The trade winds, which are common during this part of the late summer season, will continue blowing across our tropical latitudes of the central north Pacific Ocean. Weather maps show a 1030 millibar high pressure system located far to the NNE of the islands Tuesday evening. The latest computer forecast models show the winds remaining stronger than normal through Thursday, then easing back and becoming a little softer Friday and Saturday…only to pick up again Sunday into early next week. These stronger trade winds have caused a small craft wind advisory to be issued for those windiest areas in the southern part of the state.

We find outselves in what could be considered a fairly normal trade wind weather pattern, with most showers falling along the windward coasts and slopes now…which shouldn’t be heavy, but could be quite numerous at times. The long lasting upper level low pressure system, which has been hanging around Hawaii, to the NW, is about 700 miles away Tuesday. The latest computer forecast models now show it returning to an area within 400 miles of the Aloha state in a couple of days. There will likely be little direct influence on our local weather, although the two most pronounced things we’ll notice will be: an increase in high cirrus clouds locally, and a possible modest increase in showers along our windward sides. 

It’s Tuesday evening here in the islands, as I update this last paragraph of today’s narrative. We just can’t seem to shake the presence of this very long lasting upper level low pressure system to our NW…it just doesn’t want to go away! During the last week and more, it has at times brought periods of briefly heavy showers, and off and on spells of sun dimming high cirrus clouds. The computer forecast models over the last couple of days, had shown a more distinct increase in showers over the state starting in a couple of days, although now they have backed off that quite a bit. As a matter of fact, the latest model runs show no organized areas of showers arriving through the next week. ~~~ All of these windward showers lately have brought good tidings in terms of pushing the summer drought conditions back. Even the leeward sides, where drought was of most concern, have received off and on showers lately too…all of which is good news! ~~~ By the way, I trust you will enjoy these last few days of summer 2007, as the autumnal equinox occurs here in Hawaii late this coming Saturday night…September 22nd. ~~~ I’ll be back early Wednesday morning with your next weather narrative, I hope you have a great Tuesday night wherever you happen to be spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.

The trade winds have become blustery now, strong enough in fact that the NWS forecast office in Honolulu has raised small craft advisory flags over the major channels in the southern part of the state…in addition to Maalaea Bay on Maui, and the leeward waters around the Big Island. Weather maps show a 1029 millibar high pressure system located far to the NNE of the islands Monday. The latest computer forecast models show the winds remaining stronger than normal all week, then easing back and becoming softer during the upcoming weekend. Wind speeds were exceeding 40 mph at South Point on the Big Island Monday afternoon…with many of the windiest places gusting to well over 30 mph.

It’s Monday morning here in the islands, as I update this last paragraph of today’s narrative. Well, as mentioned in the paragraphs above, the trade winds will be with us this week as our major weather influence. At the same time, the overlying atmosphere will be quite dry and stable, thanks to high pressure aloft over and around the Hawaiian Islands…making for relatively dry weather. Although, anytime the trade winds are blowing, there’s always that chance of showers arriving along the windward sides. Then too, the Kona slopes on the Big Island are famous for afternoon or evening showers during a trade wind episode. The latest forecast models show another upper level low pressure system arriving to the NW of Kauai after mid-week…which could enhance our incoming trade wind showers Thursday and Friday. ~~~ Since we’re still involved in the late summer of the year, we are still active in the 2007 hurricane season. Looking over into the eastern Pacific, there isn’t anything happening at the moment, although there are a few areas that may flair-up into a tropical depression over the next couple of days. Here in the central Pacific, there are no spinning storms, although there is a tropical disturbance located about 650 miles SE of the Big Island, although if it were to spin up into a tropical depression, it would be slow to develop. ~~~ A large batch of high cloudiness is again moving over the islands, as shown in this satellite image. 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.

The trade winds will be with us through the next week, strongest Wednesday through Friday…then a little lighter by next weekend. Weather maps show a 1032 millibar high pressure system located far to the NE of the islands Sunday. There are no advisories for these trade winds in our marine environment now, although by mid-week for a couple of days, we will likely see a small craft wind advisory over some of the major channels. 

