April 21-22 2008

Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures were recorded across the state of Hawaii Monday: 

Lihue, Kauai – 79
Honolulu, Oahu – 86
Kaneohe, Oahu – 81
Kahului, Maui – 86
Hilo, Hawaii – 81
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii – 83

Air Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level at 4 p.m. Monday afternoon:

Honolulu, Oahu – 83F
Molokai airport – 78   

Precipitation Totals – The following numbers represent the largest precipitation totals (inches) during the last 24 hours on each of the major islands, as of Monday afternoon:

0.56 MOUNT WAIALEALE, KAUAI
0.39 POAMOHO 2, OAHU
0.06 MOLOKAI
0.00 LANAI
0.02 KAHOOLAWE
0.40 PUU KUKUI, MAUI
0.53 KEALAKEKUA, BIG ISLAND

Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map showing a 1027 millibar high pressure system located to the NE of the islands, the source of our trade winds now. Those trades will remain moderately strong, with locally stronger and gusty conditions in those windiest areas through Tuesday…becoming lighter Wednesday.

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.


Aloha Paragraphs



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Waterfall on the Big Island of Hawaii
Photo credit:flickr.com

Moderately strong trade winds will dominate our Hawaiian Island weather picture through Tuesday. The computer forecast models suggest that by Wednesday the trades will start breaking down, giving way to lighter winds into early Friday. This will be caused by a low pressure system moving by to our north. Starting later Wednesday, this low will push our trade wind producing ridge of high pressure down near the islands for a couple of days. This in turn will bring back a period of light winds, which if they swing around to the southeast direction…could carry volcanic haze up over Maui County from the Big Island. The lighter winds will allow urban haze to form over the island of Oahu. The high pressure ridge will bounce back northward later Friday, bringing back the atmospheric clearing trade winds during the weekend and beyond.

Whatever few showers that fall over the next couple of days, will be limited in coverage, and on the light side. The majority of these few showers will fall along the windward coasts and slopes. As usual, we’ll see afternoon clouds gathering over and around the mountains…with perhaps a few showers over the Kona slopes. Looking further ahead, during the second half of this new week, the light winds will cause a convective weather pattern for a short time, with most of the showers that fall then, occurring during the afternoons in the upcountry interior areas. The returning trade winds will bring the bias for showers back over to the windward sides later Friday into the weekend.

It’s Monday evening as I begin updating this last section of today’s narrative. This time of year, it’s more and more difficult to hold back the trade winds from blowing. We will see them blowing most of the time this week, although as noted in a paragraph above, there will be a couple of days when they falter. This short break from the trade winds will be short lived, as a low pressure system, later Wednesday through early Friday, moves by to our north…knocking the trade winds down. As is often the case, the trade winds will keep our air visibilities in good shape. As the trade winds give way to light and variable winds however, we often see haze developing, some of it of a volcanic origin if southeast breezes are blowing. It’s too early to know just how thick this haze may be Thursday into Friday, although we do know that whatever is still around, will be ventilated away by the returning trade winds later Friday into the weekend.

~~~  Monday was a great day here in Hawaii, with plentiful sunshine beaming down just about everywhere. All that sunshine gave a kick upwards to our local thermometers! The maximum temperature in both Kahului, Maui, and Honolulu, Oahu, reached a very warm 86F degrees. While I was in Kihei, right down near the beach, my car thermometer was reading 89F degrees, which felt more like summer than spring! Looking out the window here in Kihei, before I drive upcountry to Kula, skies are almost totally clear, with just a few clouds hugging the sides of the West Maui Mountains…and up on the Haleakala slopes. I expect a mostly clear night, with yet another gorgeous day on tap Tuesday. I’ll be back very early Tuesday morning with your next new weather narrative. I hope you have a great Monday night until then! Aloha for now…Glenn.

Interesting: JPL (NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory) Earth Scientists Reflect on Earth Day  – April 21, 2008 

In commemoration of Earth Day on Tuesday, April 22, JPL Earth scientists were asked to reflect on the event, and what it means to them. Here are some of their responses: 

"My father was a biologist who brought his family from Cuba to the United States. I still remember as a boy long walks with him on the beach as he pointed out the different organisms and the beauty of our planet. Those long walks instilled in me a love for understanding our planet, and more importantly, the desire to make sure we are good stewards of the precious gift we call planet Earth."

– Jorge Vazquez, PhysicalOceanographyDistributedActiveArchiveCenter task scientist

"At NASA, every day is Earth Day. After all our explorations of the universe, we are still awed by our own miracle planet and reminded daily that we have only one Earth. But we also see warning signs posted all over our home. Oceans are warming and rising, glaciers are retreating, our atmosphere carries pollution to all nations, forests are disappearing and our out-of-control population growth is crushing the environment. Yet Earth is a tough old gal, and we still control our collective future. Earth Day is a time for us to pause and consider how each of us, all of us, can work together as trustees of our home, Earth, to benefit our collective future."

– Bill Patzert, climatologist

"At the moment I am working with a number of JPL colleagues on the topic of global change and the role that JPL and NASA can play in this process. The considerable talent and expertise of the people I have the opportunity to work with in conjunction with their and JPL’s sincere intentions to contribute to this very important global problem make Earth Day particularly meaningful and going to ‘work’ extremely fun!"

– Duane Waliser, senior research scientist   

"I study Earth science because I want to know: ‘What will the future bring?’"

– Tony Mannucci, Ionospheric and Atmospheric Remote Sensing Group

"NASA and international space agencies are collaborating to study the polar regions of Earth in ways that have never been done in the past. Observations gathered by satellites as well as field parties on the ground have shown that the vast expanses of ice in Greenland and Antarctica are melting away in response to climate warming. We are now putting all our efforts to be able to predict how ice will melt in the coming century because ice melt raises global sea level and the impact this will have on coastal populations will be significant–some populations will have to leave their homes and move inland."

– Eric Rignot, senior research scientist

"I have been working at JPL for 10 years, mainly on developing and using radar satellites to study vegetation all over the world. Radars allow us to measure vegetation changes and some characteristics of its structure, such as height and biomass (the amount of material in the forest). This enables measurement of the impact of climate change on vegetation. How do they contribute to the atmosphere (example: oxygen, carbon dioxide) and other life forms (human and animals) on Earth?  Are forests destroyed? Can they survive climate change?"

– Marc Simard, senior scientist, radar systems