Weather Details and Aloha Paragraphs
Posted by GlennSeptember 19-20 2006
Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures were recorded across Hawaii Tuesday:
Lihue, Kauai – 84F
Honolulu, Oahu – 86
Kaneohe, Oahu – 89
Kahului, Maui – 90
Hilo, Hawaii – 84
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii – 86
Temperatures early Wednesday morning ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level at the 4 a.m. hour:
KANEOHE, OAHU – 78
HILO AIRPORT – 70
Precipitation Totals – The following numbers represent the largest precipitation totals (inches) during the last 24 hours (as of Wednesday morning) on each of the major islands:
0.63 MOUNT WAIALAELAE, KAUAI
0.38 POAMOHO 2, OAHU
0.03 MOLOKAI
0.00 LANAI
0.00 KAHOOLAWE
0.12 OHEO GULCH, MAUI
1.13 GLENWOOD, BIG ISLAND
Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map…showing a very large 1032 millibar high pressure center located to the NE of our islands Wednesday. This high will keep strong and gusty trade winds blowing across the state into Thursday. 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.
Aloha Paragraphs
The east coast of Maui
Photo Credit: flikr.com
Strong and gusty trade winds will be the most influential weather element in the Hawaiian Island weather picture today and Wednesday. A large 1032 millibar high pressure system is located to the NE of our islands Tuesday, with its associated ridge stretching SW from its center…to the north of the Aloha state. The pressure gradient between high pressure to our NE and north, and low pressure to our south, will cause a blustery trade wind flow across Hawaii. These trades are strong enough that we have small craft advisory flags flying over the coastal and channel waters now.
Despite all the windy weather, just a normal amount of cloudiness and showers will be carried towards the Aloha state. The windward sections will see those showers arriving mostly during the night and early morning hours. The leeward sides will likely remain quite dry, although there may be a few afternoon or early evening showers falling along the Kona slopes on the Big Island. The tropical cyclone to the south of the islands will be too far away to provide any moisture this far northward in latitude. In sum, nothing unusual in terms of precipitation through the rest of this week.
The surf was very active along our south and west facing leeward beaches…with more of it coming our way. This swell activity coming up from the southern hemisphere will continue through the rest of this week. There’s a high surf advisory enforce over those south facing beaches, so it would be wise to use caution when entering the ocean where large waves may be breaking. Meanwhile, the north shores will see some rise in surf now too, although not as large as on the south shores…lasting for a couple of days.
A new tropical depression started well to the south of our islands Monday afternoon, called 02C. It’s expected to strengthen at some point over the next day or two into a tropical storm named Kika. There could be some high cirrus clouds, which are the tops of thunderstorms, carried north and NE over our area at times. You can check this tropical system out by clicking here, and then take a closer look at the northern fringe of this tropical cyclone by clicking here. It looks likely that this storm will gain enough strength to become a hurricane with time…although poses no threat to the Hawaiian Islands. Please refer to this storm track map for reference to its location and expected path.
It’s early Tuesday evening here in Kula, Maui, as I start writing this post sunset commentary. The well advertised strong and gusty trade winds certainly manifested as expected today over some parts of the state, especially around Maui and the Big Island. This winds really frothed-up the ocean surface, blowing stronger than normal at this time, which should continue, or even get a tad stronger on Wednesday. I was lucky though, as the winds didn’t reach around to the Kihei beaches all that strongly, and were actually quite light when I visited there during my lunch break. The beaches are started to look a little deserted again now, as this must be the slow season here in the islands. In my humble opinion, the slow season is actually one of the best times to come, as it is less crowded, and the weather is slightly cooler this time of year, at least sometimes. The sun is setting so early these days, that I’m going to have to find a new name for this second narrative of the day, any suggestions? I’m greatly appreciating these very last days of summer, and even though we don’t get to see the leaves changing colors, like in other places, we do get to see the subtle changing of the light here in the tropics…although you have to have a keen eye for such things. Yesterday evening I solicited some response from you readers, in relation to a picture I had posted in the area above. Thanks to you who wrote a few words in the reply box below, it sometimes helps to know that there are those of you who are visiting this website. I can see by the visitor count, that there are generally between about 4,000 and 5,000 people per day (during this low season for web traffic) that are logging onto Hawaii Weather Today, although those are just numbers! Have a nice night, I’ll be serving up another new narrative early Wednesday morning. Aloha for now…Glenn.
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