Lāhainā Noon is upon us. It‘s that time of year where at local noon, any upright object, will have no shadow. This phenomenon only occurs in the tropics because the Sun is never overhead in any other part of the world. For example, even Midway Island is too far north and will not experience the overhead sun. The date of “Lāhainā noon” is dependent on how far north or south you are in the tropics.

The Bishop Museum website explains where the name Lāhainā Noon comes from.

Here in the Islands a term we often use for zenith noon is Lāhainā Noon. This is a modern term, selected by Bishop Museum in a 1990 contest held to select a name for the zenith noon phenomenon. The term “Lā haina” means cruel sun in Hawaiian, and while the sun in the Islands is almost never cruel, it can be pretty intense as it shines directly down from the zenith.

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Lāhainā Noon dates:

Līhuʻe| May 31, 12:35 p.m. | July 11, 12:43 p.m.

Haleʻiwa| May 28, 12:30 p.m. | July 14, 12:38 p.m.

Kāne‘ohe| May 27, 12:28 p.m. | July 16, 12:37 p.m.

Honolulu | May 27, 12:29 p.m. | July 16, 12:38 p.m.

Kaunakakai| May 26, 12:25 p.m. | July 17, 12:34 p.m.

Lāna‘i City| May 24, 12:25 p.m. | July 19, 12:34 p.m.

Lāhainā| May 24, 12:24 p.m. | July 19, 12:33 p.m.

Kahului| May 24, 12:23 p.m. | July 19, 12:32 p.m.

Hāna| May 23, 12:21 p.m. | July 19, 12:30 p.m.

Hilo| May 18, 12:17 p.m. | July 24, 12:27 p.m.

Kailua, Kona| May 18, 12:20 p.m. | July 24, 12:31 p.m.

South Point, Hawai‘i Island| May 15, 12:19 p.m. | July 28, 12:29 p.m.