Weather Details & Aloha Paragraphs
Posted by GlennNovember 3-4 2007
Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures were recorded across the state of Hawaii Friday:
Lihue, Kauai – 84
Honolulu, Oahu – 82
Kaneohe, Oahu – 83
Kahului, Maui – 90
Hilo, Hawaii – 83
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii – 84
Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level at 5 a.m. Saturday:
Kailua-kona – 75F
Kahului, Maui – 67
Precipitation Totals – The following numbers represent the largest precipitation totals (inches) during the last 24 hours on each of the major islands, as of Saturday morning:
1.20 HANALEI RIVER, KAUAI
0.98 NUUANU UPPER, OAHU
0.00 MOLOKAI
0.01 LANAI
0.00 KAHOOLAWE
0.24 KAUPO GAP, MAUI
1.90 PAHOA, BIG ISLAND
Weather Chart – A strong high pressure system is still evident far to the NE of Hawaii, although its associated ridge to our north is being weakened rapidly by low pressure to our NW. This pressure configuration will keep our winds lighter and from the SE to south over the next several days. Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map. 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.
The beautiful colors of Hawaii’s ocean
photo credit: flickr.com
Saturday will start off just fine in most areas, with clouds increasing during the afternoon…leading to locally heavy upcountry showers. A Kona low is forming to the northwest of Kauai now, which will lead to a greater degree of instability in our overlying atmosphere. This unstable air mass will increase the chance for heavy showers, with localized flooding probable over the next several days. The NWS has continued the flash flood watch for the entire state of Hawaii through Tuesday night as a matter of fact. As we move into Saturday night, Sunday and Monday, and perhaps even Tuesday…a more widespread rain event is expected.
This unsettled weather pattern will include southeast to south winds across the islands. Southeast winds can bring volcanic haze up over the Kona coast, reaching as far NW as the islands of Maui County in such a case. Winds coming in from this direction help to draw up rich moisture from the deeper tropics as well, which help to feed showers that form over the Aloha state. The combination of the tropical moisture from our southeast and south, and the instability caused by the upper low’s cold air…is what will prompt locally heavy showers, or even thunderstorms at times.
This will be the first major rain storm of the autumn season here in Hawaii. The computer forecast models had a difficult time getting to a common weather solution, although over the last several days, have finally agreed upon a common weather solution. We’re looking for a final end to what turned out to be quite a dry summer on some of the islands…where drought conditions prevailed. We will see the chance for heavy showers starting Saturday afternoon, focused most intently over and around the mountains. There will certainly be towering cumulus, and the chance of an isolated cumulonimbus clouds.
The weekend will start off in a pleasant enough manner, although conditions will get progressively wetter as the Kona low moves closer to the islands by Saturday night and Sunday. There is a good chance that flash flooding will occur in some places, so everyone should be alert for weather related problems. The air aloft may be cold enough to cause the seasons first snowfall atop the summits on the Big Island. The Haleakala Crater on Maui will be too far below the freezing level to see any of that white stuff however. It will likely take until the middle of next week for these inclement weather conditions to move away. We can look for improvement to occur around next Wednesday, when the trade winds will return, and drier weather moves back through the remainder of the week.
On another note, stepping aside from the weather for a moment, I saw the new film called Michael Clayton Friday evening after work, starring George Clooney among others. The Boston Globe gave this film an A- in terms of a grade, and said the following: "Steadily paced, occasionally lumbering, the movie’s for grown-ups willing to settle in and sift the complex chess moves of legal and personal feint and counterfeint." – The Chicago Sun-Times wrote: "Michael Clayton makes old-style Hollywood craftsmanship look easy. It’s one of the most satisfying films of the year, recalling a classy breed of studio film more common in the 1970s and the early ’80s. Such films often made money, but they weren’t blockbusters and didn’t try to be. Generally they were too low-key to bust any blocks. So is “Michael Clayton,” but I suspect it will wear well, and well past Oscar season." Here’s a trailer for Michael Clayton. I very much enjoyed this film, and would recommend it highly for those that are drawn to such stories such as this.
It’s Saturday here in the islands, as I write this last paragragh of this narrative. Last night when I went to bed up here in Kula, Maui, just before I fell asleep, I kept noticing this white flickering reflected in the window. I finally sat up and looked in the direction it was coming from, which to be to the north, over towrds Paia and Haiku. It turned out to be an incredible display of constantly flashing lightning from thunderstorms offshore from the north shore of east Maui! It’s still dark as write these words, with all of that now having ended. ~~~ As you can see from this looping satellite image, we have a ton of high clouds being drawn up over the islands from the south, and the heavy duty looking rain clouds associated with the approaching counterclockwise rotating Kona low pressure system to the north. While I’m adding links to keep an eye on this approaching storm, here’s a looping radar image as well. ~~~ I’ll be back often during the day, and through each of the next 3-4 days, keeping you closely abreast of all the latest weather news in regards to this seriously wet weather situation that will envelope the islands soon. Aloha for now…Glenn.
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