Hawaiian Islands weather details & Aloha paragraphs
Posted by GlennMarch 20-21 2008
Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures were recorded across the state of Hawaii Thursday:
Lihue, Kauai – 80
Honolulu, Oahu – 83
Kaneohe, Oahu – 79
Kahului, Maui – 82
Hilo, Hawaii – 79
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii – 81
Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level at 4 a.m. Thursday morning:
Honolulu, Oahu – 72F
Kahului, Maui – 63
Precipitation Totals – The following numbers represent the largest precipitation totals (inches) during the last 24 hours on each of the major islands, as of Thursday afternoon:
2.14 MOUNT WAIALEALE, KAUAI
0.25 OAHU FOREST NWR, OAHU
0.00 MOLOKAI
0.00 LANAI
0.00 KAHOOLAWE
0.50 WEST WAILUAIKI, MAUI
0.65 GLENWOOD, BIG ISLAND
Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map. A high pressure system is located to the northeast of Hawaii. Our local trade winds will get lighter as it moves swiftly eastward into the eastern Pacific Ocean…becoming light to moderately strong.
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.
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.
Looking down into the Haleakala Crater on Maui
Photo Credit: flikr.com
The strong and gusty trade winds of the last few days, will get lighter now into the weekend. A large high pressure center located to the northeast of Hawaii, has been the source area of our blustery trade wind flow this week. This high pressure cell is moving swiftly eastward, prompting the lighter winds. Small craft wind advisory flags have been scaled back considerably now, covering only those few windiest spots around the Big Island. The latest computer forecast guidance suggests that the trade winds will continue to blow through the next week.
Showery clouds have been hit and miss along the windward sides lately, although may become a bit more generous and frequent Friday. A trough of low pressure overhead, will likely enhance the incoming showers to some extent, carried by the trade winds into the weekend. This enhancement may stay in place into the early part of next week. The leeward sides will be generally immune from these showers, except on the smaller islands…where a few showers may be carried over there on the trade winds. The Kona slopes can always find a few afternoon showers falling of course.
It’s Thursday evening as I begin updating this last paragraph of today’s narrative. The spring equinox occurred early Thursday morning, bringing us into the first day of our spring season. Our local weather is acting just about right, at least looking at it from a climatological perspective. This of course is because the trade winds are the dominant weather element in our Hawaiian Island weather picture…which is a common springtime phenomenon. There don’t seem to be any major changes coming up through the rest of the week, and for that matter, nothing untoward weatherwise into early next week. The windward showers will increase some, with off and on showers expected there Friday into the weekend. ~~~ A quick glance at this satellite imagery, shows that high clouds continue to stream in our direction, thanks to the jet stream level winds aloft. A trough of low pressure, which is manufacturing all the cloudiness to our west, is still active. This suggests that we will see more of those sky beautifying high cirrus clouds arriving over the next few days…providing great sunset and sunrise colors! ~~~ Thursday was another good day here in the islands, the trade winds calmed down some, there were a few windward showers here and there, and those pesky high clouds arrived high in the atmosphere once again. I’m about ready to leave Kihei, heading into Kahului for a little shopping. I need some new walking shoes, so will try to find a comfortable pair first, and then consider how nice they may look as a secondary consideration. I can’t wait to start my three day holiday weekend, I’m so excited! I’ll catch up with you again early Friday morning, I hope everyone has a great Thursday night until then! Aloha for now…Glenn.
Interesting: Those incoming federal tax-rebate checks could do more than boost the economy. They might also boost your mood, with one caveat: You must spend the cash on others, not yourself. New research reveals that when individuals dole out money for gifts for friends or charitable donations, they get a boost in happiness while those who spend on themselves get no such cheery lift. Scientists have found evidence that income is linked with a person’s satisfaction with their life and other measures of happiness, but less is known about the link between how a person spends their money and happiness.
"We wanted to test our theory that how people spend their money is at least as important as how much money they earn," said Elizabeth Dunn, a psychologist at the University of British Columbia. The findings, to be detailed in the March 21 issue of the journal Science, come as no surprise to some marketing scientists. "It doesn’t surprise me at all that people find giving money away very rewarding," said Aaron Ahuvia, associate professor of marketing at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, who was not involved in the current study.
Interesting2: Whether you are cresting the peak of a majestic volcano or walking on a city street, there are immense amounts of heat beneath your feet — enough to provide all the energy the human population will ever need. In most places, though, that heat is trapped by solid rock — unavailable to our carbon-choked, energy-hungry populace. But the power could now be unleashed.
The 2009 Department of Energy (DOE) budget released in early February includes about $30 million for geothermal energy exploration — mostly for the construction of Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) demonstration plants. This is the first step toward achieving enough clean, constant power from the earth to provide around 10 percent of our baseline energy needs — a goal put forward by a panel of experts in January 2007.
Interesting3: An explosion atop the long-erupting Kilauea volcano rained gravel-size rocks onto a tourist lookout, road and trail, injuring no one but forcing parts of a national park to close. It was the first explosion in Kilauea’s main Halemaumau Crater since 1924, scattering debris over about 75 acres, said Jim Kauahikaua, scientist-in-charge at Hawaiian Volcano Observatory on the Big Island. The 4,190-foot volcano has been erupting from fissures along its side steadily for more than a quarter-century. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park draws thousands of people daily, with a visitors center and lodge near the crater rim.
No lava erupted as part of the 3 a.m. explosion. That suggests it was caused by hydrothermal or gas buildup, Kauahikaua said. Scientists monitoring the summit say that there’s a "remote possibility" of an eruption inside the half-mile-wide crater, but that it’s unlikely because other indicators of an eruption aren’t present. "The recent explosive event represents a significant addition and change to Kilauea Volcano’s ongoing activity, and Hawaiian Volcano Observatory is using every means available to study its causes and consequences," Kauahikaua said in a statement.
Interesting4: For the first time, satellite imagery reveals thick Martian salt deposits scattered across the planet’s southern surface, which one planetary scientist claims could be sites of ancient life. The mats of sodium chloride — the same taste-enhancing mineral found on your kitchen table — serve as more evidence of Mars’ watery past, and researchers think the briney pools that made them could have beehospitable to life. "If you’re trying to find life on Mars, the more and different places that exist, the better the chances are that one of them is going to have the right conditions," said Phil Christensen, a planetary geologist at Arizona State University. "It takes a lot of water to form salt, so this is another place to look." Christensen, who co-authored a March 21st study in the journal Science detailing the findings, said the salt deposits are a clear sign of water’s past presence, adding that they could be the most welcoming environment for life on Mars yet discovered.
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