Do Makawalo & Pukalani Escape the High Maui Temperatures? (Kahului: live, cost of)

[thrillobyte]

I just returned from a 5-Island Hawaii Cruise and could not believe the high temps in April!!! Near or at 90 in some places. I could never survive those kinds of temps especially in summer. But I read that the upcountry on Maui is cooler. Kula is at about 3000-4000 feet but too isolated. M & P are larger but are only at about 1500 feet. If it were 90 at sea level in Kahului what would the temp be at 1500 feet?

[whynot?]

The short answer is YES! It's always cooler at higher altitudes, even in the tropics. Makawao and Pukalani are typically cooler than the coastal towns, but not as cool as Kula.

The longer answer is that it's relative, and the higher the temps at sea level, the higher the temps higher up. I hate to say it (because it's been said so many times), but the real issue is air pressure, and lower altitudes have higher air pressure.

As an aside, I used to think that "Kula" was some sort of post-Captain-Cook Hawaiian onamatapeoea for "cooler." Turns out it means "open meadows," just as it looks. And explains why it's such a great place for farming.

Best of luck.

[mdand3boys]

Every 1000 feet is approximately 2-4 degrees cooler. That's an average and some areas can vary from that. However, in Hawaii, in general, the higher you go, the more rain you get, especially on the windward (wet) sides of the island.

[thrillobyte]

Best of luck

Thank you.

Every 1000 feet is approximately 2-4 degrees cooler. That's an average and some areas can vary from that. However, in Hawaii, in general, the higher you go, the more rain you get, especially on the windward (wet) sides of the island.

You're spot on. Further research reveals that the temps in Makawao is 5 degrees cooler than sea level.

[Lucywe]

Part of how comfortable that you are is related to how humid it is.
The higher humidity can make it seem more uncomfortable. If you have lived in Hawaii or places like Virginia then you usually get used to the higher humidity. It can become hard to adjust to at first. Feels like a person needs a shower pretty often. With the cost of electricity being so very high, you can't run the A/C all the time, nor do many people have it running at all.

[orangecat]

Depends what area. Lower Pukalani isn't as high up as you would be in Makawao town. Still too hot in the summer. Neither will come to the real comfort of Kula temps - summer days in the upper 70s, max.

Kihei will get the hottest, by the way. Expect summer days in the low 90s each and every day until the crack of winter comes around.