Weather Details & Aloha Paragraphs
Posted by GlennAugust 21-22 2007
Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures were recorded across the state of Hawaii Tuesday:
Lihue, Kauai – 85F
Honolulu, Oahu – 88
Kaneohe, Oahu – 82
Kahului, Maui – 89
Hilo, Hawaii – 85
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii – 85
Temperatures early Wednesday morning ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level at the 4 a.m. hour:
Lihue, Kauai – 77F
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 Wednesday morning:
1.59 MOUNT WAIALEALE, KAUAI
0.11 LULUKU, OAHU
0.08 MOLOKAI
0.01 LANAI
0.02 KAHOOLAWE
0.16 PUU KUKUI, MAUI
0.34 PAHOA, BIG ISLAND
Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map…showing a 1029 millibar high pressure system located NNE of Hawaii Wednesday. This high pressure cell has elongated ridges of high pressure extending out to the west and east. This pressure configuration will keep our local trade winds blowing in the moderately strong category over Hawaii’s coastal waters through Wednesday, with stronger gusts in those locally windiest areas. An upper level low will start the trade winds getting lighter Thursday. 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.
Our local trade winds will start to slow down gradually through the rest of the week…becoming very light by the weekend. The latest weather map shows a 1026 millibar, trade wind producing high pressure system to the north of the islands. Thanks to this high pressure cell we’ll find light to moderately strong trade winds blowing, although with stronger gusts in those usual windier locations through Wednesday. The winds will remain strong enough to keep small craft wind advisories active over only the Pailolo and Alenuihaha channels. The trade winds will be slow recovering their normal strength next week.
Just a few showers will spill from the clouds passing over the windward sides of the islands now, potentially getting wetter towards the weekend. The leeward sides will remain mostly dry in contrast, except along the Kona slopes of the Big Island, where some afternoon or evening showers will fall occasionally. The computer forecast models continue to suggest that an upper level low pressure system may help to increase showers locally towards the end of the week…which would be rather unusual for this time of year. A long shot would have thunderstorms forming near some of the islands.
It’s Tuesday here in the islands, as I update this last paragraph of today’s narrative from Kula, Maui. I’ve been bucking what the computer forecast models have been saying the last few days, as it would be quite unusual for rainfall to be quite as heavy as they portray this time of year. Some of them are rather insistent however that an upper level low pressure will move over or near the state Friday into the weekend. This would support fairly major instability, with the chance for some localized heavy showers, or even some thunderstorms. It seems reasonable to think that we will see the trade winds getting very light during this time frame, I will agree with that…which would make for hot and humid conditions for several days there. Whether the heavier showers occur, well, that remains a question. At this point I suppose it could go either way: localized heavy showers just about anywhere…or just some increased showers, some could be heavy, focused most intently over the interior upcountry sections during the afternoon and early evening hours. I propose that we remain skeptical about this for another day or two…although it may take getting right into the weekend before we finally know for sure which way the ball will bounce! ~~~ I’ll be back early Wednesday morning, I hope you have a great Tuesday night until then! Aloha, Glenn.
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