Weather Details & Aloha Paragraphs
Posted by GlennAugust 12-13 2007
Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures were recorded across the state of Hawaii Sunday:
Lihue, Kauai – 88F
Honolulu, Oahu – 89
Kaneohe, Oahu – 85
Kahului, Maui – 84
Hilo, Hawaii – 84
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii – 86
Temperatures early Monday morning ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level at the 4 a.m. hour:
Lihue, Kauai – 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 Monday morning:
0.94 MOUNT WAIALEALE, KAUAI
0.42 SOUTH FORK KAUKONAHUA, OAHU
0.03 MOLOKAI
0.00 LANAI
0.00 KAHOOLAWE
0.24 WEST WAILUAIKI, MAUI
1.25 KEALAKEKUA, BIG ISLAND
Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map…showing the continued presence of a large 1033 millibar high pressure system located far north of Hawaii Monday. The trade winds will be moderately strong over Hawaii’s coastal waters, although locally stronger and gusty in those usual windiest locations through Tuesday…stronger around the Big Island Tuesday.
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.
Increasing large surf along the east and SE coasts of the Big Island later Monday, followed by very strong winds and locally torrential rain with the approach of dangerous hurricane Flossie…surf, blustery winds, and tropical showers moving up over the other islands locally through Thursday.
Our local winds will show a significant increase Tuesday near the Big Island. Weather maps show the continued presence of an unusually large 1033 millibar high pressure system far to the north of Hawaii Monday. This high pressure cell will keep the trade winds active through the next week. Small craft wind advisories have been extended across most of the state Monday morning. As tropical cyclone Flossie moves by just to the south of the state Tuesday, Wednesday into Thursday, we will see our local winds become blustery, especially in the southern part of the state around the Big Island. We will likely see small craft wind advisories in all of Hawaii’s coastal waters soon, with the chance of a gale warnings in the waters around the Big Island as hurricane Flossie moves by.
We will see increasing showers later Monday as the leading edge of showers associated with flossie arrives along the windward sides of the Big Island…spreading up the island chain locally Tuesday into Wednesday. This satellite image shows hurricane Flossie to the SE of the Aloha state. As Flossie moves by just to our south, there will be a significant increase in showers, especially on the Big Island…although all the islands will see some increase in showers for several days.
It’s Sunday here in the islands, as I begin writing this last paragraph of today’s narrative. Tropical cyclone Flossie continues to move in our general direction as a dangerous category 4 hurricane. Here’s a tracking map, showing the expected path as it continues to move across the waters of the north central Pacific. Flossie is now expected to remain a hurricane as it passes by to the islands. As you can see from the track, Flossie will move by just to the south of the Hawaiian Islands Tuesday through Thursday. If the current forecast track remains accurate, with the center of Flossie staying about 100 miles south of the Big Island, we would likely see a marked increase in our local wind speeds in the southern part of the state. Here’s another tracking map, with a satellite image included. As hurricane Flossie moves by the Big Island and the islands of Maui County, we will see an increase in tropical showers for the 50th state …with most of the heaviest amounts taking aim on the Big Island. It is highly recommended that residents of Hawaii continue tracking the progress of this storm, as it moves westward. It should be pointed out that these tropical cyclones are notorious for changing directions, and this one could move either further north or south as it gets closer to the islands…prompting a change to the weather expectations noted above. Here’s a looping satellite image of Flossie, including the Hawaiian Islands. ~~~ I’ll be back with more weather updates later today, including the latest information on hurricane Flossie. I hope you have a great Sunday wherever you happen to be spending it. Aloha for now…Glenn.
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