The trade winds will remain on the brisk side Sunday, blowing in the moderate to fresh range into Monday.  Weather maps show an unusually strong 1037 millibar high pressure system far to the north Sunday. This high pressure cell will keep the trade winds active through the next week and beyond. This in turn has required the issuance of small craft wind advisories in the channels in the southern part of the state now…as well as those windiest areas around Maui and the Big Island then.  

The upper level low pressure system, which teamed up with abundant low level moisture recently, bringing unusual summer showers to some parts of the state of Hawaii…is now gone. These showers helped to push back the drought conditions to some degree in places around the state…which was a good thing! The upper level low pressure system is now being replaced by an upper ridge, which will prompt drier conditions statewide. There will still be a few passing showers along the windward sides, although not many. The leeward beach areas will be quite sunny during the days, and fair at night.   

It’s Sunday here in the islands, as I begin writing this last paragraph of today’s narrative.  As noted above, the recent showers are a thing of the past now, as we settle back into a normal summertime trade wind weather pattern. The trade winds will be around through the next couple of weeks, with nothing on the horizon other than more or less favorable weather conditions. It’s quite early in the morning as I write these words, before sunrise at least. As I glance over to the north, I can see a beautiful streak of pink, where an area of wispy cirrus cloudiness is lighting up. Otherwse, I don’t see any clouds, even on the normally cloudier windward sides. The peaks of the West Maui Mountains of course have a thin stratocumulus capping cloud, which is very normal. It’s quite a rare day in the summer to see the West Maui Mountains without at least a few clouds hovering over them…and usually a lot more than that. Those mountains are one of the rainiest places on earth, so it’s not surprising to see those peaks cloud shrouded almost everyday. ~~~ All things considered, Sunday and Monday will be great days, as will most of the days during the next week! I’ll be back early Monday morning with your next weather narrative from paradise. Aloha for now…Glenn.

The trade winds aren’t going away anytime soon, that’s for sure. Weather maps show a moderately strong 1027 millibar high pressure system far to the NE at the moment. This high pressure cell will keep the trade winds active through at least the next week, and probably longer. The computer forecast models continue to show the trade winds picking up a notch in strength as we hit Friday into the upcoming weekend. This in turn will likely require the issuance of small craft wind advisories in the channels in the southern part of the state…as well as those windiest areas around Maui and the Big Island then.

There will be a few showers around along the windward sides, although nothing unusual in terms of precipitation is expected for the time being.  As is common, with such a typical summertime trade wind weather pattern in force, the most generous amounts will be deposited along the windward coasts and slopes during the cooler night and early morning hours. There may continue to be a few showers falling during the afternoon hours along the Kona upcountry slopes as well. This leaves the leeward beaches in fine shape, with lots of sunshine, and mostly dry conditions. 

It’s Thursday here in the islands, as I begin writing this last paragraph of today’s narrative.  Other than recently retired tropical depression (Erick – 08E) in the eastern Pacific, and a storm or two (Usagi – 05W, and newly formed tropical depression 06W) in the western Pacific…the remainder of the Pacific Ocean is rather placid. This is often the case during the summer month of August. Fair weather prevails here in the central Pacific, with the moderately strong trade winds the dominate weather feature in the Hawaiian Island weather picture. There’s a few showers spilling onto the windward coasts and slopes, helping to water the tropical vegetation that grows there. Satellite imagery shows some fairly minor high cirrus clouds to the SW of the islands, which may skim across the skies over Maui and the Big Island at times. This wispy cirrus cloudiness usually provides nicely colorful sunrise and sunset colors. ~~~ Higher in the skies, we will find an active meteor shower late next week, and then later in the month a total lunar eclipse as well…both of which should add a little excitement to our lives then. I’ll have more information in this space about those celestial events soon. ~~~ I’ll be back early Friday morning with your next weather narrative. I hope you have a great Thursday night wherever you may be reading from! Aloha, Glenn 

The trade winds will remain in the light to moderately strong category through Thursday. Weather maps show a moderately strong 1028 millibar high pressure system far to the NE now. This high pressure cell will keep the trade winds active through at least the next week. The computer forecast models continue to show the trade winds picking up a notch in strength as we get into the upcoming weekend. This in turn will likely require the issuance of small craft wind advisories in the channels in the southern part of the state…as well as those windiest areas around Maui and the Big Island then.

A new tropical cyclone has formed in the eastern Pacific, given the number 8E. This tropical system remained a tropical depression only briefly, before quickly strengthening into a tropical storm named Erick. Here’s a tracking map, showing that it will be moving into the central Pacific as a tropical storm. This is not a threat to the Hawaiian Islands, as it is a long ways away at this point, although by next week we may need to be watching its progress a little more closely. Here’s a satellite image of tropical storm Erick.

It’s Wednesday here in the islands, as I begin writing this last paragraph of today’s narrative. We had a pretty good couple of days going there, when showers were falling more actively than usual. This helped to deposit showers in some of those dry areas that needed it. We have had an ongoing problem with drought conditions in some areas, as many of you know. As noted above however, satellite imagery shows fewer clouds upstream of the islands now, which will cut back on our incoming showers along the windward sides. The leeward sides, which are almost always dry and sunny during the summer months, will remain that way. Meanwhile, there’s a fair amount of high cirrus clouds to the west of the state, which the upper level winds may carry over the islands. This looks to be rather thin however, so rather than doing much dimming and filtering of our famous Hawaiian sunshine, it will lend more of a beautifying aspect to our skies. All things considered, we will see nice weather prevailing! ~~~ I’ll be back early Thursday morning with your next weather narrative from paradise. I hope you have a great Wednesday night wherever you may be spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.