Hawaiian Islands Weather Details & Aloha Paragraphs / January 16-17, 2016

Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures (F) were recorded across the state of Hawaii Saturday…along with the minimums Saturday:

80 – 62  Lihue, Kauai
80 – 65  Honolulu, Oahu
81 – 57  Molokai
82 – 59  Kahului AP, Maui
85 – 59  Hilo, Hawaii

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

0.03  Lihue, Kauai
0.10  St. Stephens, Oahu
0.62  Molokai
0.00  Lanai
0.00  Kahoolawe
0.01  Hana AP, Maui
0.03  South Point, Big Island

The following numbers represent the strongest wind gusts (mph)…as of Saturday evening:

16  Mana, Kauai – NW
15  Kuaokala, Oahu – NNE
09  Molokai – NW
12  Lanai – NE
13  Kahoolawe – SE
17  Maalaea Bay, Maui – NNE
17  Upolu AP, Big Island – NE

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.

Aloha Paragraphs

All the winter storms remain to our north

Here’s a wind profile…of the offshore waters
around the islands – with a closer view

A frontal cloud band has recently fallen apart over the state…
although is still holding together marginally

The faint remnants of a cold front over Maui

Barely any showers – looping radar image


High Surf Warning…north and west shores Kauai, Oahu and
Molokai, and the north shore to Maui

Small Craft Advisory…most coastal and channel waters

~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~

Slightly cooler north to northwest breezes…becoming light and variable again soon. Here’s the latest weather map, showing the Hawaiian Islands, and the rest of the North Pacific Ocean. We find high pressure systems to our west and far east-northeast…with a connecting ridge over Kauai. Meanwhile, we see a powerful storm low pressure system to our north, in the Gulf of Alaska. There are other storms to the south of the Gulf, and to the north of our islands, one of which has an associated cold front moving by to the north of the state. A brief period of somewhat cooler north to northeasterly breezes has arrived, although isn’t helping to ventilate the long lasting volcanic haze (vog). Lighter winds will return Sunday into the early part of the new week, which will keep volcanic haze over us. The models then show a period of trade winds arriving later next week, in the wake of another weak cold front, which should finally help to sweep the haze away.

Dry and stable atmospherics over the islands…will keep showers to a bare minimum. We can expect clear and cooler than normal early mornings through the next several days. Daytime heating of the islands will prompt clouds to form over and around the islands during the late morning through early evening hours. Looking ahead, yet another weak cold front will approach our area by Tuesday or Wednesday. As light to moderate trade winds return during the middle of next week, there should be some modest increase in windward showers. There are still no signs of a stronger cold front, which would finally bring more substantial moisture our way. All of the above continues to point the finger towards our strong El Nino winter conditions. All of the storms will continue to streak by far to our north, leaving us high and dry for the most part. We’ll be hearing more and more about drought conditions as we move forward.

Here in Maui County…We have mostly clear skies early Saturday morning before sunrise…with still some low level volcanic haze still in the air. What I mean is that the top one third of the West Maui Mountains is clear, with still vog covering the bottom two thirds. Here in upcountry Kula we have an air temperature of 45.8 F degrees at 625am. The temperature was 61 degrees down near sea level in Kahului, with 64 out in Hana…and 43 atop the Haleakala Crater at the same time. Meanwhile, Kahoolawe’s highest elevation was reporting 68 degrees, with 60 degrees at Lanai City, and 58 at the Molokai airport. / Lovely day so far, other than that persistent vog

– It’s 1240pm Saturday afternoon, and the vog is terribly thick again! The light winds are prompting clouds to develop over the islands, thanks in large part to daytime.

– 6pm Saturday evening, still very hazy, rapidly clearing clouds. I’ve been invited up to Jeff and Svetlana’s house for a Russian dinner this evening, lots of folks there…social outing of the week for sure. / Now at 925pm, under clear skies, the air temperature here in Kula was 51.8 degrees, while near the same time in Kahului…it was a warmer 74 degrees.

