0.83 MOUNT WAIALEALE, KAUAI
0.14 MANOA LYON ARBORETUM, OAHU
0.01 MOLOKAI
0.00 LANAI
0.00 KAHOOLAWE
0.17 WEST WAILUAIKI, MAUI
0.57 GLENWOOD, BIG ISLAND

Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map…showing high pressure systems located far to the NE and NW of our islands. These high pressure cells, with their connecting ridges, will keep our local trade wind speeds in the moderate to fresh category Wednesday…calming down just a touch Thursday. 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.

Tropical Cyclone Activity – The eastern Pacific hurricane season runs from May 15 through November 30…while the central Pacific runs from June 1 through November 30. The latest storm information for eastern Pacific can be found by clicking here. A storm tracking map can be found by clicking here. For the central Pacific, the latest information can be found by clicking here.

1.49 MOUNT WAIALEALE, KAUAI
0.37 Poamoho 2, OAHU
0.06 MOLOKAI
0.00 LANAI
0.01 KAHOOLAWE
0.26 OHEO GULCH, MAUI
0.45 PAHOA, BIG ISLAND

Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map…showing a 1033 millibar high pressure system located far to the NE of our islands. This high pressure cell, with its connecting ridges, will keep our local trade wind speeds in the moderate to fresh category Tuesday…calming down just a touch Wednesday. 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.

Tropical Cyclone Activity – The eastern Pacific hurricane season runs from May 15 through November 30…while the central Pacific runs from June 1 through November 30. The latest storm information for eastern Pacific can be found by clicking here. A storm tracking map can be found by clicking here. For the central Pacific, the latest information can be found by clicking here.

Aloha Paragraphs

Strong trade winds blowing now
Photo Credit: Flikr.com

As is often the case during the month of June, and in what we could call late, late spring, our trade winds will be the primary weather feature in our Hawaiian Island weather picture. We find high pressure systems located far to the north and NE of the islands, which are the source of our moderately strong to fresh trade wind flow. These winds are still strong enough that there are small craft wind advisory flags active over the windiest spots around the islands of Maui and the Big Island. These winds will begin to mellow -out some around mid-week, dropping down into what could be considered normal realms. These classic trade winds will remain active through the rest of this week into the next.

We will find a fairly normal distribution of passing showers falling along our north and east facing windward coasts and slopes. Nothing unusual in terms of precipitation is expected through at least the first half of this week. The arrival of these passing showers will occur during the cooler night and early morning hours for the most part. Meanwhile, the leeward sides will be mostly dry, with only a couple of random sprinkles being carried over the lower mountains on the smaller islands here and there. The upslope Kona coasts may see a couple of late afternoon or evening showers too. The latest computer forecast charts show an upper low forming to the NW of the state later this week, so we may see some increase in the windward showers then.

The official start of summer 2006 occurs this Wednesday, called the summer solstice. That’s why in the first paragraph above, I was calling this period late, late spring. Late spring and early summer brings of course warm to very warm weather conditions in the tropics. Air temperatures are reaching into the 80F’s everyday now along the leeward beaches, with some of the hottest spots, like Kihei and Lahaina on Maui, zooming right up into the lower 90F’s some days. The nights are seasonably warm at sea level, typically dropping down to the lower 70F’s. The upcountry elevations, like here in Kula, Maui, are cooler, with high temperatures getting into the lower 70F’s most days, then dropping into the 50F’s at night.

It’s early Monday evening here in Kula, as I begin this sunset commentary. It was rather hazy today, with lots of high cirrus clouds above (which will make for a gorgeous sunset!), and what appears to be dust and probably some sea spray that was lifted by the strong trade winds. This mix is making for rather hazy conditions, although there was lots of very warm sunshine beaming down along the leeward beaches. There seems to be a new area of clouds that have moved over the windward sides, with perhaps some showers in store for those areas. It was hot today in Kihei and Lahaina, where afternoon air temperatures hit at least 90F and probably a degree or two higher than that. Here in Kula, at 645pm, the temperature is 69.3F, while down in Kahului at the airport, it was near 78F at the same time…with winds in gust to near 38 mph. It was a nice day for the most part, with the strong and locally gusty trade winds making the headline weather news in the islands now. I hope you have a great Monday night. I’ll be back very early Tuesday morning with the next weather narrative. Aloha for now…Glenn.

By the way, here’s that story about hurricanes in Hawaii, the one that I was interviewed for last week, which appeared in the Maui News Sunday…although not with the picture of me that was in the paper edition.