It’s Sunday evening here in the islands, as I update this last paragraph of today’s narrative.  As noted in the paragraph above, a batch of moisture passed through the state yesterday and overnight. You can see by clicking on the following satellite picture, that there are still lots of clouds around. They will however gradually be moving away to our west by Monday. The leeward beaches will have the best luck in finding sunshine, although the cirrus clouds will keep sunshine to a minimum again today. As noted in one of the paragraphs above, we will be transitioning back into a more normal trade wind weather pattern soon however. This will bring us back into a much sunnier reality, just the way our local sunworshippers like it…not to mention the visitors who are here seeking those all important sun tans! ~~~ I’ll be back early Monday morning with your next weather narrative, I hope you have a great Sunday night wherever you happen to be reading from. Aloha, Glenn.

There continues to be no end in sight for our light to moderately strong trade winds here in Hawaii.  Weather maps show a pair of 1026 millibar high pressure systems located far to the NE of the islands Thursday. These high pressure cells have their associated ridges extending southwest to a point north of our islands. The location of this ridge will keep light to moderately strong trade winds blowing, although locally stronger and gusty during the afternoons in those windiest areas around the Aloha state.  

It’s Thursday evening here in the islands, as I update this last paragraph of today’s narrative.  As noted in the paragraph above, a batch of tropical moisture will be passing by to the south of the state over the next couple of days. You can see this area of clouds, currently to the lower right of the Big Island (SE) by clicking on this satellite picture. It appears that these showery clouds won’t make it much further north than the Big Island and Maui, and most of those will likely arrive along the windward side of those southernmost islands. ~~~ Other than that, the only other exciting thing happening here in the islands, at least in terms of the natural environment, is the new south swell that will bring rising surf to our south and west facing leeward beaches now. The NWS office in Honolulu has issued a high surf advisory for those south facing beaches and reefs, so if it looks too large, definitely stay on the beach. ~~~ Most of the state of Hawaii will have nice weather through the next week, or at least that’s how it looks from this vantage point. I’ll be back early Friday morning with your next weather narrative, I hope you have a great Thursday night wherever you happen to be hanging out! Aloha for now…Glenn.

A slightly lighter version of the trade winds will blow across the Hawaiian Islands now, then increase some as we move into Friday and the weekend.  Weather maps show a somewhat reduced 1026 millibar high pressure system located far to the NE of the islands Wednesday evening. This high pressure cell has its associated ridge extending southwest to a point north of our islands. The location of this ridge will keep light to moderately strong trade winds blowing, although locally gusty during the afternoons. The current computer forecast models suggest that we will see these trade winds strengthening some by the weekend into next week, as this high pressure system moves closer to our area and strengthens. They may be strong enough then to see small craft advisories going up in the major channels in the southern part of the Aloha state.

The upper level trough of low pressure, which has kept our local atmosphere somewhat more unstable than usual, is still around at mid-week. This low doesn’t have very much of an influence on our local weather…although may be able to keep a few briefly heavy showers around here and there. Other than those locally heavier showers we can look for just the usual few passing showers along the windward sides, and a couple of afternoon or evening showers over the interior sections locally, especially the leeward slopes of east Maui, and the Kona slopes of the Big Island. The majority of the leeward beaches will remain quite sunny, with just the occasional cloudy periods. High level winds are bringing cirrus clouds up from the SW at times too, so there may be some intrusion of this high cloudiness during the next couple of days…most notably over east Maui and the Big Island. Just checking the latest GFS computer forecast model run, shows an area of tropical moisture coming into the state from the SE direction on Friday. This could, if the models are correct, bring an increase in showers into the southern part of the state…some of which could be locally heavy then.

