April 26-27 2006

Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures were recorded across Hawaii Wednesday:

Lihue, Kauai – 82F
Honolulu, Oahu – 81
Kaneohe, Oahu – 79
Kahului, Maui – 86
Hilo, Hawaii – 79
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii – 83

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

Kailua-kona – 73
Hilo airport – 64

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

1.85 MOUNT WAIALEALE, KAUAI
1.20 WAIHEE PUMP, OAHU
0.00 MOLOKAI
0.25 LANAI
0.00 KAHOOLAWE
0.09 MAHINAHINA, MAUI
0.15 WAIKII, BIG ISLAND

Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map…showing high pressure systems far to the NE and NW of Hawaii. At the same time we find a weak cold front separating the two high pressure cells. This pressure configuration will keep light trade winds blowing today…gradually getting stronger Friday. 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

The image “http://static.flickr.com/9/77609535_42405e93d9.jpg?v=0” cannot be displayed, because it contains errors.
Rainbow on Kauai



A late season cold front, far to the NW and north of the Hawaiian Islands, is causing a temporary easing of our local trade wind speeds. This frontal boundary has eroded the western end of a high pressure ridge, which extends from a 1032 millibar high pressure system to our NE. Don’t worry about all that meteorological stuff above, all you have to know is that the trade winds will be getting a little softer now through Thursday. They won’t be stopping all together, but just lose a little steam…before they start picking up again some Friday into the weekend.

This cold front won’t be making it far enough south to bring us any rain…although there may be a few showers around from other sources. Those include whatever shower bearing clouds that the lighter trade winds may carry into the windward sides. There’s a chance that the winds may veer to the ESE or even SE now, which could see cloud plumes traveling from one island to the next downstream…which may cause a few showers to. Then, if the winds get light enough, we may see a few afternoon showers falling over the upcountry interior sections.

As Friday rolls around, and the trade winds begin to pick up again, the showers will frequent the usual north and east windward coasts and slopes. As we move into the weekend time frame, it appears that a pretty normal trade wind weather pattern will be back in place, with nice weather prevailing. The latest models continue to show the chance of some enhancement to whatever showers are around early next week…as a front with its associated trough move by to our north then. This possible increase in showers would be focused most directly along the windward sides.

It’s early Wednesday evening here in Kula, Maui, Hawaii, as I begin this sunset commentary. When I got off work today in Kihei, it was quite sunny and warm, with a thin veneer of high cirrus clouds overhead. As I began driving up the Haleakala Highway, I could that there was a dark, very dark shroud of low gray clouds hanging tightly to the slopes of the Haleakala Crater. There were a few small spots where a couple of showers were falling, but in general, the clouds were more threatening looking than anything else. The sun just sank behind a bank of cumulus clouds, which are situated over the West Maui Mountains. The clouds seem to be dissipating quickly just about everywhere, even here on the mountain. I had a short visitation to my Dermatologist this afternoon, like 15 minutes…just enough time to do a quick surgery on a spot of basil cell cancer. Before anyone starts to feel sorry for me, I was the one who has spent most of his life in the sunshine…and pretty much loved every moment of it. It’s payback time now, and fortunately, there hasn’t been any serious business to attend to in terms of skin cancer! At any rate, and as I’ve taken to lately, I’m listening to the internet radio station Groove Salad from south of Market (somaFM) in San Francisco. This particular cut is called Schooled In The Trade – People Under The Stairs. I like the easy going feel of this ambient music when I’m typing away in this Aloha Paragraph section of Glenn’s Weather Narrative. I trust you will have a great Wednesday night. I’ll be back dark and early Thursday morning with your next weather narrative from the Hawaiian Islands. Aloha for now…Glenn.

p.s. Here’s a link to one of the advertisers on the left hand margin: Ululoa Productions …Ulu Loa is situated on the slopes of Haleakala in Haiku, Maui, and embodies the things represented by our logo. In addition to our home and the bounty of its land, it is home to Ulu Loa Studio and Ululoa Productions. Together with the artists, Ulu Loa is a family dedicated to producing quality Hawaiian music that honors tradition and culture and speaks to the heart. online.