0.64 MOUNT WAIALEALE. KAUAI
0.11 PALISADES, OAHU
0.00 MOLOKAI
0.00 LANAI
0.00 KAHOOLAWE
0.22 WEST WAILUAIKI, MAUI
0.20 PAHOA, BIG ISLAND

Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map…showing high pressure systems located to the north and NE of our islands. These high pressure cells, with their connecting ridges, will keep our local trade wind speeds in the moderate to fresh category through Tuesday. 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.

Tropical Cyclone Activity – The eastern Pacific hurricane season runs from May 15 through November 30…while the central Pacific runs from June 1 through November 30. The latest storm information for eastern Pacific can be found by clicking here. A storm tracking map can be found by clicking here. For the central Pacific, the latest information can be found by clicking here.

Aloha Paragraphs

Molokai Sea Cliffs
Photo Credit: Flikr.com

The trade winds will blow in the moderate to fresh category through Monday. The expectation is that they will remain quite strong through Tuesday, and then perhaps back-off a little around the middle of the new week. The latest computer forecast models show them remaining somewhat softer than the current trade wind flow through next Friday. Climatology would lead us to believe that they would pick up again by next weekend, and likely blow steadily through most of the rest of the month of June.

There have been some passing showers falling from the clouds being carried along the windward sides, by the gusty trade winds. As usual the Kona slopes of the Big Island often have a few showers falling later in the afternoon hours, or into the evening hours as well. An upper level trough of low pressure, now to our NW, continues moving westward. This has caused some increase in our showers locally…especially along the windward sides. This upper low will move away through the next couple of days, showers should become less frequent. Meanwhile, the leeward sides will be nice and sunny for the most part.

It’s early Sunday evening here in Kula, Maui, as I start this late sunset commentary. I had meant to start writing here earlier, but one thing lead to another. First there was an unexpected ping pong tournament, which lead into a bbq dinner together with my next door neighbors. Then just when I was heading home, someone said let’s take a hot tub, and the three of us soaked in the water while watching the last light of the sunset. It’s actually almost bed time for me, and I read for a while before retiring on this rather warm late, late spring day. I’ll be back early Monday morning, very early Monday morning to begin updating my website pages, this one included. I hope everyone has/had a good Sunday night. Aloha for now…Glenn.

2.03 MOUNT WAIALEALE. KAUAI
0.56 POAMOHO 2, OAHU
0.12 MOLOKAI
0.00 LANAI
0.00 KAHOOLAWE
0.44 WEST WAILUAIKI, MAUI
0.55 LAUPAHOEHOE, BIG ISLAND

Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map…showing a 1033 millibar high pressure system located to the NE of our islands. This high pressure cell, with its connecting ridges, will keep our local trade wind speeds in the moderate to fresh category 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.

Tropical Cyclone Activity – The eastern Pacific hurricane season runs from May 15 through November 30…while the central Pacific runs from June 1 through November 30. The latest storm information for eastern Pacific can be found by clicking here. A storm tracking map can be found by clicking here. For the central Pacific, the latest information can be found by clicking here.

Aloha Paragraphs

A Big Island Kona beach

The trade winds will blow in the moderate to fresh category through Sunday. The expectation is that they will remain quite strong through Tuesday, and then perhaps slack-off some around the middle of the new week coming up. The latest computer forecast models show them remaining somewhat softer than the current trade wind flow through next Friday. Climatology would lead us to believe that they would pick up again by next weekend, and likely blow steadily through most of the rest of the month of June.

There have been some passing showers falling from the clouds being carried along the windward sides, by the gusty trade winds. As usual the Kona slopes of the Big Island often have a few showers falling later in the afternoon hours, or into the evening hours too. An upper level trough of low pressure, now to our north, is moving westward. This atmospheric destabilizing weather feature will move by the state Saturday. This may cause some increase in our showers…especially along the windward sides. This upper low will move away Sunday, when showers should back-off again then.

It’s Saturday as I begin this evening’s sunset commentary. I probably would have been at the computer sooner, were it not for a long string of songs by Neil Young, on Manao Radio, broadcast live from here on Maui. I just put the Praire Home CD into my computer, sung by Neil Young. It’s getting almost dark, not quite as dark as the glass of Spanish red wine on the desk here with me though. Neil’s song is talking about falling off the face of the earth…what does that mean? This next song is called Dream, what a voice he has! On another note, my Dad’s Birthday, Mr. Edward Eugene James, was yesterday, and now it’s Father’s Day, what a blessing to have my great Father alive at this time, I’m sending him the most solid life line that I can, the continued gift of life. I send that to you too, from my weather heart. Aloha for now…Glenn.

