Weather Details & Aloha Paragraphs
Posted by GlennMay 6 – 7 2006
Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures were recorded across Hawaii Saturday:
Lihue, Kauai – 81F
Honolulu, Oahu – 81
Kaneohe, Oahu – 76
Kahului, Maui – 76
Hilo, Hawaii – 72
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii – 82
Temperatures early Sunday morning ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level at the 4 a.m. hour:
Lihue, Kauai – 74
Hilo, Hawaii – 66
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:
1.96 MOUNT WAIALEALE, KAUAI
0.64 SOUTH FORK KAUKONAHUA, OAHU
0.20 MOLOKAI
0.00 LANAI
0.00 KAHOOLAWE
2.04 WEST WAILUAIKI, MAUI
6.77 GLENWOOD, BIG ISLAND
Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map…showing a 1029 millibar high pressure system to the NE of the islands. Despite having low pressure aloft over the state Sunday, our winds will remain light to moderately strong trades, locally gusty at times…especially during the afternoon hours through 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 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.
Sunset in Hawaii
The main ingredients of our weather conditions in the Hawaiian Islands continue to be: the trade winds, incoming showers, and a trough of low pressure aloft. This is a recipe for many passing showers, most of which will be concentrating their efforts along the windward coasts and slopes on Maui and the Big Island. The trade winds will be blowing at light to moderately strong levels, which will help to carry showery clouds in our direction from the east. At the higher altitudes of the atmosphere, cold air will enhance those showers, with some becoming locally heavy in places. The trough’s presence will almost certainly be enough to trigger a few thunderstorm cells over the Aloha state today as well. A flash flood watch is in effect for the islands from Oahu to the Big Island.
Looking at the latest weather map, we find a moderately strong high pressure system situated to the NE of the state. This trade wind generating high pressure cell will keep the islands in a breezy condition through Sunday…actually through the next week at least. This is normal during the month of May, when the trade winds usually are in force most of the time. The nights and early mornings often show the softest breezes, which pick up during the late morning through the late afternoons. These winds aren’t currently strong enough to prompt any warnings or advisories in the coastal marine environment.
As for those incoming showers, there will likely be quite a few of them Saturday and Sunday…tapering off by Monday. They commonly stick pretty close to the slopes along the north and east facing windward sections. The leeward sides in contrast, often are too far away from these incoming moisture pockets, remaining quite dry. However, as there is cold air aloft, which will keep our temperature inversion high, or even eliminate it all together…we will see towering cloud developments, which could drop showers just about anywhere. The forecast calls for less of a threat of heavy showers Sunday, with conditions returning to normal for this time of year Monday into the new week ahead.
It’s early Saturday evening here in Kula, Maui, as I begin this sunset commentary. There was a vast difference in our local weather on Kauai, compared to the rest of the state today. Taking a look at this satellite image, you can see the type of heavy duty clouds that are forming over and around some parts of the islands currently. These clouds will be able to keep some form of showers around, focused most intently along the windward sides of the islands…and around the mountains too. This looping radar image will show you where those showers are falling. Here on Maui, at least on the slopes of Haleakala, where I spent the day, it was anything but sunny. As a matter of fact, it was pretty much totally cloudy all day! There were off and on showers, although none of them were particularly heavy. I stayed indoors all day, which was something I haven’t done for a long time. It’s rather unusual to have weather like this during the month of May, however we may come to appreciate these off and on showery days, once we get into the fall and winter months of this year. I say this because it appears that a new El Nino weather pattern may take over soon…which often brings dry weather to the Aloha state, sometimes even droughts. I hope you have a great Saturday night, I’ll be back early Sunday morning with the next weather updates. Aloha for now…Glenn.
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