The light to moderately strong trade winds will continue to blow today into Monday. The latest weather map shows a 1031 millibar high pressure center located far to the NE of the Aloha state…which is the source of our locally breezy winds Sunday. The trades will remain at more or less light to moderate strengths as we move into the new week ahead. The latest computer forecast models continue to show that they will remain active, although the small craft wind advisories have all been cancelled as of Sunday morning.

There will be just a few windward biased showers, otherwise most areas will be dry. As is often the case, the leeward sides of the islands won’t see any of those windward showers falling. The one exception will continue to be the Kona slopes on the Big Island, where a few afternoon showers may help to irrigate the coffee plantations at times. The overall dry weather will persist, with no organized rainmakers on our horizon in any direction. The risk of wild fires remains very high, so that everyone needs to be extra careful now.

It’s Sunday here in Hawaii, as I begin writing this last paragraph of today’s narrative. As noted above, good weather will continue, with lots of sunshine, particularly in those leeward beach areas. If you look at this satellite image, which shows the high cirrus clouds, those higher, brighter and whiter clouds…now mostly near the Big Island at the time of this writing. Satellite imagery shows quite a lot of low level cloudiness around too, although that is restricted to the windward coasts for the most part. The atmosphere remains quite dry and stable however, and as radar confirms, nothing much will be falling from those clouds. ~~~ The winds are lighter now, which will make our local beaches attractive for a visit. The ocean is heating up slowly, and is definitely warm enough now to provide very enjoyable swimming opportunities. The surf along our south shores has come down a little more today, although there will still be enough waves for those folks interested in riding them on surfboards or body boards. ~~~ I’ll be back early Monday morning with your next weather narrative, and until then, I hope everyone has a great Sunday night! Aloha for now…Glenn.

The trade winds will continue to bring cooling and refreshing relief from the heat of summer here in the islands Thursday and Friday. The latest weather map shows high pressure centers located far to the NW, north, and NE of the Aloha state…which are the source of our locally breezy winds. The trades will remain at more or less moderate strengths through Friday. The latest computer forecast models continue to show that they will remain active, with small craft wind advisories in those windiest places in the southern part the state, through the rest of this week.

There will continue to be a few windward showers, although conditions will remain dry through Friday at least. As is often the case, the leeward sides of the islands won’t see any of these showers falling….which is unfortunately just where it is needed the most. Meanwhile, high cirrus clouds are being carried over Hawaii, thanks to winds associated with an arm of the subtropical jet stream. These high clouds will dim our sunshine a little at times…otherwise, there will be favorable weather conditions in general.

It’s Thursday here in Kula, Maui, as I begin writing this last paragraph of today’s narrative. As noted in the two paragraphs above, nothing unusual is happening here in the Hawaiian Islands in terms of weather. These rather normal circumstances will be the rule through the rest of this week…at least. ~~~ The sunset Wednesday evening was a great one, with the pink and orange colors lasting much longer than usual…helping us celebrate our Independence Day! The sunrise Thursday morning was another great one, with awesome colors starting off our day. We very well may see yet another awesome sunset Thursday evening. ~~~ The street-side fireworks displays here in Kula were pretty good, as my neighbor and I took a walk around the neighborhood and watched some of them. They kept on a little too long for my liking, as it got pretty smokey. I had to actually close the windows of my weather tower to keep it out. There were a couple of big kabooms too, which were fun to hear. I could see flashes coming from the Lahaina and Wailea areas once it got dark too. I’m just about ready to go out on my early morning walk, and will see how much fireworks trash was left on the streets. ~~~ I hope you have a great Thursday night wherever you happen to be spending it, I’ll be back with your next weather narrative early Friday morning. Aloha for now…Glenn.

The trade winds will remain the primary weather influence here in the Hawaiian Islands on this 4th of July holiday. The latest weather map shows high pressure systems located far to the NW and NE of the Aloha state…which is the source of these locally breezy winds. The trades will remain at more or less moderate strengths through Wednesday. The latest computer forecast models continue to show that they will become stronger starting Thursday, with small craft wind advisories in those windiest places around the state then through the rest of the week.  

The incoming trade wind showers may increase later a little today, concentrating their efforts best along the windward coasts and slopes. Despite this modest increase in showers, there certainly won’t be enough to push the drought conditions back much. These showers may help a little by adding a modest amount of water to the upcountry reservoirs along the windward sides on Maui, which is much needed now. Although the leeward sides of all the islands won’t be on the receiving end of this short increase in shower activity….where it is needed the most. Conditions will dry out again starting Thursday, with just the usual few passing showers then.
 