0.70 MOUNT WAIALEALE. KAUAI
0.34 MANOA LYON ARBORETUM, OAHU
0.09 MOLOKAI
0.00 LANAI
0.00 KAHOOLAWE
0.61 WEST WAILUAIKI, MAUI
1.09 WAIAKEA UKA, BIG ISLAND

Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map…showing high pressure systems located to the NE and NW of our islands. These high pressure cells, with their connecting ridges, will keep our local trade wind speeds in the moderate to fresh category through Sunday. 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.

Tropical Cyclone Activity – The eastern Pacific hurricane season runs from May 15 through November 30…while the central Pacific runs from June 1 through November 30. The latest storm information for eastern Pacific can be found by clicking here. A storm tracking map can be found by clicking here. For the central Pacific, the latest information can be found by clicking here.

Aloha Paragraphs

Sea waterfall in Waipio Valley on the Big Island
Photo Credit: Flikr

The trade winds will continue to blow across the Hawaiian Islands through the foreseeable future. We may see a modest softening over the next day or two, although most folks around the islands won’t notice this subtle easing of the wind speeds. The enthusiasts in the world of water sports, like windsurfing and kiteboarding, probably pay the closest attention to these kinds of details. At any rate, the trade winds will be around through the next week at least, and more than likely quite a bit longer than that. If we are to address the winds up and downs, we would point out a temporary softening through Saturday, with the trades on the upswing again Sunday through next Tuesday…and then getting lighter again starting next Wednesday.

We’ve seen mostly light showers falling over the windward sides lately. They’ve been fairly active though in some parts of the state lately. These showers have been limited in their coverage area, leaving the leeward areas alone for the most part. As usual the Kona slopes of the Big Island often have a few showers falling later in the afternoon hours, or into the evening hours. An upper level trough of low pressure, now to our east, is moving westward towards the state. This atmospheric destabilizing weather feature will cross the state Friday and Saturday. This is turn will likely cause some increase in our showers…especially along the windward sides. This upper low will be moving away by Sunday, when showers should back-off again then.

It’s interesting how almost every morning starts off the same here on the slopes of the Haleakala Crater. This isn’t just during the late spring time frame, but pretty much all year round. It’s most often clear overhead in the morning, extending down through the leeward coast towards Kihei, Wailea, and Makena. Another aspect of this normal reality is the gray early morning clouds over along the windward side, towards Makawao and Haiku, down to Paia. It’s almost like clockwork, like a fine tuned clock that never misses a beat. The one variable is whether those clouds along the windward sides are precipitating or not. This morning they don’t look like there are showers falling from them, like there were most of the day yesterday.

It’s early Friday morning as I begin this last paragraph of today’s narrative. I’ve been wanting to point out that if you happen to have missed one of these narratives, or you come back looking for something that was noted, and find that it’s gone already, replaced by a new narrative, all is not lost. Actually, all of my narratives are being archived now, and you can track back and find older ones. There’s a feature on this page, on the left hand margin, under the heading Other Useful Links, that’s called Archived Narratives. I notice that there are 124 of them in there since this feature was added. So you can go in there and see what the weather was like for the last 3-4 months. I’m about to get out there for my early morning walk, communing with all the lovely singing birds that are around now. I hope you have a great Friday! I’ll be back later with more weather updates. Aloha for now…Glenn.

0.56 MOUNT WAIALEALE. KAUAI
0.18 SOUTH FORK KAUKONAHUA, OAHU
0.02 MOLOKAI
0.00 LANAI
0.00 KAHOOLAWE
1.05 WEST WAILUAIKI, MAUI
1.29 GLENWOOD, BIG ISLAND

Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map…howing a 1031 millibar high pressure system located to the NE of our islands. This high pressure cell will keep our local trade wind speeds in the moderate to fresh category Friday…locally strong and gusty during the afternoon hours. An upper low currently to our east will move westward over the state, with slightly lighter trades starting now through Saturday. 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.

Tropical Cyclone Activity – The eastern Pacific hurricane season runs from May 15 through November 30…while the central Pacific runs from June 1 through November 30. The latest storm information for eastern Pacific can be found by clicking here. A storm tracking map can be found by clicking here. For the central Pacific, the latest information can be found by clicking here.

