Weather Details & Aloha Paragraphs

December 18-19 2006

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

Lihue, Kauai – 79F
Honolulu, Oahu – 82
Kaneohe, Oahu – 79
Kahului, Maui – 82
Hilo, Hawaii – 80
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii – 83

Kailua-kona – 74F
Hilo, Hawaii – 65F

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

0.74 MOUNT WAIALEALE, KAUAI
0.47 OAHU FOREST NWR, OAHU
0.07 MOLOKAI
0.00 LANAI
0.04 KAHOOLAWE
0.18 WEST WAILUAIKI, MAUI
0.34 WAIAKEA UKA, BIG ISLAND

Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map…showing high pressure systems far to the NE, which will keep light trade winds blowing today and Wednesday…locally gusty during the afternoons.  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. 

The trade winds, after being stronger than usual last week, will be settling into the light to moderately strong realms during the first part of this new week.  These trade winds will be much more manageable, the kind that are a pleasure to have around in fact.  As we move past the middle of the week, these balmy breezes will drop even further in strength…ending up quite light Thursday through the end of the week. This signals what looks to be an exceptionally nice week in terms of winds. We may see the air flow turn just south of east in direction, which may pick up a bit of volcanic haze from the Big Island, carrying it up over Maui County during the second half of the week. 
 
A modest shower band brought some showers to the windward sides Sunday night into early Monday morning.  These clouds have long since moved away, which will make for a lovely day overall. The computer models strongly suggest that this week will not only be quite dry, but perhaps grading into unusually dry for this time of year. We’ll have high pressure to the north of the state, with a high pressure ridge nudging into our area high aloft as well. The combination will keep shower activity to a minimum…which should be alright with most folks!

It’s early Monday evening here in Kula, Maui, as I begin writing this last paragraph of today’s narrative.  The two weather elements that caught my eye most today were: 1.) the brisk trade winds during the afternoon hours, which turned out to be stronger than I expected. 2.) The nearly cloud free skies that took over during the second half of the day. I was in Kihei working as usual, and when I went to the health food store for lunch, I could see lots of white caps forming over the coastal waters. As I was driving home from work from Kihei, coming up the Haleakala Highway towards Pukalani and Kula, I could see that almost everywhere had turned completely clear. There were a few scattered clouds around, but not many at all. This foretells what I believe will turn out to be a very dry week leading up to Christmas.  Folks who are coming for vacation anytime soon, you timed it perfectly! Not to leave out us residents, well, as we say here in the islands…"lucky we live Hawaii." Those areas that are outside the trade wind flow will experience a pretty cool night. Given the length of our nights now, as we approach our shortest day of the year, there will be lots of time for radiational cooling to take place, sending the temperatures down into the 60F’s near the ocean in many places…and much cooler than that in the upcountry areas. Tuesday is going to be another exceptionally clear and sunny day, just about everywhere. I’ll meet you back here online then, when you can expect to find the next weather narrative from paradise as of 530am Hawaiian Standard Time, which is 730am PST, and 1030am EST. Aloha for now…Glenn.