July 10-11 2006

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

Lihue, Kauai – 84F
Honolulu, Oahu – 86
Kaneohe, Oahu – 83
Kahului, Maui – 84
Hilo, Hawaii – 82
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii – 86

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

Honolulu – 77
Hilo airport – 70

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

1.59 MOUNT WAIALEALE, KAUAI
0.19 POAMOHO 2, OAHU
0.13 MOLOKAI
0.00 LANAI
0.00 KAHOOLAWE
0.37 WEST WAILUAIKI, MAUI
0.68 GLENWOOD, 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. The winds today through Wednesday will be stronger than normal, with small craft advisories active across all Hawaiian waters, and a high surf advisory for the east facing 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 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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Surfing with Fido…
Photo credit: flikr.com

The stronger than normal trade winds continue to blow across the Hawaiian Islands at the start of this new work week. High pressure centers far to the north and NE of the Aloha state are the source of this brisk wind flow. We find a small craft advisory active over all the Hawaiian coastal and channel waters. All this “air in a hurry” is kicking up lots of rough waves along the east facing shores of the islands too…where a high surf advisory remains in force today. The islands themselves, in those windiest places, have wind advisories continuing from Sunday. The latest computer forecast models suggest that these strong and gusty winds will taper off a little after Tuesday.

All this wind has been blowing clouds from off the ocean, onto the windward coasts and slopes. The majority of the associated showers have been of the small drop variety, although that mist and drizzle has become a bit heavier in some of those typically wetter places. There shouldn’t be much change in this reality, with mostly minor amounts accumulating in our local rain gauges. The leeward sides have been mostly dry, although a few places have seen some moisture being carried over the lower mountains, into those leeward south and west coasts. The Kona area on the Big Island too, may have a few afternoon or evening upslope showers. Overall though, not much more than those occasional passing showers are expected for the time being.

It’s early Monday evening here in Kula, Maui, as I begin this very sunny sunset commentary! It was one of those super sunny days here on Maui, the kind of day that ends up with the entire hulk of the Haleakala Crater cloud free. This is not an ordinary condition, as almost everyday has some afternoon clouds banked up against the western slopes of the Crater. It’s almost with relief that the sun is slipping down behind some minor clouds located over the West Maui Mountains! It was the same way at the beach in Kihei this afternoon when I took my walk and swim, very sunny indeed! To call this day summery would be an understatement. I’m sure there are millions of people here in the islands, I mean thousands, who enjoy these dry sunny days to da max. Personally, I must admit I don’t mind having a few shade bearing clouds around, to help temper all that hot Hawaiian sunshine that beams down. Oh well, we all get our fair share of variety, which makes all the changes fun to watch. I hope you had a great day wherever you happened to have spent it. I’ll be back early Tuesday morning with the next updated narrative from paradise. Aloha for now…Glenn.

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