Weather Details & Aloha Paragraphs
Posted by GlennMarch 14-15 2007
Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures were recorded across the state of Hawaii Wednesday:
Lihue, Kauai – 84F
Honolulu, Oahu – 74
Kaneohe, Oahu – 80
Kahului, Maui – 76
Hilo, Hawaii – 84
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii – 83
Temperatures early Thursday morning ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level at the 4 a.m. hour:
Kailua-kona – 71F
Kahului, Maui – 64
Precipitation Totals – The following numbers represent the largest precipitation totals (inches) during the last 24 hours on each of the major islands, as of Thursday morning:
2.68 KALAHEO, KAUAI
0.76 SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, OAHU
1.38 MOLOKAI
0.24 LANAI
0.60 KAHOOLAWE
1.72 OHEO GULCH, MAUI
1.45 LAUPAHOEHOE, BIG ISLAND
Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map…showing a weak cold front still located near Kauai Thursday. Winds will be southerly and SW during the day…turning north then NE Thursday night into Friday. 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.
A cold front has been more or less stalled near the island of Kauai for the last couple of days…but will be moving across Kauai and Oahu tonight into Thursday. This weather feature has our local winds blowing in from the south through SW Kona direction ahead of it. Winds such as this bring warm and moist conditions up from the deeper tropics. The frontal cloud band will pass through parts of the state with little fan-fare soon. The threat of heavy rain is now pretty much over, except over the Big Island temporarily, where a band of prefrontal showers may keep showers falling into Thursday…some could be briefly heavy.
The prefrontal showers spoken of above, got each of the islands from Kauai to Maui wet Wednesday. As a matter of fact, the prefrontal cloudiness was the most wet part of the recent showery weather that we’ve had. Some of the showers associated with just such a cloud band, out ahead of the sluggish cold front, had embedded thunderstorms in it Wednesday, with lightning and thunder a part of our weather today! The air flow coming in behind the cold front will become drier and a little cooler as north to NE winds start up Thursday.
By the time we get into the weekend those breezes will turn clockwise to the trade wind direction. These trade winds will become quite gusty into next week. The trade winds will usher in lots of sunshine for the leeward sides, and still some passing showers for the windward sides. The long range weather outlook for the islands looks very encouraging! This weekend will begin a good long stretch of favorably inclined weather conditions, with sunshine galore, and just a few showers spilling from the clouds being carried along the windward coasts and slopes by the strengthening trade winds.
A deep storm, which spun up this past weekend, and had hurricane force winds swirling around its center…generated a very large NW swell in our direction. This swell began impacting the north and west shores of Kauai and Oahu Tuesday afternoon, and arriving before sunset on Maui. It was one of the largest swells of the winter season…up there in the top two or three. At any rate, it would be wise to be very careful when getting near the ocean in those areas where these large breakers are doing their thing. This will be along the north and west shores for the most part, but there will be some wrapping of the swell around the islands, so that waves could be breaking at other beaches as well. This swell will gradually be lowering in size Thursday into Friday. The next large NW swell arrive this coming Saturday night into Sunday.
It’s early Wednesday evening here in Kula, Maui, as I begin writing this sunset commentary. As this quickly weakening cold front is still around, here’s a looping satellite image for you to keep track of the cold front’s cloud band as it works its way out of the state during the next 12 hours. As rainfall is still expected around the Big Island, I’ll leave this looping radar image up as well. What an interesting day from a weather perspective! Kauai started off early with thunderstorms, which moved on to Oahu later. Those lightning and thundering cumulonimbus clouds then took aim on Lanai, Molokai, and Maui…one after an other late this morning into the early afternoon hours. I spent the day in Kihei as usual, working at the Pacific Disaster Center, and there was a whole group of us standing outside watching the storm approaching, which chased us inside the office with its torrential rains! There were at least 5-6 strokes of lightning, followed by big claps of thunder. Conditions really cleared up nicely during the afternoon hours, with lots of blue skies appearing for a change. Not more than a few minutes ago, here in Kula, it was mostly clear, but I just looked out the window of my weather tower, and I find myself enveloped in a cool fog all the sudden. Weather really is great isn’t it!? I hope you have a wonderful Wednesday night, and might consider meeting me here again early Thursday morning, at which point I’ll have the next weather narrative from paradise waiting for you. Aloha for now…Glenn.
Note: Due to popular demand (over the years) there’s been added a small picture of myself in the upper right hand corner of this page. Now at least you can put a face [or at least the side of a face] to these weather narratives. 
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