actually feel worse, when it's 89 or 88 degrees (vs. 90 degrees) because there's no wind," Rosendal said. The average temperature this month has been 88 degrees.

But forecasters are predicting the trades will return for a sunny but pleasant Labor Day weekend.

The hot weather has been good for business at City Mill in Waianae. The store has been reordering fans up to three times a week to "keep the shelves stocked up" as sales more than doubled, said supervisor Marie Bashaw.

Bashaw herself recently purchased a wall fan for her Makaha home to battle the humid weather.

Bashaw and a supervisor at City Mill in Kaimuki said more customers have been purchasing fans than portable air conditioners because of the cost.

FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM Greg Wong baked on the sand and fell asleep yesterday after bodysurfing at Sandy Beach. According to the National Weather Service, the Labor Day weekend should be mostly sunny, between 85 and 90 degrees.