Weather Details & Aloha Paragraphs
Posted by GlennSeptember 6-7 2007
Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures were recorded across the state of Hawaii Thursday:
Lihue, Kauai – 86F
Honolulu, Oahu – 86
Kaneohe, Oahu – 86
Kahului, Maui – 89
Hilo, Hawaii – 87
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii – 87
Temperatures early Friday morning ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level at the 4 a.m. hour:
Honolulu, Oahu – 75F
Kahului, Maui – 66
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:
1.72 MOUNT WAIALEALE, KAUAI
0.59 MAKUA RANGE, OAHU
0.00 MOLOKAI
0.00 LANAI
0.00 KAHOOLAWE
0.22 OHEO GULCH, MAUI
0.44 PALI 2, BIG ISLAND
Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map…showing a 1032 millibar high pressure system located far NE of Hawaii now. At the same time we find a low pressure system, with its associated early season cold front to our NNW. This pressure configuration will keep the trade winds lighter than usual Friday…gaining a little strength this weekend. 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.
The gorgeous beaches of Oahu
Photo Credit:: flickr.com
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.
The overlying atmosphere is quite dry at the moment, thus limiting showers for the time being. The surface low pressure system, referred to in the paragraph above, will remain far to the north of Hawaii. This distance, even for its closer early season cold front, will have little influence in our area in terms of precipitation. A few showers will fall at times along the windward sides as usual, and perhaps along the Kona slopes on the Big Island. Weather models show another low pressure system forming to the NW of the state around Sunday, although once again, its associated cold front won’t make it down into our tropical latitudes. It will however cause a softening of our local trade winds by the middle of next week.
It’s Thursday here in the islands, as I update this last paragraph of today’s narrative. Thursday will be a relatively dry day here in Hawaii. Although looking at satellite imagery, there appears to be a minor area of showery looking clouds that may bring an increase in moisture to the windward sides of the Big Island and Maui Thursday night into Friday morning. A second field of showery looking clouds may make an appearance by Saturday, which as it turns out, is the remnant moisture from former tropical storm Gil, which was active in the eastern Pacific about a week ago. Neither of these two potential shower producers will bring any major rainfall into the state, and focus their efforts most generously along the windward coasts and slopes. This will more than likely keep the leeward beaches warm and mostly dry, although there could be somewhat more cloudiness around than normal. ~~~ I enjoyed watching the video below, it’s almost five minutes long, but with the music group the Doors playing a stormy song, it’s an unusual chance to see what it’s like to fly into a monster hurricane! If you can, stick with it all the way to the end, as the plane punches through to the clear center of the storm, its impressive! ~~~ I’ll be back early Friday morning with your next weather narrative from paradise. I hope you have a great Thursday night until then! Aloha for now…Glenn.
Here’s a video made three days ago of a recon plane flying into the eyewall of category 5 hurricane Felix…with a good music track!
Interesting…Felix and Henriette made history Tuesday, with both
Email Glenn James: 
