Hawaiian Islands Weather details & Aloha Paragraphs / May 20-21, 2013

Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures were recorded across the state of Hawaii Monday:

78  Lihue, Kauai
82  Honolulu, Oahu
77  Molokai
84  Kahului, Maui
84  Kona, Hawaii
81  Hilo, Hawaii

Air Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level – and on the highest mountain tops around the state…as of 810pm Monday evening:

Hana airport, Maui – 68
Hilo, Hawaii – 63

Haleakala Summit –   41 (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea Summit – 34 (13,000+ feet on the Big Island)

Hawaii’s Mountains – Here’s a link to the live web cam on the summit of near 13,800 foot Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii. This web cam is available during the daylight hours here in the islands…and when there’s a big moon shining down during the night at times. Plus, during the nights you will be able to see stars, and the sunrise and sunset too… depending upon weather conditions. Here’s the Haleakala Crater webcam on Maui – if it’s working.

Aloha Paragraphs

High Surf Advisory…south shores – be careful!

Wind Advisory…Big Island summits

Variable winds, showers active at times locally, some
will be quite generous around the eastern islands

The following numbers represent the most recent top wind gusts (mph), along with directions as of Monday evening:

22  Mana, Kauai – NNW
16  Kuaokala, Oahu – WNW
10  Molokai – SE
12  Kahoolawe – SSW
09  Lipoa, Maui – NE
22  South Point, Big Island – WNW

Here are the latest 24-hour precipitation totals (inches) for each of the islands as of Monday evening:

0.61  Kilohana, Kauai
1.61  Bellows AFS, Oahu
0.58  Molokai
0.00  Kahoolawe
0.06  Hana airport, Maui
2.02  Waikii, Big Island

We can use the following links to see what’s going on in our area of the north central Pacific Ocean. Here’s the latest NOAA satellite picture – the latest looping satellite image… and finally the latest looping radar image for the Hawaiian Islands.

~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~

Our local winds will be generally rather light and variable…although stronger in places. Here’s a weather chart showing a dissipating low pressure system just to the north of the islands, with a cold front draped south and southwest over the central islands. The winds will be quite light and variable…although locally stronger, generally from the north through northeast on the west and northwest side of this weakening cold front. It will take until later in this new week, before the trade winds return…towards Thursday or so.

Satellite imagery shows low clouds around the islands, associated with a weak cold front over the central Islands, and the remnant moisture of a trough of low pressure just east of the Big Island. At the same time, we have a small streak of towering cumulus clouds, the brighter white ones, over some areas of the state. Here’s the looping radar image, showing showers over the ocean, and over the islands…particularly around the eastern side of the state. As mentioned in the paragraph above, there’s a weak cold front across the state now, keeping the focus for showers over Maui and the Big Island…especially this afternoon into the early evening hours. Here’s a looping satellite image – showing the counterclockwise rotating low pressure system to our north, along with its associated cold front over Maui…having stalled. It appears that this off and on cloudy/showery weather pattern will last into the middle of this week…especially during the afternoon hours.

A very late season cold front, quite rare for this time of year, has pushed down to near Maui County…and stalled. It’s interesting to see the low pressure to the north of us, shown in the looping satellite image above…which is the parent low for this way out of season cold front over us now. This low pressure system will gradual fill and move away to the north, although it will leave an old trough, and its dissipating cold front over us for another day or two. This in turn will keep showery weather around, and a few of them could still be rather generous. The trade winds are certainly taking their time getting back to us, as this low pressure system to our north is doing a good job of blocking them. Once they start back up around Thursday, they will gain strength into the weekend, and very likely continue right through the following week. The computer models are still suggesting that another upper level low pressure system will track close to us by Saturday, which would enhance any windward showers that around then, more on that soon.   I’ll be back again early Tuesday morning with your next new weather narrative, I hope you have a great Monday night wherever you’re spending it. Aloha for now…Glenn.

World-wide tropical cyclone activity:

Atlantic Ocean/Caribbean Sea: There are no active tropical cyclones / Here’s a link to the National Hurricane Center in Miami…which covers tropical cyclone activity in the Atlantic, Caribbean Sea…and the Gulf of Mexico. The hurricane season in the Atlantic, Caribbean, and the Gulf of Mexico all begin as of June 1.

Gulf of Mexico: There are no active tropical cyclones

Eastern Pacific Ocean: There are no active tropical cyclones  

Here’s a wide satellite image that covers the entire area between Mexico, out through the central Pacific…to the International Dateline.

Central Pacific Ocean: There are no active tropical cyclones / Here’s a link to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC)…covering our central Pacific. The hurricane season in this part of the Pacific begins as of June 1st.

Western Pacific Ocean: There are no active tropical cyclones / Here’s a link to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC), which covers tropical cyclone activity in the western Pacific, and the North and South Indian Ocean…and adjacent Seas.

South Pacific Ocean: There are no active tropical cyclones

North and South Indian Oceans: There are no active tropical cyclones