It’s Wednesday evening here in the islands, as I update this last paragraph of today’s narrative. Other than the high clouds that are streaming by over the southern part of the 50th state now, and the presence of the upper level low pressure system, located nearby, our weather here in the islands will be just fine. Those high cirrus clouds will filter and dim the sunshine to some degree, although it appears to be quite thin and shouldn’t give our local sunworshippers too much trouble. Back to the upper level trough, it will keep some measure of instability in place, although whatever briefly heavy showers that fall will be very localized at best. The windward sides may see a couple of quick heavy passing showers here and there too. The upcountry sections of Maui, around Kula, Keokea, and down to Ulupalakua, and then over on the Kona slopes of the Big Island…might also see an afternoon or evening shower falling too. ~~~  As noted in the paragraph above, we may see an increase in showers Friday into Saturday, as an area of tropical moisture moves up over the state from the SE…some of which may be locally heavy. ~~~ The big news in the marine environment now will be the arrival of a high surf advisory level south swell on Thursday. Be careful if you find yourself along one of those leeward beaches, and the waves look too large…then stay out of the water by all means! ~~~ I’ll be back early Thursday morning with your next new weather narrative, I hope you have a great Wednesday night until then. Aloha for now…Glenn.

The trade winds will remain active across our tropical latitudes, increasing some as we get to Friday and the weekend, continuing into early next week. Weather maps show the same 1028 millibar high pressure system located far to the NE of the islands Tuesday evening…the one that has been keeping our trade winds alive during the last week. This high pressure system is far away, although the lower end of its associated ridge extends down to our north. The location of this ridge will keep light to moderately strong trade winds blowing, with somewhat stronger gusts in those usual windier areas…especially during the afternoon hours.. The current computer forecast models suggest that we will see these balmy trade winds remaining active through at least the rest of this work week…strengthening some by the weekend into early next week.

A long lasting upper level low pressure system, to the NW of Kauai Tuesday, is moving away now. It doesn’t appear that this low will have much of an influence left on our local weather…although may be able to keep a few briefly heavy showers around here and there. Other than those locally heavier showers we can look for just the usual few passing showers along the windward sides, and a couple of afternoon or evening showers over the interior sections locally, especially the Kona slopes of the Big Island. The majority of the leeward beaches will remain quite sunny, with just the occasional cloudy periods. High level winds are bringing cirrus clouds up from the SW at times too, so there may be some intrusion of this high cloudiness over the next couple of days…most notable over the southern part of the Aloha state.

It’s Tuesday evening here in the islands, as I update this last paragraph of today’s narrative. As is often the case, once we get into the last month of summer, we begin to see more surf breaking along our beaches than during June, July and August. The reason is that we begin to see early season swells being generated by gale low pressure systems far to the NW. At the same time, adding to this activity, retired tropical storms and typhoons in the western Pacific, often end up in the Aleution Islands, and send us swell trains of waves too. Then there’s the late winter storms in the south hemisphere, that send us late summer south swells for our islands. The bottom line here is that we will find lots of waves arriving along all our beaches and reefs during the next week…none of which will be dangerous in size however. ~~~ I was mentioning the high clouds in the previous paragraph, which became quite thick over the Big Island and Maui during the day. At any rate, this evening’s sunset should be pretty spectacular, as will Wednesday morning’s sunrise if those ice crystal clouds are still around then. ~~~ I’ll be back early Wednesday morning with your next weather narrative from paradise, I hope you have a great Tuesday night until then! Aloha for now…Glenn.

The light to moderately strong trade winds will continue to bring cooling relief from the hot late summer afternoons here in the islands. Weather maps show a 1031 millibar high pressure system located far to the NE of the islands…the source of our trade winds now. This high pressure system is far away, although its associated ridge swings down to our north. The placement of this ridge will keep light to moderately strong trade winds blowing across our tropical latitudes. The current computer forecast models suggest that we see these balmy trade winds remaining active through at least the rest of this week.

Interesting story on NPR …Dan O’Connor of Papaikou, Hawaii, plays recordings he made of underwater volcanoes and visiting Humpback whales.

The trade winds will remain active through the next week, blowing in the light to moderately strong range here in the islands. The latest weather map shows a strong 1034 millibar high pressure system located far to the NE of the islands…the source of our trade winds now. This high pressure system is too far away to provide us with its strongest winds. It associated ridge is close enough however, to keep light to moderately strong trade winds across our tropical latitudes. The current computer forecast models suggest that we will see no end to this late summer trade wind episode through at least the next week.

An upper level low pressure system, southwest of Oahu, will keep our local atmosphere a bit unstable, with some of the showers around briefly heavy. As this satellite image shows, there is a distinct lack of clouds being carried our way on the trade winds. Although that satellite picture does show an area of clouds just east of the state, which should increase our clouds and a few showers Sunday night into Monday morning. The daytime heating of the islands may prompt some afternoon cloud buildups as well, which may provide a shower or two. We can’t rule out the chance of a few heavy showers as a result…since the upper low pressure in our general vicinity will allow good vertical development to these afternoon convective clouds.