Aloha Paragraphs

Along the beautiful Hana coast of Maui

The trade winds are here to stay, as is most often the case during the month of June. These balmy breezes typically blow around 91% of the time this month, and sometimes more like all the time in some years. They will certainly continue through the next week at least. They have been rather blustery lately, although are expected to soften just a touch Saturday…only to pick up again on Sunday going forward. They are currently strong enough that we have a small craft wind advisory in the major channels between the islands, and at Maalaea Bay on Maui too. These breezes will keep the coconut palm trees swaying, and cause white caps to chalk-up the local ocean surface during the days.

The reason we’re going to see a slight mellowing-out of our trades winds soon, is because an upper level low pressure system will be moving overhead. It has been to our south and east, and will be moving westward across the state Friday and Saturday. This upper level low will trigger an increase in showers in some places around the Aloha state as well. The most notable of these areas will be along the windward sides of the islands, and perhaps over and around the mountains during the afternoons locally as well. There’s a chance that this upper low will be able to destabilize our atmosphere sufficiently to cause some briefly heavy showers here and there…with the leeward beaches seeing the least effect.

Moving forward in our outlook, it appears, according to the latest computer forecast guidance, that the upper low will be moving away by Sunday. This will allow the trade wind speeds to pick up, as noted in the first paragraph. It will also put an end to the increased shower activity along those windward coasts and slopes. There will still be some showers around, but they will be tapering off nicely. Looking into my crystal ball into next week, it looks like a fairly standard trade wind weather pattern setting up. This means plenty of sunshine with warm to very warm daytime temperatures along the beaches, with seasonably warm temperatures overnight. The leeward sides of the islands will be mostly dry, with the typical overnight passing showers along the windward coasts.

It’s early Thursday evening here in Kula, Maui, as I begin this sunset commentary. The sun is still out at the moment, although will take a dip into the clouds covering the ever present West Maui Mountains at any moment. The warm rays are still keeping my bare back warm, which feels so good! Today was another sun filled day along the leeward sides of Maui. It was different story over on the windward sides, which I understand had ongoing passing light showers falling. Looking over that way, towards Makawao and Haiku, it appears that those fuzzy clouds are likely shower prone even now. As the aforementioned upper level trough of low pressure moves overhead soon, those passing showers will likely increase somewhat, and may even become briefly heavy at times into Saturday. The leeward sides, in many places at least, will remain dry in contrast. By the way, my Dad finally got home from the hospital this afternoon, just in time for his 84th birthday. He said “I want to have a big party”…of course tongue in cheek. We have Father’s Day just up ahead too, and fortunately I had the presence of mind to send off two cards earlier this week. It’s a peaceful evening, quiet, and comfortably warm, that is until the sun goes down at any minute, when the thermometer will take a 3-4 degree nose dive. I hope you have a great Thursday night, and that you will meet me here again on Friday. Aloha for now…Glenn.

1.15 MOUNT WAIALEALE. KAUAI
0.42 SOUTH FORK KAUKONAHUA, OAHU
0.01 MOLOKAI
0.00 LANAI
0.03 KAHOOLAWE
0.21 HAIKU, MAUI
0.74 GLENWOOD, BIG ISLAND

Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map…showing a 1030 millibar high pressure system located to the NNE of our islands. This high pressure cell will keep our local trade wind speeds in the moderate to fresh category Thursday…locally strong and gusty during the afternoon hours. An upper low currently to our east will  move westward over the state, with somewhat lighter trades starting 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.

Tropical Cyclone Activity – The eastern Pacific hurricane season runs from May 15 through November 30…while the central Pacific runs from June 1 through November 30. The latest storm information for eastern Pacific can be found by clicking here. A storm tracking map can be found by clicking here. For the central Pacific, the latest information can be found by clicking here.

Aloha Paragraphs

Beautiful Hawaii

The trade winds will be part and parcel of our local Hawaiian Island weather picture through the next week. Wind speeds will be up and down, although through the rest of this work week, they will be quite breezy. A high pressure system, the source of our locally gusty trade winds, remains anchored to the NE of the islands. A glance at the latest weather map showed it weighing-in at 1028 millibars. This is what we would call moderately strong, but with an upper level low pressure system positioned to our south, it has steepened our pressure gradient across the islands sufficiently, so that our winds are now strong enough to have triggered a small craft advisory in the major channels between the islands…in addition to Maalaea Bay on Maui.

These winds will remain quite blustery through the end of this work week. Wind speeds will generally be running in the 10-30 mph range across the state. Those windiest spots, especially on Maui and the Big Island, where the winds get accelerated by physical terrain features, will have gusts well up into the 30+ mph range…with even a couple of 40+ top gusts during the afternoon hours. There will be some sheltered areas, where winds will be softer, more like 5-20 mph too. The latest computer forecast models suggest that as an upper level trough of low pressure, the one currently to our south, moves up over us by Friday into the weekend, our trade winds will soften a bit then.

We’ve had a showery cloud band move along the windward sides of the islands during the night into Wednesday. This has brought an increase in showers to those north and east facing coasts and slopes. This band of showers, which brought mostly a light variety of precipitation, will be moving off to the west, away from the Aloha state later today. There will a few showers falling from the clouds in the wake of this band, but nothing unusual. I mentioned that an upper trough of low pressure will be migrating from the south, to over the islands Friday into the weekend. As this trough moves over us, we’ll likely see an increase in windward showers then. The leeward sides may see a few showers, but most areas there will remain dry.

It’s early Wednesday evening here Kula, Maui, as I start this evening’s sunset commentary. There’s quite a contrast between the windward and leeward sides just now. The Kihei and Lahaina areas are still sunny as can be, while there are gray clouds dropping light showers along the windward sides. I saw a nice ainbow (what Maui rainbows aren’t nice!?) as I was driving up the Haleakala Highway, looking over towards Makawao town. It was another rather hot day here on Maui, with Kihei reaching near 90F degrees, as was the case over on Front Street in Lahaina. I’ve been working with the Maui News, and in particular with one of their new star reporters, on a story they’re doing on hurricanes in Hawaii. The story comes out this Sunday, and will land on the front page. I know that many of you over the years, those of you who haven’t seen me on TV, have wanted to see what I look like. I’ve been rather shy about posting a picture of myself on this website, so if you log onto the Maui News website this Sunday, you will finally have your opportunity to put a face with all these wild weather words. I hope you have a great Wednesday, and that you will join me here again on Thursday, for the next completely new weather narrative from paradise. Aloha for now…Glenn.

0.11 MOUNT WAIALEALE. KAUAI
0.16 MANOA LYON ARBORETUM, OAHU
0.03 MOLOKAI
0.00 LANAI
0.00 KAHOOLAWE
0.22 HAIKU, MAUI
0.23 PAHOA, BIG ISLAND

Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map…showing a 1028 millibar high pressure system located to the NE of our islands. This high pressure cell has a ridge SW to the north and NW of Hawaii, keeping our local trade wind speeds in the moderately strong category Wednesday and Thursday…locally strong and gusty during the afternoon hours. 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.

Tropical Cyclone Activity – The eastern Pacific hurricane season runs from May 15 through November 30…while the central Pacific runs from June 1 through November 30. The latest storm information for eastern Pacific can be found by clicking here. A storm tracking map can be found by clicking here. For the central Pacific, the latest information can be found by clicking here.

Aloha Paragraphs

Tropical rainforest setting, with stream in Hawaii
Photo Credit: flikr

Moderately strong trade winds and rather dry weather will continue for the time being here in the islands. There’s no doubt that the trade winds will prevail, that’s for sure. The dry weather will be most noticeable along the south and west facing leeward coasts. I doubt very much whether there will be much more than a few stray showers flying over from the windward sides there, with many leeward beaches remaining completely dry into the foreseeable future. Those windward sides, which have been drier than normal for the last couple of weeks, will start receiving some increase in passing showers now.

Satellite images show some slightly more showery clouds upstream of the islands. There’s a decent chance that we’ll see some of these splashing a few showers along those north and east facing coasts and slopes soon. One particular band of clouds may focus showers along those windward sides starting Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. The lush tropical vegetation along those slopes has been dry lately, and could use a bit of watering. This certainly isn’t going to be anything heavy, but with the trade winds getting stronger soon, they will be somewhat more active for a day or so…with another possible increase in windward showers later in the week.

Speaking of the trade wind speeds, a high pressure system to the NE of Hawaii will keep moderately strong, 10-25 mph trade winds alive Tuesday. Weather maps and computer forecast models want to strengthen this high pressure area starting Wednesday. We have no marine warnings or advisories active at the moment, although we may see a small craft advisory flag rising for stronger trade winds Wednesday. These stronger gusts of winds will focus their efforts most effectively around the islands of Maui and the Big Island. Those same weather models suggest that the trade winds will relax again as we move into the weekend time frame.

