March 9-10 2006

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

Lihue, Kauai – 75F
Honolulu, Oahu – 77
Kaneohe, Oahu – 77
Kahului, Maui – 82 
Hilo, Hawaii – 74
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii – 82

Temperatures early Friday morning ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level at the 4 a.m. hour:

Kailua-kona – 75
Hilo airport – 67

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

8.62 MOUNT WAIALEALE, KAUAI
8.25 POAMOHO 2, OAHU
0.07 MOLOKAI
0.00 LANAI
0.04 KAHOOLAWE
2.41 KAUPO GAP, MAUI
6.29 GLENWOOD, BIG ISLAND

Weather Chart — Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map…showing a strong 1038 millibar high pressure system to the NNE of the islands. At the same time, we find a deep storm low to the NW of the islands. The interaction between these two weather features will keep SE to ESE winds blowing across our area today and Saturday…locally strong and gusty. 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 animated radar image.

Aloha Paragraphs



Big surf on outrigger canoe
Printsellers.com 


The islands are in store for off and on rain through Friday. Some of this precipitation will be locally heavy, with thunderstorms not out of the realm of possibilities. This particular set of weather circumstances often leads to flooding, which had already begun during the day Wednesday, into Thursday. At this time, it appears that the Big Island and the island of Oahu and Kauai have the greatest threat of those heaviest, most prolonged showers. Although anywhere in the state could see rain, some of which could be gully washers!


The computer forecast models have been “right on” in predicting this wet weather episode. Actually they started pointing out this increase in showers last week. Looking at the latest weather maps, we find a strong 1042 millibar high pressure system to the north of the state. At the same time we find a low pressure system to the NW of Hawaii. The interaction between these two systems are causing a deep layer of rich tropical moisture to flow into the state on brisk SE to ESE winds. This stream of cloudiness is providing the copious rainfall.


Meanwhile, the low to our NW has an associated trough of low pressure, which extends southward, now located to the west of Hawaii. The relatively close proximity of this trough is helping to destabilize our local atmosphere. This simply means that whatever showers that are around, are being enhanced, or coaxed to drop heavier showers than would be the case without the trough around. The dynamics will remain ripe for locally heavy rain through Friday. We’ll see variably cloudy skies, although there may be a few breaks in the otherwise cloudy weather…along not many!


This low will begin to move away later Friday, which will be good news for those flood prone areas around the state. As this happens, we’ll see the return of trade winds. This will be a good thing for the leeward sides of the islands, as we should begin to see improving weather this weekend. The windward sides however may continue to see passing shower activity, with some form of wet trade winds continuing into early next week. The latest forecast models suggest that we’ll see a favorable trade wind weather pattern sticking around well into next week…that is once it starts.


It’s early Thursday evening here in Kula, Maui, as I start this evening’s sunset commentary. Looking at the latest satellite imagery, and this looping radar picture too, it becomes immediately apparent that we have lots of clouds around, and that some of them are dumping locally heavy rainfall! The island of Kauai, at the moment, is under the greatest threat, although Oahu and the Big Island aren’t too far behind in that regard. The islands of Maui County, seem to be sandwiched between all the rain to the NW and to the SE. This happened last week too, with not a lot of rain falling on Maui. That is, other than around the Kaupo Gap area, out along the remote SE flank of the Haleakala Crater. As I look out of my weather tower windows, all I see is clouds, and hazy conditions too, as Thursday quickly draws to an end…with little fanfare, at least in terms of a sunset. There’s no wind, dead calm actually, with not a drop of rain falling here in the upcountry area of east Maui. Those folks on the other islands have a different reality going on, and I want to send good luck to those in the more rainy areas! I’ll be back early Friday morning with the next narrative, I trust we will all have a pleasant night. Aloha for now…Glenn.

P.S. we continue to have more businesses signing up for the list of links on the left hand margin…there’s more about that offer just below:

New Feature: This website receives between 6,000 and 12,000+ page impressions per day, depending upon the weather and the season. As of early Friday morning, March’s total visitor count to this website has been 86,822. I’ve set up a way that we can have a link go from this popular website, directly to yours. It may be a great way to increase traffic to your own webpage. This offer is available for $50 per month, with a three month minimum. That makes three months of exposure to your business, or even your own personal webpage, for just $150…which is a great way to highlight your website to folks who may already be interested in almost anything Hawaiian. Please email me, or leave a message in the reply box below, if you have some interest in this proposal. A link to your site will be displayed along the left hand margin of all the pages on this website, in alphabetical order.