Weather Details & Aloha Paragraphs

October 12-13 2006

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

Lihue, Kauai – 85F
Honolulu, Oahu – 85
Kaneohe, Oahu – 85
Kahului, Maui – 92
Hilo, Hawaii – 85
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii – 82

HONOLULU AIRPORT – 75
HILO AIRPORT – 69

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

Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map…showing a ridge of high pressure still located over the island of Oahu. This will keep our winds on the light side…gradually turning south and perhaps SW in some parts of the state this weekend ahead of an approaching cold front.  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 beauty of the islands
Photo Credit: flikr.com

There’s no end in sight for the light winds that have captured the Hawaiian Islands. 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 on up the chain of islands towards Oahu and Kauai.

The Hawaiian Islands will find clear mornings giving way to afternoon clouds around the interior mountains. The daytime heating of the islands will start air rising, which will cause cumulus clouds over and around the mountains during the late mornings through early evening hours on each of the islands. These convective cumulus clouds may drop a few showers, although nothing too significant is indicated. Clouds will start to clear back after sunset, leaving mostly clear nights, with lots of stars shining above.

One cold front has stopped before reaching Hawaii, while another is expected to arrive this coming Sunday or Monday. This second cold front has somewhat of a better chance of moving right into the state, which would bring some measure of showers with it. The most likely chance of showers until then will be from those afternoon clouds during the afternoon hours. The longer range models show that we may see a third cold front approaching the islands next week, although it’s still too early to know the details yet.

An area of disturbed weather, or what we could call a tropical disturbance remains active to the SW of the Hawaiian Islands Thursday. This satellite image shows all those clouds looming down to the lower left of Hawaii. The computer models have been trying all week to bring it NE towards our Hawaiian Islands, although today it is moving NNW. It’s still unclear about what will happen, although there remains the possibility of seeing some sort of weather coming towards us from that area over the 3-5 days. This area of clouds could get pulled up along the cold front Sunday or Monday, which might combine forces to bring some rain to the Aloha state. I suggest staying tuned into this situation if you live here in Hawaii.

It’s early Thursday evening here in Kula, Maui, as I start writing this just after sunset commentary.   The haze levels diminished here on Maui today, as there seemed to be stronger than expected breezes along the windward sides…helping to clear the air some. When I went to the beach at lunch there were those afternoon clouds stretching coastward from the slopes of the Haleakala Crater. Although there was enough sunshine to make my ocean swim really nice. There were actually some nice little waves to bodysurf, which is one of my favorite things to do. Driving up towards Kula after work, where there are horse and cattle pastures on both sides of the road, I spotted a small group of Axis deer over by the edge of the forest. It’s the first time I’ve seen them, and was uplifted by the sighting! I sometimes see a Pueo, which is the Hawaiian Owl, flying low over the grassy fields, which is thought to be good luck…I always put my palms together when I see them. My weather deck is dry tonight, as I glance around in my seat to see the very last little strip of pink in the far off distance west. It was another great day of weather work, which I enjoy so much! I feel so lucky to be able to have such good jobs…to look forward to moving through my 12 hour work days without fail. I know it sounds like too much work, but for me it’s like nothing, and never think of it as a chore…although I sure like my free time during the weekends. I hope you have a great Thursday night wherever you happen to be spending it. I’ll be back very early Friday morning with your next narrative, please join me here again then. Aloha for now…Glenn.

I want to highlight another of the great advertisers on my website today, this time it’s Dozzizart of Maui "Surf Art by Michael Nardozzi"