Weather Details & Aloha Paragraphs
Posted by GlennSeptember 22-23 2007
Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures were recorded across the state of Hawaii Saturday:
Lihue, Kauai – 87F
Honolulu, Oahu – 88
Kaneohe, Oahu – 83
Kahului, Maui – 84
Hilo, Hawaii – 80
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii – 87
Temperatures early Sunday morning ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level at the 4 a.m. hour:
Lihue, Kauai – 77F
Hilo, Hawaii – 68
Precipitation Totals – The following numbers represent the largest precipitation totals (inches) during the last 24 hours on each of the major islands, as of Sunday morning:
0.32 KALAHEO, KAUAI
0.65 NUUANU UPPER, OAHU
0.12 MOLOKAI
0.01 LANAI
0.00 KAHOOLAWE
1.32 PUU KUKUI, MAUI
2.13 KEALAKEKUA, BIG ISLAND
Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map…showing high pressure systems located far to the NW and NE of Hawaii. These high pressure cells will merge to our north Monday. This pressure configuration will keep moderate trade winds blowing through Monday across our Hawaiian islands…locally stronger and gusty in those locally windiest areas. 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 and Radar 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.
Frolicking in the warm Hawaii ocean
photo credit: flickr.com
The trade winds will continue to blow here in the islands on this last day of summer 2007…into the first day of autumn Sunday. Weather maps show a 1029 millibar high pressure system located far to the NNE of the islands Saturday evening. Wind speeds will range between light to moderately strong, all the way up to strong and gusty, depending upon your location. As usual, these breezes will be strongest during the days, and lightest in general during the nights. The latest model output indicates that the trade winds will continue well into the new week ahead.
There will still be a few showers around, although drier air is moving into the Aloha state, with fewer showers through the rest of this weekend into at least the first day of the new week ahead. Shower activity will depend largely on how much cloudiness is being carried into the state by the trade winds at any one time…although satellite imagery shows very few moisture patches heading our way at the moment. The bottom line, in terms of precipitation, is that it will be generally quite dry, especially along our leeward beaches.
It’s Saturday evening as I start writing this last paragraph of todays weather narrative. The weather here in the islands will remain nice through these last few hours of summer 2007…continuing on Sunday, the first full day of autumn…into the new week ahead. The trade winds will prevail well into the future, with no end in sight at the moment. The autumn season in the middle latitudes implies cooler weather and the chance for the first cold fronts of the season. Those weather elements down here in the tropics, don’t happen that soon. The tropics cool down slowly, as we are surrounded by a warm ocean, which just now is attaining its warmest temperatures of the summer season. It will take until late October, even into early November for the ocean to cool a few degrees…which will prompt a cooling in our overlying atmosphere. The arrival of a autumn cold front or two, with their cooler air arriving from more northern latitudes, to finally break the spell of summer. ~~~ I’ll be back Sunday morning with your next weather narrative from paradise. I hope you have a great Saturday night wherever you happen to be spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.
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