March 11-12 2006

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

Lihue, Kauai – 79F
Honolulu, Oahu – 80
Kaneohe, Oahu – 78
Kahului, Maui – 84
Hilo, Hawaii – 76
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii – 81

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

Lihue, Kauai – 73
Hilo airport – 64

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

3.81 MOUNT WAIALEALE, KAUAI
0.19 POAMOHO 2, OAHU
0.01 MOLOKAI
0.00 LANAI
0.00 KAHOOLAWE
0.09 HANA AIRPORT, MAUI
1.94 HONAUNAU, BIG ISLAND

Weather Chart — Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map…showing a 1030 millibar high pressure system to the NE of the islands. This pressure configuration will keep trade winds blowing across our area today and Monday…locally strong and gusty on the north and east shores. 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



Canoe Surfing

The recent rains of late, some of which were heavy enough to flood, are now gone…at least for the most part. Saturday was actually quite a nice sunny day, which was much appreciated by visitors and residents alike! There were still some showers around, most noteably on the Kona slopes of the Big Island, and in other places too. It appears that we’ll see more or less nice weather into Sunday, and perhaps the start of Monday.

It’s always noticeable when a person, especially in the weather forecasting business, uses the word "perhaps". I used it specifically to get your attention, to point out that by Monday things could start breaking down already. Going on further in the world of weather words, I would have to admit that saying "breaking down" doesn’t always bring up the most positive response in most peoples minds.

The latest computer forecast models have continued to indicate a deep trough positioning itself to our west…what else is new! This trough, with its destabilizing influence, will likely cause showers to increase, with some of them becoming locally heavy during the new week ahead. They will be fueled by moisture bearing SE winds once again. These clouds have a tendency to focus their heaviest showers, their flood producing downpours, in certain areas of the islands…especially where clouds become anchored by the physical terrain features.

If we were to totally believe what the models were saying, we would be pronouncing more flooding rainfall, which is being done by the NWS forecast office in Honolulu. The soils in some parts of the state are saturated. This type of soil has a tendency to slip, and to allow water to run right over it, rather than taking it in….which contributes to flooding.  As always, we need to monitor this developing situation, and fine tune the weather leanings as we move forward. 

It’s early Saturday evening here in Kula, Maui. Clouds formed over the mountains today, leaving many of the coastal areas basking in warm sunshine! Yes folks, the real thing, those golden rays that beam down from Heaven…or so it seems ofter such a long period of cloudiness. On another note, I was lucky enough to find good surf conditions over on the Lahaina side of West Maui. I had a ball, rode lots of waves, no shortage at all. I was riding with some friends out there, which always makes it nicer when there’s friendly vibes. Everyone, with about an equal mix of guys and gals, was being mellow. I toke off left on every wave, which just means that I was riding each wave heading in a left direction down the wave face. The waves were so fun, just the right size, although there were a couple of large waves, which reached 4 feet…or what is also referred to as an 8 foot wave face. I was out there for about two hours, and thoroughly enjoyed it, oh yes!! It’s a little before sunset, with that glorious golden light on the trees around here at the moment. I really need to get out there and enjoy it. So, I’ll see you on Sunday, with more weather commentary, and updates to the temperatures and precipitation values in the morning before I head out kayaking. One last thing, I just noticed the near full moon, now that the clouds have parted way. Aloha for now…Glenn.


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 Sunday morning, March’s total count to this website has been 104,533. There’s been 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 to your own personal website, for just $150…which is a great way to highlight your internet presence 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.