Weather Details and Aloha Paragraphs

September 6-7 2006

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

Lihue, Kauai – 84F
Honolulu, Oahu – 86
Kaneohe, Oahu – 84
Kahului, Maui – 91
Hilo, Hawaii – 82
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii – 87

KAILUA-KONA, OAHU – 80
MOLOKAI 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:

Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map…showing a moderately strong 1030 millibar high pressure center located far to the NE of our islands…which will be moving SW somewhat closer to Hawaii over the next couple of days. This pressure configuration will provide moderately strong trade winds across our area…locally gusty during the afternoon hours. 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.

 

  Wonderful colors!
Photo Credit: flikr.com

The trade winds are rebounding back into the moderately strong category here in the islands now. We find a strengthening high pressure system parked to the NE of Hawaii, which is now able to boost our local wind speeds. These balmy trade winds will remain active through the rest of this week. This will help to temper the otherwise hot late summer afternoon temperatures…especially right down at sea level locations during the days.

The brisk trade winds will carry in passing showers at times along the windward coasts and slopes.  As the trade winds gain some strength now, we’ll see some increase in showers around the islands Wednesday, at least in places. As we move into Thursday, and through the rest of the week, there will be just the normal amount of showers again. This means that most leeward beaches will be quite sunny and dry by Thursday, with seasonal temperatures prevailing.

We have just one tropical cyclone active in the Pacific Ocean now. This system is classified as a tropical depression, named Kristy.  The latest forecast has it crossing over into our central Pacific area, from the eastern Pacific, this weekend. The good thing about this forecast is that it has dropped down into the weaker tropical depression status, which is the bottom rung in terms of strength for a tropical cyclone. There is no need to worry about this storm in relation to the Hawaiian Islands.

It’s early Wednesday evening here in Kula, Maui, as I start writing this sunset commentary.  The weather turned out to be much different than I thought it would, with lots more clouds, and more widespread showers falling than expected. It evened showered along the leewards here on Maui during the afternoon hours! It was quite pleasant, with light winds when I hit the beach at lunch, although cloudier than usual…with hardly any wind. When I left work in Kihei it had stopped showering, although when I looked upcountry I could see some fairly major isolated downpours. I got rained on coming up the Haleakala Highway as I approached Pukalani. Then it backed off once I drove through some fog, and got home to Kula. It’s still dripping outside, and the atmosphere is still charged with moisture…with some light sprinkles still falling. There will be no sunset up here, and from the looks of things down below, it looks pretty much like a "non-event" down there too. This moisture was a blessing, at least where the afternoon showers fell, as we’re coming through what has turned out to be a fairly dry summer.  I hope you have a great Wednesday night! I’ll be back at the keyboard again early Thursday morning with the next updated weather narrative waiting for you then. Aloha for now…Glenn.

I want to highlight another of the great advertisers on my website today, this time it’s Adventure in Hawaii.  "A website full of maps, information on snorkeling, best luau seats, waterfall tours, and much more."