It’s early Tuesday evening here in Kula, Maui, with the late day sunshine streaming into my weather tower. It was another great day here in the latitudes of the Hawaiian Islands. The trade winds have definitely become the dominant weather feature now, with some of the windiest spots around the state reaching into the upper 30 mph range, with one location topping out at 42 mph. We will be seeing nothing but more trade winds well out into the future. A normal June would find the trade winds blowing about 91% of the time, which should be lived up to this month. Strong winds are blowing at the summit levels of the mountains on the Big Island, just to show you how deep the current trade wind flow is…reaching 50 mph at times. The palm trees will be swaying, the ocean will be white capped and choppy during the afternoons, so it would be wise to hit the beach, if that’s your thing, as early in the mornings as possible through the next several days. These balmy breezes won’t be a problem, but will certainly be felt now. The sunset just happened, a rather quick one actually, but any sunset on Maui is a special one, lets face it! I hope you have a great Tuesday night, and that you will join me here again on Wednesday for the next new weather narrative from paradise. Aloha for now…Glenn.

I’m keeping the advertising links section open for a little while longer. Many of the current businesses (on the left hand margin of all pages on this website) are choosing to continue, although a couple have dropped out for this next three month period…replaced by new businesses. The cost of placing a hot link to your business is $50 per month, with a three month minimum. This keeps your link highlighted (on all pages) for three months at just $150. There are a few available slots available now. Please let me know of your interest by emailing me, or replying in the box below. I can put a link to your business the very same day you let me know you want it. Thanks…Glenn.

Tropical Cyclone Activity – The eastern Pacific hurricane season runs from May 15 through November 30…while the central Pacific runs from June 1 through November 30. The latest storm information for eastern Pacific can be found by clicking here. A storm tracking map can be found by clicking here. For the central Pacific, the latest information can be found by clicking here.

Aloha Paragraphs

Full moon rising

The trade winds are back in force now in the Hawaiian Islands. The high pressure ridge, which has been sitting just to our north, causing the lighter winds during the last week…is now moving northward. As this ridge migrates northward out of the subtropics, back into the middle latitudes, where it would normally be this time of year…our trade wind speeds will pick back to seasonal levels. The very warm afternoon temperatures at sea level, which have been rising into the upper 80F’s lately, will be manageable…with our cooling and refreshing trade wind breezes blowing.

The latest computer forecast models suggest that these more moderate trade winds will prevail through the next week at least. Climatology would lead us to believe that these trade winds would continue to blow through the rest of this month in fact. As usual, the trade wind breezes will blow most strongly during the late morning through late afternoon hours. After sunset, and through the early morning hours, the winds typically calm down quite a bit in most areas. The valleys, and also through the major channels between the islands, often exhibit the strongest trade wind speeds…which will be getting even stronger Wednesday.

The overlying atmosphere, through the last week at least, has been very dry and stable. This has helped to limit precipitation greatly. As a matter of fact, almost all rain gauges during the last seven days have remained completely devoid of moisture. As the trade winds get a notch or two stronger now, we’ll likely see a few more showers start to pass over the windward coasts and slopes…most often during the night and early morning hours. The rainfall pattern will remain on the dry side during the next week though. As I’ve mentioned many times lately, June is usually the driest month of the year here in the Aloha state.

It’s early Sunday evening here in Kula, Maui. It was another great day here in the islands, with a smattering of windward showers, riding in on the strengthening trade winds. The leeward sides had plenty of warm to very warm sunshine beaming down, which was great for all the beach goers. The June full moon is happening today, which will be lighting the skies of Hawaii, at least outside those locally cloudy areas. Monday is a state holiday, so that state workers, including the folks at the Maui Community College, will be off work for the day. There won’t be a TV weather show Monday, although I will be working as usual at the Pacific Disaster Center. I’ll be able to get up a little later as a result, which will be nice. I hope you have a great Sunday night! Aloha for now…Glenn.

I’m keeping the advertising links section open for a little while longer. Many of the current businesses (on the left hand margin of all pages on this website) are choosing to continue, although a couple have dropped out for this next three month period…replaced by new businesses. The cost of placing a hot link to your business is $50 per month, with a three month minimum. This keeps your link highlighted (on all pages) for three months at just $150. There are a few available slots available now. Please let me know of your interest by emailing me, or replying in the box below. I can put a link to your business the very same day you let me know you want it. Thanks…Glenn.