May 31 – June 1 2006

Aloha Paragraphs



Island Hula Girl…

The trade winds will get a bit lighter now through Friday across the Hawaiian Islands. They won’t stop altogether, but will soften for a few days. This suggests that our local air mass will begin to feel a little more warm and muggy during the days, especially down along the coasts. A high pressure ridge, which is often further north this time of year, is being suppressed southward by low pressure systems now evident in the mid-latitudes of the central north Pacific. This will be a temporary situation however, as by the weekend the ridge will bounce northward, bringing a stronger brand of trade winds back over us. This in turn will return a more robust cooling and refreshing trade wind flow across our islands…lasting through next week at least.

Meanwhile, the overlying atmosphere is very dry and stable. This will set the stage for not only lighter trade winds, but also limiting precipitation greatly. Most rain gauges will remain completely dry, with only the windward coasts and slopes perhaps catching a few light showers or sprinkles. The one exception will be the Kona slopes on the Big Island, where the coffee plantations may find a few light showers falling too. As the trade winds get a kick start this weekend, we should see a modest increase in shower activity…back into what we would consider the normal range. The passing windward showers will continue to arrive off and on through next week. There are no organized rain makers on the weather horizon at this time.

It’s early Wednesday evening here in Upcountry Kula, Maui. I can tell by the number of you accessing this website, that weather interest fades when we get towards the summer season. I must admit that it’s a great feeling when I see the number of hits per day swelling to near 20,000, when some extraordinary weather event happens! Although, I just keep punching away, day by day, rain or shine, keeping these webpages updated…as is my professional and spiritual practice. It’s not the number of people who logon to my site that keeps me going, it’s the weather itself. It’s these precious moments, like now, when the late day sun peeks through the overcast, and floods the inside of my weather tower with the last few rays of the day. I enjoy too finding fun pictures to share with you, which adds a certain flair above and beyond the pure weather information you can find on the NWS weather pages. The sun is setting so much later now, at least compared to the deep winter months, when it would have been dark already in December and January into February. I’ve never been able to decide which I prefer, as early and late sunsets both give me a thrill. It was yet another good day here in Hawaii, another good day of work under my belt, and good relations with all the people that I interacted with…starting off with you website readers early in this morning. Speaking of which, I’ll be back very early in the morning Thursday, and would be flattered to have you visit again then! Aloha for now…Glenn.

May 30 – 31 2006

Aloha Paragraphs



Keanae…along the Hana coast of east Maui

A fairly normal trade wind weather pattern will continue to bring relatively dry weather to the Hawaiian Islands. A moderately strong high pressure system, located far to the ENE will remain in position through the next several days at least. This trade wind producing high pressure cell has a ridge of high pressure extending from its western flank, which extends west to a location about 350 miles north of Oahu early Tuesday morning. This ridge will bring us light to moderately strong trade winds, which will get stronger after mid-week into the weekend. Forecast charts show these trade winds extending well into next week.

Satellite imagery shows lots of low level stratocumulus clouds well upstream of the islands, over 1000 miles in fact. These clouds are of the more or less flat variety, which aren’t dropping many showers. As a matter of fact, with a rather low temperature inversion, which is capping vertical cloud growth…there will be very few showers, and most of those will be very light. Looking back during the last 24 hours, most rain gauges across the Aloha state remained dry as a bone. There were a couple of spots that received a light showering, but less than a .10” even there. These drier than normal conditions are expected to continue through much of the upcoming week.

It’s early Tuesday evening here in Kula, Maui. I know it’s not summer yet, but you could have fooled me today, as it sure seemed like a genuine summer day across Hawaii. It was about as close to being a summer day that you could find, while still being late spring! The official start of our 2006 summer season is still about three weeks away. Although all the pieces were in place for what we could call an unofficial summer day I suppose. We had our first tropical storm, named Aletta, form over in the eastern Pacific this past weekend…which has since dissipated into a tropical disturbance. Everything is warm now, certainly the air temperatures during days, and the ocean is warming quickly too, under the plentiful Hawaiian sunshine beaming straight down these days. When I left Kihei after work, it there was sunshine galore, although as I made my way home, I encountered fairly heavy duty clouds hugging the slopes of the Haleakala Crater. The overlying air mass is so dry though, that I didn’t have the pleasure of having the impact of even one small raindrop on my window the whole way. I hope you have a great Tuesday night, wherever you happen to be spending it. I’ll of course be back early Wednesday morning with the next weather narrative from paradise. I have to tell you this, as I’m a one man show, unlike the many folks who populate the National Weather Service forecast office in Honolulu, who work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Aloha for now…Glenn.

May 29 – 30 2006

Here’s a Weather Map Symbol page for clarification about what all those funny weather symbols mean.

Hawaii’s Mountains – Here’s a link to the live webcam on the summit of near 14,000 foot Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii. The tallest peak on the island of Maui is the Haleakala Crater, which is near 10,000 feet in elevation. These two webcams are available during the daylight hours here in the islands…and when there’s a big moon rising just after sunset for an hour or two! Plus, during the nights and early mornings you will be able to see stars, and the sunrise too…depending upon cloud conditions.

Satellite Images – To view the cloud conditions we have here in Hawaii, please use the following satellite links, starting off with the Infrared Satellite Image of the islands to see all the clouds around the state during the day and night. This next image is one that gives close images of the islands only during the daytime hours, and is referred to as a Close-up visible image. This next image shows a larger view of the Pacific…giving perspective to the wider ranging cloud patterns in the Pacific Ocean…out from the islands. To help you keep track of where any showers may be around the islands, here’s the latest animated radar image.

Aloha Paragraphs



Waikoloa Beach on the Big Island

A high pressure system to the NE of the islands, with its associated high pressure ridge, now 300 miles to our north…will keep the trade winds blowing. The windward sides will see just a few passing showers, most of which will be light, falling during the night and early morning hours. The leeward sides will continue to be sunny during the days, as they have been this past week. All things considered, our weather will be fine, with a typical trade wind weather pattern continuing well into the upcoming week.

It’s early Monday evening here in Kula, Maui. It’s been another pleasant day here on Maui, with what I’d call very cooperative weather for all outdoor activities…which will carry forth into Tuesday. I want to add my memory to the collective memory, in regards to all the good men and women, the lost soldiers of past and present wars, who are no longer with us in body…living now “in the experience” of surviving friends and family. I just finished an unusual book, called Hell’s Angels, The strange and terrible Saga of the Outlaw Motorcycle Gang, written by Hunter S. Thompson. Interestingly enough, the Angels clashed with the peace activests during the Vietnam War. I certainly wouldn’t want to recommend the reading of this book, although I must admit, it was very entertaining writing from inside the ranks of this infamous gang of riders. A friend from work gave me a couple of cigars, which I don’t smoke. Although, and in conjunction with a vodka tonic, watching the sunset…I’ve lit that thing up and am puffing on it outside on the weather deck! At any rate, as some of you know, I was involved in the Vietnam conflict, after being drafted, and am celebrating being alive after many close brushes with death myself. I wish everyone well, just as a ping pong partner showed up from next door, so you know what I’ll be doing as soon as I plant this final period Aloha for now…Glenn.

 

May 28 – 29 2006

Here’s a Weather Map Symbol page for clarification about what all those funny weather symbols mean.

Hawaii’s Mountains – Here’s a link to the live webcam on the summit of near 14,000 foot Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii. The tallest peak on the island of Maui is the Haleakala Crater, which is near 10,000 feet in elevation. These two webcams are available during the daylight hours here in the islands…and when there’s a big moon rising just after sunset for an hour or two! Plus, during the nights and early mornings you will be able to see stars, and the sunrise too…depending upon cloud conditions.

Satellite Images – To view the cloud conditions we have here in Hawaii, please use the following satellite links, starting off with the Infrared Satellite Image of the islands to see all the clouds around the state during the day and night. This next image is one that gives close images of the islands only during the daytime hours, and is referred to as a Close-up visible image. This next image shows a larger view of the Pacific…giving perspective to the wider ranging cloud patterns in the Pacific Ocean…out from the islands. To help you keep track of where any showers may be around the islands, here’s the latest animated radar image.

Aloha Paragraphs




North shore of Kauai


South Point on the Big Island

A high pressure system to the NE of the islands, with its associated high pressure ridge to our north, has brought back the trade winds. These cooling and refreshing breezes will whisk away whatever haze that has accumulated, and the rather muggy weather that we had been dealing with earlier in the week. The windward sides will see the return of a few passing showers, most of which will be light, falling during the night and early morning hours. The leeward sides will continue to be sunny during the days, as they have been this past week. The latest satellite images show some high cirrus clouds coming up from the deeper tropics, which will filter and dim our Hawaiian sunshine in some measure now. Otherwise, our weather looks fine, with a typical trade wind weather pattern continuing well into the upcoming week.

It’s early Sunday evening here in Kula, Maui. It’s generally been a cloudier than normal late May day. An extensive field of lower level stratocumulus clouds extends well upstream to the NE through east. This fairly dry reality, other than some drizzle or light showers along the windward sides, will continue through the Memorial Day holiday, from one end of the Aloha state to the other. This would stretch your mind’s eye from the north shore of Kauai, down through the chain to South Point on the Big Island. Before I forget to do so, I want to add my memory to the collective memory, in regards all the good men and women, the lost soldiers of past and present wars, who are no longer with us in body…living now “in the experience” of surviving friends and family. In the moment, my wind chimes are singing sweetly, so softly, along with the tweeting songs birds make as they fly by just outside my weather tower. A gray cat friend is lounging out on the deck, under the ping pong table. I was talking with my Mom, Dad, and little sister Janet on the phone today. They sounded so cheerful and upbeat, that it made me want to fly back home for another quick visit. Because I’m so aware of air temperatures, I’d just love to share them with you, like offering a shot of espresso, a glass of lemon aid, warm shot of old Tequila, a tall glass of Maui upcountry water (filtered of course), maybe a very tasty glass of red wine…or a red rose. Oh, it’s 67.6F at 545pm outside, and a warmer 75F degrees inside. On this note of the chimes, I’m going to head to the sunset, watch it slowly sink down into the clouds over the West Maui Mountains. Bye for now, Aloha…Glenn.

May 27 – 28 2006

Here’s a Weather Map Symbol page for clarification about what all those funny weather symbols mean.

Hawaii’s Mountains – Here’s a link to the live webcam on the summit of near 14,000 foot Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii. The tallest peak on the island of Maui is the Haleakala Crater, which is near 10,000 feet in elevation. These two webcams are available during the daylight hours here in the islands…and when there’s a big moon rising just after sunset for an hour or two! Plus, during the nights and early mornings you will be able to see stars, and the sunrise too…depending upon cloud conditions.

Satellite Images – To view the cloud conditions we have here in Hawaii, please use the following satellite links, starting off with the Infrared Satellite Image of the islands to see all the clouds around the state during the day and night. This next image is one that gives close images of the islands only during the daytime hours, and is referred to as a Close-up visible image. This next image shows a larger view of the Pacific…giving perspective to the wider ranging cloud patterns in the Pacific Ocean…out from the islands. To help you keep track of where any showers may be around the islands, here’s the latest animated radar image.

Aloha Paragraphs


West Mau Mountains from offshore

Weather maps of the north central Pacific, where Hawaii is, look more like winter than they do almost summer. A very late season gale low pressure system is located to the NW of the islands. This gale has a cold front wrapped around its center, which has pushed to within 400 miles of here. This cold front won’t get any closer, and certainly won’t bring any rain to our area.

The ridge is moving northward now, which is allowing the trade winds to fill back into the state. As we move deeper into this holiday weekend, especially by Sunday and the actual holiday on Monday…the low pressure system to our NW will be long gone. This in turn has allowed the high pressure ridge to shift northward, which has brought back the trade winds. These cooling and refreshing breezes will whisk away whatever haze that has accumulated, and the rather muggy weather that we had been dealing with too. The windward sides will see the return of a few passing showers, most of which will be light, falling during the nights. The leeward sides will continue to be sunny during the days, as they have been this past week.

It’s early Saturday evening here in Kula, Maui. It’s about half an hour before sunset, with lots of warm sunshine flooding into my weather tower at the moment. The air temperature inside the tower is a warm 78F degrees, while outside in the shade, the true temperature is a cooler 67F. At the same time, the Kahului airport (3,000 feet down the mountain) was reporting an even warmer 79F…which tied the other warmest spots of Lihue on Kauai, and Kona on the Big Island. We are entering into what looks like a rather prolonged period of trade winds. This is good news, that is if you like warm weather with little in the way of showery weather. The few showers that we find falling will focus their efforts best along the windward coasts and slopes. I have a friend coming over to visit, and she has been kind enough to make fresh Vietnamese spring rolls, and is bringing a bit of fresh Ahi tuna too, called Sashimi. We may take a quick walk around the area before we sit down for a bite to eat. I’m definitely in the mood to play some ping pong on my table out on the weather deck, but alas, no one to play with at the moment. It’s been a nice day here in the islands, and with two full days still ahead, I’m certainly enjoying this long holiday weekend! I trust you are groovin’ along in your life as well, and that you will have a great Saturday night. Aloha for now…Glenn.

May 24 – 25 2006

Aloha Paragraphs


Beautiful sunset in Hawaii

A period of lighter than normal winds will prevail across the Hawaiian Island for the time being. An area of low pressure to the NW of the Aloha state, along with its associated cold front, will keep a high pressure ridge close to our area through Friday. This close proximity of the ridge is what’s keeping the trade winds from blowing, as they normally would this time of year. We’ll see the air flow coming from the ESE or SE over the open ocean. Although as the winds spread around the Big Island and Maui, most of the state will be in a wind shadow…with sea breezes during the days, and land breezes at night.

The sun is directly overhead here in Hawaii now, which is called Lahaina noon. All this insolation (incoming solar radiation), combined with the lighter winds now, will result in the atmosphere feeling very warm…and locally humid. The high temperature in Kahului, Maui hit a very warm 87F degrees Tuesday. Everywhere at sea level, rose to at least 80F degrees Tuesday, and would have been higher were it not for the afternoon cloud cover than limited the maximum temperatures. The nights will be locally cooler than usual, so that overnight temperatures will dip into the 60F’s at most sea level locations.

When the winds get this light, we often call it a convective weather pattern. This means that mornings will often be quite clear, with the sunshine heating up the surface of the islands. This in turn sets up rising air currents, leading to late morning through afternoon cloud developments over and around the mountains. These afternoon cumulus clouds can drop showers, often leaving the coasts quite sunny and dry. This light wind convective pattern will last through Friday, and will give us fairly decent weather conditions…especially along the beaches.

The latest weather models show the low pressure system to our NW moving away by the weekend. This will allow high pressure to build again to the north of the islands. This will bring back the trade winds, blowing in the light to moderately strong range then into next week. As the trades starting blowing, we’ll settle back into a normal trade wind weather pattern. This implies that there will be lots of warm to very warm Hawaiian sunshine around on the leeward beaches. The windward sides of the islands will find the return of passing showers at times…mostly during the night and early morning hours.

It’s early Wednesday evening here in Kula, Maui, just before sunset. It remained quite sunny most of the day down near the ocean, a very nice day indeed. As the day wore on, the clouds stacked-up over and around the mountains, progressively getting darker and more threatening in appearance. As I was driving up the mountain towards Kula, I finally ran into a few sprinkles, although never enough to turn my wiper blades on. The winds were light again today, although there was some relief from the heat, which came in the form of onshore flowing sea breezes…at least right down on the beaches. When I went by the beach at lunch, I could see that the ocean had that lovely bluish green color to it, making it almost irresistable! The sun just poked out of the cloudsjust now, giving a quick blast of yellow sun rays…which are flooding the inside of my weather tower at the moment. A nearby mockingbird, one of my favorite singers in this area, is trilling at least a dozen different tunes. Now my wind chimes are singing out too, it’s quite a nice coming together of all the elements that make this life so interesting. My ping pong table, with the sun shining on it, shows all the rain drops that previously fell, although they have stopped their descent now. Life is good on this Wednesday evening here in Upcountry Maui. I hope you have a lovely Wednesday night, and that you will join me here again early Thursday morning. At that time I’ll have new weather words waiting for you. Aloha for now…Glenn.

May 23 – 24 2006

Aloha Paragraphs


Calm tropical seas

An area of low pressure far NW of the islands, near the International Dateline, will start having some influence here in the islands now. It has been weakening and pushing our trade wind producing high pressure system southward. Our local trade wind speeds will really be on the decline now, with the air flow gradually swinging around to the SE direction. This change will be moving us from a fairly routine trade wind weather pattern, into what we call a convective weather pattern. This simply means that whatever showers that around, will stop falling over the windward sides, and shift to over and around the mountains during the afternoon hours.

Typically during the second half of the month of May, we would see steady trade winds blowing across our latitudes of the north central Pacific. Those trade winds are going to take a break through the rest of this work week. SE winds, as they come into the islands, find themselves blocked by the Big Island and Maui. This produces what we call island blocking, with the net result being, that much of the state finds itself in a wind shadow. These light winds can give rise to warm and humid conditions, with even the possibility of volcanic haze being carried NW from the Big Island, over the smaller islands…especially over Maui County.

As mentioned above, the bias for showers will be over the interior upcountry areas now. The days will usually start off nice and clear, and slightly cool for this time of year. As the sun gets higher in the sky, the daytime heating of the islands cause air currents to begin rising in the late mornings through the afternoons. Whatever moisture that is rising in those thermals of air, cool and condense into clouds. These afternoon clouds will likely drop some showers in places…some of which may be briefly heavy. When the sun goes down and the air cools, the clouds will collapse…we return to clear skies at night. This pattern will remain active through Friday.

As the weekend rolls around, the low pressure system will shot off to the NE. This will allow the high pressure system, which has been suppressed southward near our islands, to migrate northward again. This will prompt the trade winds to fill back into the Hawaiian Island weather picture. As the cool and refreshing trades make their return, the muggy weather will come to an end. The focus for showers will shift back over to the windward sides, and we’ll slide back into a more normal trade wind weather pattern again then…continuing into the following week.

It’s early Tuesday evening here in Kula, Maui. Wind speeds took a tumble today in most areas in Hawaii. It brought a peaceful reality to our fair islands, as opposed to the noiser sounds of fresh trade winds blowing. The ocean too, like the picture above, smoothed out significantly. I flew to Honolulu this morning, and then right back to Maui early this afternoon. I am always amazed at the endless variety of human beings, as I watched them walking by at the Honolulu and Maui airports. I am definitely a people watching kind of person, I think it comes from watching the weather so much, it just feels natural to look at everything. When I asked the lady at the airport for a taxi, to take me the University of Hawaii, actually the East West Center, where my meeting was, I was surprised to find a super long stretch limo pull up to the curb! She swung the door open for me and said “University of Hawaii, Aloha.” I can see why big time celebraties, and rock stars, surround themselves with lots of people…as it’s kind of lonely in the back of that very long back seat. There was a bar in there, and these little blue lights on the roof (inside), that were suppose to look like stars I think. At any rate, it was very interesting, and had me dreaming briefly that people on the freeway, driving into town, wanted to see through the dark windows, to see who the big shot was in there! Although they would have been disappointed I’m sure, as it was just little ol’ me in there! Slash – the sunset is going to be nice in a few minutes. I’m listening to a series of Beatles songs on internet radio…Lucy in the Sky just now. I hope you have a great Tuesday night, and that you will meet me here again early Wednesday morning for the next weather narrative, from these light winded islands in Hawaii. Aloha for now…Glenn.

May 22 – 23 2006

Aloha Paragraphs


Lighter winds on the way…

The long lasting trade wind weather regime is starting to go through some changes. The strong high pressure system, which was weighing-in at 1037 millibars Sunday, has dropped down to 1027 millibars Monday. This indicates that our local trade wind speeds will be on the decline now. The latest computer forecast models suggest that our recent gusty trade winds will continue taking a “nose dive” in strength through mid-week. As we get into the Thursday through Friday time frame, they may turn direction to the SE.

It will be very unusual for our local winds to be anything but trade winds this late in the spring season! Stranger things have happened of course, but this would not be a common occurrence. As the winds come down in strength, it will have several influences in our local weather. the bias for showers will remain fixed upon the windward coasts and slopes for the time being. However, as the winds get lighter Tuesday and Wednesday, we’ll see an increase in afternoon cloud buildups over and around the mountains.

As the trade wind producing high pressure system gets weaker, it will also be moving southward. Late season gales and troughs of low pressure will be dominating the middle latitudes to the north of the islands. This will help to weaken the high pressure system into an even weaker ridge of high pressure. During the second half of this week, the ridge will be pushed down right over the Aloha state. This will make our local winds not only have a SE orientation, but also get very light.

