February 24-25 2006

Air Temperatures — The following maximum temperatures were recorded across Hawaii Friday:

Lihue, Kauai – 75F
Honolulu, Oahu – 79
Kaneohe, Oahu – 75
Kahului, Maui – 81
Hilo, Hawaii – 76
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii – 80

Temperatures early Saturday morning ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level at the 5 a.m. hour:

Lihue, Kauai – 71
Kahului airport – 67

Precipitation Totals — The following numbers represent the largest precipitation totals during the last 24 hours (as of Saturday morning) on each of the major islands, including:

1.48 WAILUA, KAUAI
0.96 ST. STEPHENS, OAHU
0.08 MOLOKAI
0.05 LANAI
0.00 KAHOOLAWE
0.32 WEST WAILUAIKI, MAUI
0.27 HONAUNAU, BIG ISLAND

Weather Chart — Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map…showing a strong high pressure system far NNW of the islands. This high has an elongated ridge running from its center SE to near the islands. At the same time we have a pair of lows, one to the east, and another to the west, with our light NE winds from the ridge squeezing through the lows. This will give us mostly light trade wind breezes….gradually becoming SE and strengthening into Monday. 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 only available during the daylight hours here in the islands…that is unless there’s a big moon rising just after sunset for an hour or two!

Satellite Images — To view the cloud conditions we have here in Hawaii, please use the following satellite links, starting off with the Infrared Satellite Imageof the islands to see all the clouds around the state. This next satellite image is one that gives close images of the islands only during the daytime hours, and is referred to as a Close-up visible satellite image. The next satellite 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 radar image.

Aloha Paragraphs


Windward Oahu
Photo: Douglas Peebles

The Hawaiian Islands will see increasing high cirrus clouds Friday into the weekend. The latest weather maps shows the islands still sandwiched between low pressure centers to our east and west. At the same time, we find a strong high pressure system located far to the NW of Hawaii. This pressure configuration will provide mostly light NE winds blowing Friday, gradually becoming easterly on Saturday.


The net result will be cloudy weather, with a few passing showers along our windward coasts and slopes. The leeward sides will see no such showery clouds passing by. As a matter of fact, those south and west facing coasts will continue to see fairly nice weather conditions, albeit it rather cloudy, into the weekend. The warmest beaches in those areas will see air temperatures rising into the middle 80F’s…which isn’t too bad for winter!


The computer forecast models keep this cloudy outlook going through Saturday, and probably into the first part of Sunday. At that point, things begin to look changeable.  They suggest that a rather prolonged, and rather widespread rainy period starting Sunday, and continuing off and on through most of next week…accompanied by gusty SE winds. The most likely time for the heaviest showers would be in the Tuesday and Wednesday period.


I suppose the best thing to do at this point, rather than worrying about the weather out into the future, would be to enjoy the great weather we have going on now! That’s always the best policy, because, as we all know very well…the weather can change in unexpected ways. It never does much good to fret about the future, in regards the weather, and well, just about anything in life for that matter. Personally, my philosophy is: expect the best, which seems to work very well for me.


It’s late Friday afternoon here in Kihei, Maui. I just got off work, and am heading over to Kahului. Skies just kept getting more and more cloudy today, most of which consisted of the sun dimming high cirrus clouds. This is likely a preview of the cloudy weather we expect to be around this weekend…leading to possible off and on showers for much of next week. I’ll likely stop by Borders Books for a short time, and then head over to the Maui Arts and Cultural Center, the MACC for short. There’s an exciting Snowboarding film called First Descent. It promises mind-boggling footage of hard-core snow boarders trying to stay ahead of an Alaskan avalanche, which they set off. This is just one of the unreal sequences in this rebellious, inspiring documentary on the rise of snow boarding through the eyes of the sports pioneers and current phenomenons. I hope you have a good Friday night! I’ll be back Saturday morning with more weather updates, and with new information about the possible upcoming inclement weather conditions that are heading our way. Aloha for now…Glenn