Weather Details & Aloha Paragraphs
Posted by GlennJuly 19-20 2007
Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures were recorded across the state of Hawaii Thursday:
Lihue, Kauai – 85F
Honolulu, Oahu – 89
Kaneohe, Oahu – 85
Kahului, Maui – 89
Hilo, Hawaii – 86
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii – 84
Temperatures early Friday morning ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level at the 4 a.m. hour:
Honolulu, Oahu – 78F
Hilo, Hawaii – 70
Precipitation Totals – The following numbers represent the largest precipitation totals (inches) during the last 24 hours on each of the major islands, as of Friday morning:
1.89 MOUNT WAIALEALE, KAUAI
1.18 OAHU FOREST NWR, OAHU
0.10 MOLOKAI
0.06 LANAI
0.00 KAHOOLAWE
0.71 PUU KUKUI, MAUI
0.15 HONAUNAU, BIG ISLAND
Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map…showing a moderately strong 1032 millibar high pressure system located to the north Hawaii Thursday. The trade winds will remain light to moderately strong over Hawaii’s marine environment…although locally stronger and gusty in those usual windiest locations through most of Friday. As tropical depression Cosme moves by to the south of the Hawaiian Islands, local winds will become stronger and gusty Friday night into Saturday. 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.
Tropical Cyclone activity in the eastern and central Pacific – Here’s the latest information coming out of the National Hurricane Center, covering the eastern north Pacific. You can find the latest tropical cyclone information for the central north Pacific (where Hawaii is located) by clicking on this link to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. Here’s a tracking map covering both the eastern and central Pacific Ocean.
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 view of the Big Island…where tropical depression Cosme will be passing by to the south, bringing increasing rain and winds
There will be a few showers along the windward sides in some places into Friday. These unusual out of season bands of showers, will bring a little more moisture into the state, although again, most of the associated precipitation will fall on the windward coasts and slopes. The Big Island of Hawaii will begin to see some influence from tropical system Cosme Friday, at which point more significant rain will move into the Aloha state. The trade winds are expected to remain in the more or less moderately strong realms, and then increase rather significantly later Friday into Saturday, as Cosme moves by to our south.
Tropical cyclone Cosme, rating a tropical depression designation, is moving through the central Pacific. This tropical system started out this past weekend as tropical depression 06E, or the sixth tropical cyclone of the 2007 hurricane season. It then strengthened into a tropical storm, then briefly a hurricane, before being downgraded back into a tropical storm…and now all the way down to a depression. The Central Pacific Hurricane Center in Honolulu is forecasting this storm to pass to the south of the Big Island Friday night, and south of the rest of the state through Saturday. Here’s a tracking map…so you can follow the progress of Cosme. It will be close enough to bring the northern fringe of its shower bearing moisture field up over the Big Island, with potentially heavy rain falling in places there. There’s a decent chance that Maui, Molokai and perhaps even Oahu and Kauai could see this moisture plume arrive as well. At this point, the best guess is that the windward sides of the Big Island would see as much as 5+ inches of rain, Maui 2-3 inches…and 1-2 inches on Oahu and Kauai. Here’s an animated satellite image showing Cosme to the ESE of Hawaii. Additionally, we should start to see an increase in surf size along the east facing shores, especially on the Big Island, as the swells generated by this tropical system arrive.
It’s Thursday evening here in Hawaii as I begin writing this last paragraph of today’s tropical weather narrative. Everyone in the Hawaiian Islands should be paying close attention to the approach of this tropical system, which will be moving close to the Hawaiian Islands soon. The latest forecasts coming out of the Central Pacific Hurricane Center in Honolulu, shows the system moving by just south of the Big Island. If it remains on this track, it will be close enough to bring its associated showers to the 50th state. This would begin to happen first on the Big Island Friday, and then for the rest of the islands into Saturday. Residents on the Big Island, and perhaps other parts of the state, should be aware that localized flooding is certainly a possibility. ~~~ In terms of wind speeds…this low pressure vortex (Cosme), will enhance the strength of our local trade winds. We will likely need small craft wind advisories over all the coastal waters, and perhaps even wind advisories over the islands themselves, as the low pressure center moves by, moving in a more or less west to WNW direction. The winds could get strong enough in those wind prone areas, to be a problem, becoming quite blustery in places. In sum, getting windier and wetter later Friday into Saturday…especially on the Big Island. Let’s use this satellite image to keep track of the clouds associated with Cosme. Weather conditions will improve after the passage of this tropical system, with fairly routine trade wind conditions prevailing into next week. ~~~ I’ll be back early Friday morning with your next weather narrative, including the latest news about approaching tropical depression Cosme…the first tropical system to move near the islands during this 2007 hurricane season. Aloha for now…Glenn.
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