I’ll be back with many more updates on all of the above and below, I hope you have a great Saturday night wherever you’re spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn

Friday Evening Film: There are so many good films out, several of which I want to see, like Carol, Room, Joy, 13 hours, The Revenant. These all look like winners to me, and I look forward to gradually seeing all of them…I hope they stick around. Tonight I’m going to see one called The Hateful 8, by Quentin Tarantino, which looks pretty heavy, although it’s being called a comedy. This western stars Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tim Roth, Demian Bichir, Walton Goggins, Channing Tatum, and Zoe Bell…among many others. The synopsis: set after the Civil War, a stagecoach hurtles through the wintry Wyoming landscape. The passengers, bounty hunter John Ruth and his fugitive Daisy Domergue, race towards the town of Red Rock where Ruth, known in these parts as “The Hangman,” will bring Domergue to justice.

Along the road, they encounter two strangers: Major Marquis Warren, a black former union soldier turned infamous bounty hunter, and Chris Mannix, a southern renegade who claims to be the town’s new Sheriff. Losing their lead in the blizzard, Ruth, Domergue, Warren and Mannix seek refuge at Minnie’s Haberdashery, a stagecoach stopover on a mountain pass. When they arrive at Minnie’s, they are greeted not by the proprietor but by four unfamiliar faces. Bob, who’s taking care of Minnie’s while she’s visiting her mother, is holed up with Oswaldo Mobray, the hangman of Red Rock, cow-puncher Joe Gage, and Confederate General Sanford Smithers. As the storm overtakes the mountainside stopover, our eight travelers come to learn they may not make it to Red Rock after all…

I ended up going to see this with my friends Jeff and Svetlana. It was a long almost three hour film, although I never once felt it was slow, or that it was too long. Jeff and I both very much liked this film, while Svetlana was a bit less enthusiastic. As is often the case with Tarantino films, it was full of violence and bloody scenes…to say the least! Profanity was fast and furious, with people falling to the floor left and right. Thus, it isn’t a film for everyone, although for those of who can handle the brutality, it’s a winner. The film takes place in the snowy mountains of the west, the perfect setting for this highly entertaining film with a classic music score. The characters were great, giving what I thought were outstanding performances…stunning at times. As for grades, Jeff and I came down somewhere between an A and A-, while Svetlana withheld her score, even with our mild coaxing. Here’s the trailer in case you want to get a sneak peek.

World-wide tropical cyclone activity:

>>> Atlantic Ocean: The last regularly scheduled Tropical Weather Outlook of the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season…has occurred. Routine issuance of the Tropical Weather Outlook will resume on June 1, 2016. During the off-season, Special Tropical Weather Outlooks will be issued if conditions warrant. Here’s the 2015 hurricane season summary

Here’s a satellite image of the Atlantic Ocean

>>> Caribbean Sea: The last regularly scheduled Tropical Weather Outlook of the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season…has occurred. Routine issuance of the Tropical Weather Outlook will resume on June 1, 2016. During the off-season, Special Tropical Weather Outlooks will be issued if conditions warrant.

>>> Gulf of Mexico: The last regularly scheduled Tropical Weather Outlook of the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season…has occurred. Routine issuance of the Tropical Weather Outlook will resume on June 1, 2016. During the off-season, Special Tropical Weather Outlooks will be issued if conditions warrant.

Here’s a satellite image of the Caribbean Sea…and the Gulf of Mexico

Here’s the link to the National Hurricane Center (NHC)

>>> Eastern Pacific: The last regularly scheduled Tropical Weather Outlook of the 2015 North Pacific hurricane season…has occurred. Routine issuance of the Tropical Weather Outlook will resume on May 15, 2016. During the off-season, Special Tropical Weather Outlooks will be issued if conditions warrant. Here’s the 2015 hurricane season summary

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

Here’s the link to the National Hurricane Center (NHC)

>>> Central Pacific: The central north Pacific hurricane season has officially ended. Routine issuance of the tropical weather outlook will resume on June 1, 2016. During the off-season, special tropical weather outlooks will be issued if conditions warrant. Here’s the 2015 hurricane season summary

Here’s a link to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC)