June 21-22 2006

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

Lihue, Kauai – 84F
Honolulu, Oahu – 86
Kaneohe, Oahu – 82
Kahului, Maui – 87
Hilo, Hawaii – 79
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii – 86

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

Lihue, Kauai – 75
Hilo airport – 67

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

0.57 MOUNT WAIALEALE, KAUAI
0.49 KAWAILOA, OAHU
0.00 MOLOKAI
0.00 LANAI
0.00 KAHOOLAWE
0.23 WEST WAILUAIKI, MAUI
1.10 MOUNTAIN VIEW, 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 Thursday, easing back just a little on 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

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Road closed due to a lava flow…Big Island
Photo: Flikr.com


It’s the summer solstice, the official start of summer 2006…not that it hasn’t been feeling like summer for the last month at least, down here in the tropics! We’ll find a pleasant start to our summer season, with the trade winds blowing, and just a few showers falling along the windward coasts and slopes. The leeward sides of the islands, which I often think of as the summer sides of the islands, even during winter, will find lots of very warm sun beaming down during the days. There’s nothing unusual about any of this, which is matching climatology quite well now.

High pressure systems remain anchored to the NW and the NE now, which will be the source of our moderately strong trade wind flow. Winds have been rather gusty this week so far, which has kept the ocean white capped during the days. There was a small craft wind advisory active in the southern part of the state, around Maui and the Big Island…which has been dropped now. The expectations are for the trade winds to continue at more or less the moderately strong levels now, gradually calming down a little as we head into the weekend, then picking up again a little next week.

Whatever showers that have been around, have been mainly restricted to the north and east windward sides. As is often the case, they fall most generously during the cooler night and early morning hours, leaving much the day at least partially sunny. In contrast, the south and west facing leeward beaches have been dry and sunny, which is very normal for this time of year. There doesn’t appear to be anything organized on our weather horizon, although several of the models want to edge the upper trough close enough to Hawaii, that it could trigger some enhancement to our incoming trade wind born showers. It’s still a bit too early to know for sure which way this will go…although the NWS forecast office in Honolulu is leaning towards the dry side of the precipitation spectrum at this point.

It’s early Wednesday morning here in Kula, Maui, as I start this last paragraph of today’s narrative. Besides the usual presence of Venus in the eastern horizon this morning, there’s a beautiful new crescent moon rising. It’s not the most thin crescent I’ve ever seen, but thin enough to qualify as a crescent nonetheless. There’s the usual gray bank of clouds over towards the windward side, towards Makawao, Paia, and Haiku. Swinging around in my chair, I can see that it’s clear down towards Wailea, Kihei, and Lahaina. It’s going to be yet another gorgeous day here on Maui, with the birds around here already chirping their welcoming songs in response. It’s good to be in Hawaii, good to have a roof over my head, food in the kitchen, and a well functioning car to drive to good work as well. I’m feeling fortunate, and with my Dad home and recouperating nicely, life is good! I hope that you are well, and that you will greatly enjoy your day too. Aloha for now…Glenn.