Light winds, coupled with the high heat of this late spring period, may cause some very warm and muggy weather to settle in over Hawaii. We may also see quite a bit of haze too, which may consist of at least some vog (volcanic haze) coming up over the state from the Big Island. It doesn’t look like this will lead to any excessive shower activity, although there may very well be some showers at times during these fairly rare weather circumstances. The words warm and muggy will definitely be the key words for a few days though, especially during the second half of this work week.

The computer forecast models go on to show the trade winds returning this coming weekend. This is good news, as the humid weather will be pushed out of our area by the returning trade breezes. These cooling and refreshing winds will feel very good when they fill back into our Hawaiian Island weather picture. The trade winds will usher in drier air, and bring back their moderating influence from the heat. If we can trust climatology, we would expect the trade winds to blow through the rest of the month into early June.

By the way, here’s the 2006 hurricane season outlook for the Central north Pacific: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Central Pacific Hurricane Center in Honolulu expects two to three tropical cyclones in the central Pacific basin in 2006, a slightly below average season. In a typical year, four to five tropical cyclones will form or cross into the area, according to National Weather Service hurricane experts, with two storms reaching hurricane intensity.

It’s early Monday evening here in Kula, Maui…just as the sun is setting behind a collection of cumulus clouds over the West Maui Mountains. It was a good day from a weather perspective, with lots of sunshine beaming down between the periodic cloudy periods. It was a bit challenging in terms of technology for this Maui Weatherman. My home computer, and the computer at the Maui Community College, the one I use to do my TV weather show…were both on the blink. It’s interesting to witness how things can just go haywire sometimes, and I would be the first to admit that I’m no computer genius. At any rate, just at the last minute, the staff at the college hooked up a different computer, and the show went on in time. As for my home computer, all I needed was some fresh batteries. So, the trouble has passed, at least this time around. I fly to Honolulu early Tuesday morning for a quick meeting at the National Weather Service office. I’ll take a flight back to Maui, and be back at the Pacific Disaster Center around 230pm…catch up on some work then. I hope you have a great Monday night! I’ll be here early Tuesday morning with the next weather narrative. Aloha for now…Glenn.

May 21 – 22 2006

Aloha Paragraphs


The sunset here in Kula was similar to this picture today

The trade winds will remain the dominate weather feature here in the islands Sunday. A high pressure system is now well established to the north of Hawaii, which will be the source of these breezy conditions. Wind speeds will be moderately strong to fresh and gusty this weekend. We have small craft wind advisories issued by the NWS forecast office in Honolulu…covering those windiest parts of the marine environment from Kauai down through the Big Island.

The windward sides will continue to see showers riding in on the brisk winds. I don’t see any organized rainmakers on the weather horizon, other than those occasional bands of clouds arriving along the north and east facing slopes and shores. The leeward sides will remain quite sunny, with dry conditions continuing through the weekend.

The forecast calls for these fresh trade winds to slack-off after the weekend. Thinking in terms of climatology, we would expect that the trade winds would continue at moderately strong levels through the rest of the month. However, the computer models are wanting to turn our winds ESE to SE by the middle of the upcoming week. It certainly seems late in the season to have SE winds blowing, although this year is not what we would consider a normal year weatherwise! So we will see the winds tapering off in strength starting Monday, which would put us into a convective weather pattern, with afternoon clouds and showers over and around the mountains.

It’s early Sunday evening here in Kula, Maui. It’s a soft sunset, with very little distraction from anything other than the natural environment. The birds are taking roost, flying by two by two, a few still singing their praises of this great Sunday in the nearby trees. I sat out on my weather deck and hung out for about half an hour, enjoying the show. I decided to open a Sierra Neveda Pale Ale, and bbq’d some antibiotic free Rosie chicken thighs. I’ll plate that with steamed zucchini, and perhaps a couple of roasted red pepper slices. Life is good, celebrating my good furtune, and my Dad’s improving health. I hope you have a most peaceful Sunday night. How bout we meet here again in the morning, with the west coast three hours ahead of Hawaii time, while the east coast is six hours into the future at least as far as (clock time) is concerned. I’ll have the next narrative ready for your perusal at close to 530am HST. Ka den, laters already. Aloha…Glenn.