August 10-11, 2009
Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures were recorded across the state of Hawaii Monday afternoon:
Lihue, Kauai – 83
Honolulu, Oahu – 87
Kaneohe, Oahu – 85
Kahului, Maui – 86
Hilo, Hawaii – 83
Kailua-kona – 88
Air Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level – and on the highest mountains…at 1 a.m. Tuesday morning:
Kailua-kona – 81F
Princeville, Kauai – 73
Haleakala Crater – 45 (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea summit – 43 (near 14,000 feet on the Big Island)
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:
0.41 Mount Waialaele, Kauai
0.50 Manoa Lyon Arboretum, Oahu
0.35 Molokai
0.02 Lanai
0.02 Kahoolawe
1.51 West Wailuaiki, Maui
0.49 Hilo airport, Big Island
Marine Winds – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map showing two high pressure systems to the north and northeast of the islands. These high pressure cells, along with their associated ridges to our north, will keep the trade winds Monday. Winds will become stronger and gusty Tuesday, as Felicia moves through the central part of the Hawaiian Islands late in the day…into Wednesday.
Satellite and Radar Images: To view the cloud conditions we have here in Hawaii, please use the following satellite links, starting off with this 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. Finally, here’s a Looping IR satellite image, making viewable the clouds around the islands 24 hours a day. 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 weather conditions.
Tropical Cyclone activity in the eastern and central Pacific – Here’s the latest weather 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. A satellite image, which shows the entire ocean area between Hawaii and the Mexican coast…can be found here.
Aloha Paragraphs
Tropical storm Felicia approaches from the east
We’ll find increasing clouds ahead of weakening tropical cylcone Felicia, with locally windy and showery weather Tuesday into at least part of Wednesday…improving conditions Thursday into the weekend. The Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC) is keeping the tropical storm watch alive over parts of the state of Hawaii Monday night…which includes the area from the Kauai Channel, across Oahu down through Maui County. Meanwhile, tropical storm warnings remain in effect over the offshore waters around the islands. A small craft wind advisory is also active in all of the coastal and channel waters across the state of Hawaii. A small craft wind advisory means: THAT WIND SPEEDS OF 25 TO 33 KNOTS (29-38 mph) AND/OR SEAS 10 FEET OR GREATER ARE EXPECTED TO PRODUCE CONDITIONS HAZARDOUS TO SMALL CRAFT.
As the leading edge of dissipating tropical cyclone Felicia pushes into the state of Hawaii…we’ll see increasing showers arrive first on the Big Island and Maui. As this tropical system moves over the central islands, all of the islands will take a turn in getting wet. Once this blustery weather moves west, past the state later Wednesday, we’ll return to favorably inclined trade wind weather conditions statewide, through the rest of the week. Here’s a looping radar image of the Hawaiian Islands, so we can begin to look for the leading edge of the showers associated with Felicia coming from the northeast and east.
Note: The NWS has a Flash Flood Watch active for the islands of Kauai, Oahu, and Maui County through Wednesday afternoon. This means that…quoting the NWS: "ALTHOUGH FELICIA IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE WEAKENING…ABUNDANT MOISTURE ASSOCIATED WITH THIS SYSTEM MAY STILL PRODUCE HEAVY RAINFALL…WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR FLASH FLOODING. THE LATEST FORECAST FOR FELICIA INDICATES THAT THE THREAT OF HEAVY RAIN WILL CONTINUE INTO WEDNESDAY…AND THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH HAS BEEN EXTENDED." The threat of heavy rain has lessened for the Big Island, so that island is no longer under this Flash Flood Watch.
There has been a continued weakening of tropical storm Felicia into Tuesday morning. The latest CPHC forecast now shows that Felicia will be a tropical depression, as it moves through the central part of the island chain. Here’s a tracking map, showing the center of Felicia moving over Maui County…and Oahu. Here’s a satellite image showing this weakening tropical storm in relation to the Hawaiian Islands. At 2am Tuesday morning, the center of TS Felicia was 190 miles east of Kahului, Maui, and 280 miles east of Honolulu.
The latest reports from tropical storm Felicia at 2am Tuesday morning, showed 35 knots of sustained winds, which equates to 40 mph…with gusts to near 52 mph near the center. This tropical storm is expected to gradually weaken throughout the rest of its life cycle…becoming a tropical depression as it moves into the state of Hawaii. Tropical depression winds are 39 mph or lower.
