Weather Details and Aloha Paragraphs
Posted by GlennDecember 11-12 2006
Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures were recorded across Hawaii Monday:
Lihue, Kauai – 81F
Honolulu, Oahu – 83
Kaneohe, Oahu – 81
Kahului, Maui – 83
Hilo, Hawaii – 82
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii – 82
Temperatures early Tuesday morning ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level at the 4 a.m. hour:
Lihue, Kauai – 74F
Kahului, Maui – 64F
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 :
0.08 MOUNT WAIALEALE, KAUAI
0.02 KAWAILOA, OAHU
0.00 MOLOKAI
0.01 LANAI
0.00 KAHOOLAWE
0.05 OHEO GULCH, MAUI
0.10 MOUNTAIN VIEW, BIG ISLAND
Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map…showing a rather strong 1033 millibar high pressure system spinning far to our ENE, with its ridge extending westward to our north. As a result we’ll find light to moderately strong trade winds blowing today and Wednesday…gusty in the afternoons locally. 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.
Aloha Paragraphs
Photo Credit: Flikr.com
The trade winds, with their pleasant weather reality, will continue blowing across the Hawaiian Islands through this week. The latest weather map shows a high pressure system spinning far to the ENE of the islands Monday. There is a high pressure ridge that extends from the flank of this high pressure cell…running westward and north of the Hawaii islands now. This will keep us in a light to moderately strong trade wind flow, which will contribute to our near perfect late autumn weather conditions. These trade winds will increase, becoming rather blustery during the second half of the work week, then calm down some by the weekend.
The combination of the high pressure ridge to our north, and a ridge aloft over the islands…will keep mostly dry weather in place for the time being. We’ve been drier than normal for the last several days, with little change expected through Wednesday. As we move into the second half of the week, the upper ridge will be replaced by a trough of low pressure aloft. This will prompt an increase in clouds and showers, but only so much as to put us back into what we would call a normal precipitation pattern. The great majority of whatever showers that are around then, will fall along the windward sides…leaving the leeward sides still mostly dry.
It’s early Monday evening in Kula, Maui, as I begin writing this post sunset commentary. It’s cool up here in the upcountry area, at this 3,000+ foot elevation on the slopes of the Haleakala Crater. My outside temperature sensor at 630pm is reading 60F degrees, while for comparisons sake, at the same time, 22 minutes down the mountain in Kahului, at sea level more or less…it was a warmer 74 degrees. Meanwhile, again at the same time, it was an even warmer 78 degrees in Kailua-kona on the Big Island’s leeward coast. I can’t help thinking back about my great weekend on the windward side of Oahu, and how fun it all was. We bodysurfed Waimanalo Beach each morning, and all of us exclaimed how the water felt cold…maybe 76 degrees or so. It was chilly because all the trade wind action on that side of the island stirs up cooler water from depth, and brings it up to the surface. While I was at the beach during my lunch break today, in Kihei on the leeward side of Maui, it was warmer. It was a still comfortable 78 degrees, and with the lack of trade winds blowing, made for a very pleasant ocean experience! I’m still somewhat tired from all the activity I had on Oahu, what with all the dancing, and staying out late, even though I slept very soundly last night. At any rate, I hope you are doing well wherever you happen to be reading from. I notice that the number of hits on this website are shooting up recently, there must be lots of you folks checking the weather before coming to the islands for the upcoming holidays. I’ll be back before the crack of dawn Tuesday with your next narrative from paradise, see you then. Aloha for now…Glenn.
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