Weather Details and Aloha Paragraphs

August 11-12 2006

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

Lihue, Kauai – 83F
Honolulu, Oahu – 87
Kaneohe, Oahu – 83
Kahului, Maui – 88
Hilo, Hawaii – 82
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii – 87

HONOLULU, OAHU – 76
HILO AIRPORT – 68

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

Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map…showing a 1035 millibar high pressure system located far to the NNE of our islands. This high pressure cell, with its associated ridging, will keep gusty trade winds blowing across our area today, which will mellow out some on Sunday.  Here’s a Weather Map Symbol page for clarification about what all those weather symbols mean on the map.

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 (where Hawaii is) runs from June 1 through November 30. The latest storm information for the eastern Pacific can be found by clicking here. A storm tracking map for both the central and eastern areas can be found by clicking here . For the central Pacific, the latest storm information can be found by clicking here.

  The color of the ocean in Hawaii is so awesome!
Photo Credit: flikr.com
 

The trade winds will keep up their march across the Hawaiian Islands today into the weekend. The source of these locally blustery trade winds is an usually strong high pressure system, at least for this time of year…located far to the NNE of our islands. The very latest computer forecast models are now showing a trough of low pressure forming to the NW and west of the islands later this weekend. This may finally put a dent in the trade wind speeds, with somewhat softer trades Sunday into early next week.

Whatever showers that fall now will be restricted to the windward coasts, and perhaps the Kona slopes. The overlying atmosphere remains quite stable now, so that I don’t expect any heavy showers. As the trough gets closer, the one described in the paragraph above, we may see an increase in showers locally then. The leeward sides will remain mostly dry, although the Kona coast will see some afternoon or evening showers in the upcountry

It’s early Friday morning here in Kula, Maui, as I begin this last paragraph of today’s narrative.   The weather here in the islands remains great, just about like what we would expect classically during the middle of summer in the tropics. The trade winds are blowing, which is such a large part of our summer weather in Hawaii. These trades have been a bit more blustery than usual, although as noted above, they may start to mellow out some soon. Let’s see what else? Oh yeah, some friends and I are getting together right after work today, heading up to my favorite skateboarding road on the slopes of the Haleakala Crater. Now you may think what’s up with Glenn, does he have spiked hair, and are his friends all rowdy, like the skaters you may see around in your area? Well, no not exactly, one of the friends is a recently graduated doctor, and his wife has a masters degree, while the other is an expert in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). We may have a beer or two sitting around in the dark after our skateboard session is finished, but no heavy metal will be playing. We’re going to take a video camera up there with a tripod, getting a little footage. I hope it’s not totally fogged in, like it often is that time of day. At any rate, I’m going to try and get into the ocean at lunch today, which would be a nice punctuation point in otherwise office bound day. I hope you have a great Friday wherever you happen to be too! Aloha for now…Glenn.

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