The south and west facing leeward beaches will continue to see larger than normal surf breaking Wednesday. A couple of significant storms during the last two weeks, down near New Zealand, generated this long lasting swell episode. The second phase of this swell will keep the surf coming our way through today…then start dropping Thursday into the weekend. Folks using our local beaches, especially those not used to being in large waves…should exercise caution when entering the ocean where that type of surf is breaking. The NWS forecast office in Honolulu is continuing its high surf advisory for those leeward beaches.

It’s Wednesday here in Kula, Maui, as I begin writing this last paragraph of today’s narrative. The sunrise was quite a beauty here in the islands on this 4th of July holiday, as streaks of high cirrus clouds lit up into a colorful pink and orange color. If they are still around at sunset, there could easily be a colorful end to the day as well. Speaking of bright endings to the day, there will certainly be lots of fireworks displays available for the general public…including the backyard variety! We need to be very careful not to start any wild fires here in the islands, which could be sparked quickly with the trade winds blowing, and the very dry conditions in many areas of the 50th state now. ~~~ After work last evening I took in the new film called Transformers. "This film uncovers man’s greatest love — for machines that whir, click, rev or destroy. But before you dismiss this movie as toy porn for overgrown boys (not that there’s anything wrong with that), consider this: Never was this goofy rapture explored with more fun. For the non-Transformer heads among us, who couldn’t tell an Autobot from a Decepticon, it’s a wonderfully playful experience." – Washington Post. I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this film, but as it turned out I liked it very much, and kept me thoroughly entertained during my stay in the theater. ~~~ The weather looks like it will be just fine for this 4th of July, with lots of sun beaming down, especially over the leeward beaches, where many friends and families will gather for bbq’s, water sports, and generally just lounging around to da max. I’ll be back with your next weather narrative early Thursday morning. I hope everyone, everywhere, has a great Wednesday night! Aloha for now…Glenn.

Although the trade winds are a little lighter now, they will still bring their cooling and refreshing relief from the early summer heat. The latest weather map shows a 1030 millibar high pressure system located far to the NW of the Aloha state…which is the source of these locally breezy winds. The trades will remain at more or less moderate strengths through the first half of the week. The latest computer forecast models indicate that they will become stronger during the second half of the week, probably necessitating small craft wind advisories in those windiest place around the state then. The trade winds typically blow on average around 95% of the time during the month of July. 

Despite the few showers that we’ve seen at times recently, along the windward sides principally, conditions remain dry across most areas of Hawaii.  We’ve certainly been very happy to see these incoming showery clouds, carried in our direction by the trade winds…no doubt about that! Anytime that we have the trade winds blowing, there’s always that chance of a few showers falling…and that will continue to be the case this week. As a matter of fact, as the trade winds surge during the second half of the week, we may be lucky enough to see some marginal increase in windward showers arriving then. The leeward sides will be dry, except along the Kona side of the Big Island, where some afternoon or early evening showers may continue to grace those coffee plantations there.

The south and west facing leeward beaches will see larger than normal surf breaking today into Tuesday. A couple of significant storms during the last two weeks, down near New Zealand, generated this larger than normal swell episode. There will be several parts to this surf event, the first peaked this past weekend, with a second aspect arriving Monday night…which will keep this surf coming our way through most of this July 4th week. Folks using our local beaches, especially those not used to being in large waves…should exercise caution when entering the ocean where that type of surf is breaking. The NWS forecast office in Honolulu is continuing its high surf advisory for those leeward beaches, which should remain in force for many more days.

It’s Monday here in Kula, Maui, as I begin writing this last paragraph of today’s narrative. As noted in the paragraphs above, the three main weather elements in our Hawaiian Island weather picture now continue to be, the dry weather, the prevailing trade wind flow…and the larger than normal south swell waves along our leeward beaches. None of this turns out to be unusual for this summer month of July in the tropics of the north central Pacific. ~~~ Fortunately there have been a few showers falling here and there around the 50th state, although the unfortunate part of it is that it hasn’t been enough to push back our drought conditions…and it hasn’t been falling those driest locations. The trade winds fortunately have been strong enough to temper the afternoon heat in the lowlands, and that they will continue into the foreseeable future. The south swell waves have been large enough, in most places, to keep the surfing community happy, and fortunately not so large that any of our visitors have been hurt by it. ~~~ The one thing that I’m most worried about, at least in terms of weather here in the islands, is the threat of wild fire. The things working against us in that regard, are the very dry and tender conditions of many of our leeward areas; the gusty nature of our trade winds; the excessive amount of available fuel, in the form of dead grass and bushes; and finally, and the worst part…the upcoming fireworks activity during the 4th of July holiday! I just hope that folks will be extremely careful not to set off wild fires when they light their fireworks this year. ~~~ I’ll be back early Tuesday morning with your next weather narrative, I hope you have a great Monday night wherever you happen to be spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.