It’s Sunday evening here in the islands, as I update this last paragraph of today’s narrative. The upper level low pressure system mentioned above, is still around, now located to the SW of Oahu. This upper low is expected to pass across our islands, and end to the north of Hawaii over the next couple of days. Sometimes this can promote showers, or even locally heavy showers, although the models show not very much moisture for this upper low to work with…so there’s a good chance that it won’t have much influence on our local weather conditions. ~~~ A storm far to the NW has generated a NW swell, which will arrive around the middle of the new work week ahead. Speaking of surf, a storm in the southern hemisphere, down near New Zealand, has also generated a swell, which will arrive on the oppose sides of our islands (along the leeward shores) about the same time during the new week ahead. ~~~  I’ll be back early Monday morning with your next weather narrative, I hope you have a great Sunday night wherever you happen to be spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.

We’ll see a softer version of the trade winds here in the islands for a day or two now. The latest weather map shows a 1030 millibar high pressure system located far to the NE of the islands…the source of these lighter trade winds. Meanwhile, that same weather map shows an early season gale low pressure system to the NNW of Kauai. As this storm spins by to our north over the next couple of days, its associated cold front is pushing SE towards Hawaii. This frontal cloud band won’t make it to the main Hawaiian Islands, although it has pushed our trade wind producing high pressure ridge southward, closer to us now. This in turn has weakened our local trade winds. Weather models suggest that already by the weekend the trade winds will be picking up some speed, becoming light to moderately strong again through the middle of next week.

Interesting…Felix and Henriette made history Tuesday, with both Atlantic and Pacific hurricanes making landfall in the same day. This is the first time this has happened since records began in 1949. Felix slammed into Central America’s Miskito coastline on Tuesday, with Henriette striking the Baja peninsula just eight hours later. Felix hit the remote north-eastern coast as a category 5 hurricane; the strongest on the scale, packing winds of 160 mph. The hardest hit region was Puerto Cabezas where torrential rains destroyed almost half of the city’s houses, leaving a number of people dead. After making landfall, Felix quickly weakened into a tropical storm, but forecasters at the National Hurricane Center are still worried that up to 25 inches of rain could drench Guatemala City over the coming days. It has been a record breaking start to the 2007 hurricane season, with Felix coming just two weeks after Dean tore through southern Mexico. This marked the first time on record that two category 5 Atlantic hurricanes hit land in the same year.

The trade winds will remain active here in the Hawaiian Islands, although get softer as we head through the next couple of days. The latest weather map shows a 1030 millibar high pressure system located far to the NE of the islands…the source of our trade winds now. Meanwhile, that same weather map shows an early season storm low pressure system about 1000 miles to the NNW of Kauai. As this storm develops and deepens a bit more over the next couple of days, its associated cold front will push SE towards Hawaii. This frontal cloud band won’t get near the main Hawaiian Islands, although it will push our trade wind producing high pressure ridge southward, closer to us. This in turn will weaken our local trade winds, becoming lighter over the next couple of days, remaining somewhat lighter than normal into early next week.

Interesting…Felix and Henriette made history yesterday, with both Atlantic and Pacific hurricanes making landfall in the same day. This is the first time this has happened since records began in 1949. Felix slammed into Central America’s Miskito coastline on Tuesday, with Henriette striking the Baja peninsula just eight hours later. Felix hit the remote north-eastern coast as a category 5 hurricane; the strongest on the scale, packing winds of 160 mph. The hardest hit region was Puerto Cabezas where torrential rains destroyed almost half of the city’s houses, leaving a number of people dead. After making landfall, Felix quickly weakened into a tropical storm, but forecasters at the National Hurricane Center are still worried that up to 25 inches of rain could drench Guatemala City over the coming days. It has been a record breaking start to the 2007 hurricane season, with Felix coming just two weeks after Dean tore through southern Mexico. This marked the first time on record that two category 5 Atlantic hurricanes hit land in the same year.