Question: Does vog reach every main island in the State of Hawaii?

Answer: Yes. Although volcanic emissions from the Kilauea volcano (located on the Big Island) and wind patterns are unpredictable, I can provide a basic understanding of how each of Hawaii's main islands are affected by that substance:

Vog is common in these locations:

• Big Island - West

Vog is uncommon in these locations:

• Big Island - East
• Lanai
• Mauai
• Molokai
• Oahu

Vog rarely reaches these locations:

• Kauai
• Niihau

Vog is uncommon or rare in those locations because Hawaii's normal northeast trade winds either blows Kilauea's vog out to sea, and/or to the western part of the Big Island, but abnormal prolonged periods of southerly winds can blow that substance to the rest of the island chain.

Image credit: Kenneth Lu under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License.