Weather Details & Aloha Paragraphs

October 10-11 2006

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

Lihue, Kauai – 85F
Honolulu, Oahu – 85
Kaneohe, Oahu – 86
Kahului, Maui – 90
Hilo, Hawaii – 86
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii – 86

KAILUA-KONA – 77
MOLOKAI AIRPORT – 71

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:

Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map…showing a ridge of high pressure parked over the island of Maui. This will keep our winds on the light side…variable in direction through 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.

 

Lovely Waimanalo Beach on Oahu
Photo Credit: flikr.com

A high pressure ridge is stretched across the central islands Tuesday, which will keep our winds on the light side. This light wind regime will cause warm and muggy conditions to continue, especially near the beaches during the late mornings through the afternoons. Hazy conditions will continue off and on through the week too, with restricted visibilities due to intrusions of volcanic emissions from the Big Island of Hawaii over Maui County and possibly beyond towards Oahu.

Most areas will start off on the clear side, at least in terms of lack of clouds, although as mentioned in the paragraph above…very hazy. The daytime heating of the islands will start air rising, which will cause afternoon cumulus cloud formations over and around the mountains. These convective cumulus clouds may let loose with some showers, some of which may be locally heavy, although for the most part restricted to the leeward slopes of the Big Island and perhaps the slopes of the Haleakala Crater too.. 

Weather maps and satellite imagery show a cold front just to the NW of Kauai Tuesday.  It’s still a bit early for active cold fronts to sweep down all the way through the islands, although this one has come close enough to cause prefrontal showers to Kauai and Oahu recently. As we move into Wednesday, the chance of showers from that source will fade, with mostly dry conditions thereafter…although still that chance of some afternoon convective showers continuing just about anywhere.

It’s early Tuesday evening here in Kula, Maui, as I start writing this post sunset commentary.  Well, fortunately after not having internet connectivity this morning, it is back this evening. It was another hot day here on Maui, 90F at the Kahului airport, and near 92F degrees in both Kihei and Lahaina. It was not only rather hot, but with the continued presence of light winds, it was muggy too. If both of those realities weren’t enough, it was also quite hazy, consisting of volcanic haze called vog here in the islands. It wasn’t all that cloudy near the beaches, but up the mountain, in the upcountry areas, there were thick dark clouds all afternoon…with some showers falling here and there. When I got home from work, it was foggy, with little sprinkles, and drips coming down from the tree branches. It reminded me of the coast of northern California, where fog drip is very common…helping to keep the Redwoods watered there. I like the fog, as it muffles most sounds, making it very quiet and peaceful. I got to the beach today in Kihei during my lunch break, and found sunny skies, very warm air temperatures, and a delightfully warm ocean too…warm in every realm!  I so much enjoyed being in that water that it was difficult to pull myself out, and back to the office. I hope you have a great Tuesday night, I’ll be back very early Wednesday morning with yet another narrative from paradise waiting for you then. Aloha for now…Glenn.

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