If the current Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC) forecast holds true, with a tropical depression moving across the central islands…we will see the following conditions. We’ve already seen the high surf pounding our east facing shores of the Big Island and Maui…bringing dangerously large breaking waves to our beaches. This surf will spread up to the other islands as well. The NWS forecast office in Honolulu is keeping a High Surf Warning in effect…for the east facing shores of Maui County and the Big Island. This high surf is expected to continue pounding those shores into Tuesday at 6pm. The other islands in the chain will see rising surf as well, becoming larger into Tuesday. The high surf along the east facing shores of the southern islands may exceed 15 feet. High surf along Oahu and Kauai’s east shores may exceed 8 feet, and last until 6pm Wednesday evening.
~~~ As Felicia gets closer, we’ll see blustery winds, with gusts being enhanced where physical terrain features accelerate the flow. Finally, when this tropical depression moves into the state…we’ll see increasing clouds, and localized showers late Monday night into Tuesday and Wednesday. It’s difficult to gauge exactly how much precipitation that we might receive ahead of time, but an estimate might be 1-3+ inches, with higher amounts locally. Flash flooding remains a threat across some parts of the island chain.
It’s Monday night here in Kula, Maui, as I writing this update to the narrative. If you had a chance to read down through this entire page, you know that gradually weakening tropical storm Felica is heading towards our Hawaiian Islands. The gradual weakening of Felicia is being caused by the stronger winds at upper levels of the atmosphere…the so called shearing winds. These are conditions that typically inhibit further strengthening of a storm…and almost always cause further weakening.
~~~ Tropical storm Felicia has definitely run under those upper winds, which are decoupling the thunderstorms above Felicia…from the lower reaches of the storm. These shearing upper winds have had a big impact on the integrity of the storm, although there’s still thunderstorm activity to the northeast of the center. Here’s a looping satellite image of Felicia moving towards the islands, so you can see what I’m talking about.
There should continue to be a gradual losing of this storm’s strength as it nears Hawaii through Tuesday night into Wednesday.
~~~ This weakening doesn’t mean that we won’t be seeing blustery winds and showers
however, which are still forecast to bring inclement weather conditions to the islands from Maui up through Kauai. Now that this storm has been sheared apart, the lower level circulation of the storm…the lower cloud swirl, will be directed along by our easterly trade wind flow. It would be wise to keep a close eye on this storm as it spins closer in our direction. Speaking of a close eye, here’s a satellite image of Felicia and the Hawaiian Islands.
~~~ A new tropical depression called 9E has spun up in the eastern Pacific Ocean. This tropical cyclone is expected to strengthen into a tropical storm named Guillermo, and continue on into our central Pacific as a tropical storm. It’s present track timing would bring it into our part of the Pacific Ocean basin by this Friday evening. Here’s the NHC tracking map for this newly formed system. Here’s the satellite photo of 9E.
~~~ Meanwhile, at 5pm HST Monday evening, a new tropical cyclone named 1C started down to the southwest of the Hawaiian Islands…again here in the central Pacific Ocean. We don’t need to worry about 1C, as it is near 1000 miles to the west-southwest of Honolulu. Here’s a tracking map…and a satellite image of that area.
~~~ The computer models are trying to spin up a 3rd storm in the eastern Pacific, which would be called 10E, which would take on the name tropical storm Hilda. This would be yet another storm that would likely travel westward into our central Pacific Ocean!
~~~ I was just leaving Kihei at around 630pm, a long day, after starting at 4 something Monday morning! I love my work, so it wasn’t a problem. By the way, I just checked to see how many of you folks logged onto my website Monday, and I’m totally amazed to find that there were 55,590 page impressions…which is a new record for this Hawaii Weather Today internet presence in one day! There were 790 clicks on the google ads Monday as well, amazing to say the least, and let me say thank you so much for your readership!
~~~ It’s around 2am Tuesday morning, and I’m up writing on this website, and updating the Pacific Disaster Center’s website as well. I should be asleep, but my wind chimes are clanking around so loudly, that it woke me up…and I figured I’d get up and see what was going on. I’ve dis-assembled the chimes, so that it’s a lot quieter now, and I’ll try and get back to bed. I’ll be up in a few hours though, and will be back here to fire up this website again then. I hope you have a great Monday night until then! Aloha for now…Glenn. ,
Email Glenn James: 
