Maya: Good morning, Lee-hoo-ay! It's Sunday, October fourth, twenty twenty-six, and this is the Lihue Morning Briefing. I'm Maya.
Devon: And I'm Devon. Happy Sunday, everybody — coffee's on, the birds are up, and we've got a full look at your week ahead on the Garden Isle.
Maya: Starting with the weather, and I'll be honest with you, it's a showery stretch ahead for Lihue. Today we're looking at a high near seventy-nine and an overnight low around seventy-six, with a hundred percent chance of drizzle and breezy winds around seventeen miles an hour.
Devon: Monday looks a little drier — a high near eighty, a low around seventy-four, the rain chance down to thirty-three percent, and winds around fourteen miles an hour.
Maya: But Tuesday the rain comes back in a big way — a high near eighty, a low near seventy-one, and a hundred percent chance of rain, with winds easing to about eight miles an hour.
Devon: Wednesday keeps the wet pattern going — a high near eighty, a low near seventy, an eighty-six percent chance of showers, and winds around thirteen miles an hour.
Maya: Thursday brings a high near eighty-two, a low around seventy-three, an eighty percent chance of rain, and winds near ten miles an hour.
Devon: Friday, we're looking at a high near eighty-two, a low around seventy-two, a seventy percent chance of rain, and light winds near five miles an hour.
Maya: And Saturday rounds out the week — a high near eighty, a low near seventy-five, an eighty-five percent chance of rain, and winds around twelve miles an hour.
Devon: So the theme of the week is warm, breezy, and showery. Highs hold between seventy-nine and eighty-two all week long, and the ultraviolet index runs high, up to eight, so even between the showers, grab the sunscreen.
Maya: On the coast, it's looking pretty decent out on the water. Waves run about six feet today, easing to around five feet by midweek. The water temperature is a beautiful eighty-one degrees.
Devon: That's perfect water for a dip — just watch the trade-wind chop when the breezes pick up this afternoon.
Maya: Now, tonight's skies should be a treat. We're in a waning crescent moon, just thirty-four percent lit, and it doesn't rise until about one-fifty in the morning — so the evening sky will be dark and clear after sunset at six twenty-one.
Devon: Which means great viewing for Saturn. Look to the southeast after dark and you'll spot it glowing bright and steady, hard to miss.
Maya: And keep an eye out right after sunset for the International Space Station. It sweeps across the sky at about six fifty-four this evening, low in the southwest.
Devon: On the arts and entertainment front, there's some fun stuff coming up this week right here in town. The Outrigger Kauai Beach Resort and Spa in Lihue is hosting a Kauai Made Craft Fair this Friday, October ninth — local artisans, handmade goods, the perfect place to find something you can't get anywhere else.
Maya: And that same Friday at the same resort, it's the E Komo Mai Aloha Friday Celebration — music, hula, and that classic aloha Friday spirit to kick off the weekend.
Devon: Then on Tuesday, October thirteenth, the resort hosts a Marine Debris Art Workshop — turning ocean plastic into art. Hands-on, creative, and good for the island.
Maya: Now to local news. First up, some unwelcome news for travelers: Alaska Airlines is cutting its Portland to Lihue route. The airline had promoted the service as year-round, but the latest schedules remove it starting in early May of twenty twenty-seven, after only limited spring flying.
Devon: That's a route Alaska has flown for years, and it was one of the connections that made it easy for Pacific Northwest travelers to reach Kauai directly. Alaska hasn't publicly linked the cut to visitor demand — but it comes as Hawaii travel has been showing signs of softness.
Maya: Speaking of softness — new numbers show Kauai's visitor arrivals plunged nearly sixty-two percent after Hurricane Lowell. In the first six days of September, an average of about two thousand three hundred passengers a day arrived on domestic flights, actually up five percent from last year. Then the storm hit, and in the latest five days available, that average collapsed to about eight hundred sixty a day.
Devon: The message from the island has shifted, though. Kauai is welcoming visitors back — most hotels, restaurants, shops, and tour operators are open again, and businesses need the customers. But arrivals haven't bounced back at nearly the same pace.
Maya: And on a brighter note, right here in town — Blue Bird Kauai, the coffee shop on Rice Street in Lihue, is back open after the storm. The local owners say a lot of Kauai businesses took a hit and some are still without power, but they're serving again at their regular hours.
Devon: They've also been spreading love for the power crews and first responders — taking care of KIUC workers and first responders who stop in. That's the Kauai spirit right there.
Maya: That's your Lihue Morning Briefing for Sunday, October fourth. Warm, showery, and full of aloha — thanks for starting your day with us.
Devon: We'll be back tomorrow morning. Until then, stay dry between the showers, and have a beautiful Sunday, Lihue.