Hawaiian Islands weather details & Aloha paragraphs / December 31, 2009 – January 1, 2010

December 31, 2009 – January 1, 2010

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

Lihue, Kauai – 80
Honolulu, Oahu – 83
Kaneohe, Oahu – 81
Kaunakakai, Molokai – 79
Kahului, Maui – 82
Hilo, Hawaii – 84
Kailua-kona – 84

Air Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level around the state – and on the highest mountains…at 4pm Thursday afternoon:

Honolulu, Oahu – 82F
Princeville, Kauai – 72

Haleakala Crater – 50 (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea summit – 39 (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 Thursday afternoon:

0.80 Princeville airport, Kauai  
0.22 Wilson Tunnel, Oahu
0.00 Molokai 
0.00 Lanai
0.00 Kahoolawe
0.01 Puu KukuiMaui
0.01 Kahua Ranch, Big Island

Marine Winds – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map howing a high pressure system passing by to the north of the islands, then to the northeast Saturday. Our winds will be generally light north to northeast Friday, gradually turning southeast and south later Saturday.

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

  Full moon & fireworks…Happy New Year Everyone!

A series of cold fronts will move towards, or into the state, during the next week. The main storm track in the Pacific Ocean, will remain quite far north of the islands however. This will generally limit the energy of these frontal cloud bands from having too much influence on our local weather conditions here in Hawaii. As has been the case during the last week, these cold fronts have tended to stall before reaching Kauai, or just bring a few showers to Kauai, and Oahu….for the most part. The overlying atmosphere remains fairly dry, which will also work against their dropping very much in the way of precipitation. I do notice, that the thin leading edge of this front has small pockets of heavier showers…making a quick pass overhead. You will see what I mean by clicking on the radar link just below.

The first of these cold fronts will push down through the islands soon over Kauai, and then into early Saturday…on the other islands. Here’s a looping radar image, showing this line of showers moving down the island.



The computer forecast models show another one coming in our direction over the weekend, with a third at some point early next week…perhaps early Tuesday. None of these are anything to worry about in terms of too much rainfall, nor anything to get excited about in terms of breaking the drought that we have going on now either. The forecast models suggest that perhaps later next week, we could finally get a wetter cold front.

Light to moderately strong Kona winds will remain in place ahead of this weakening cold front, with perhaps a brief period of slightly cooler north to northest breezes later Friday into early Saturday…before more light Kona winds return. During El Nino episodes, like we have now, we often see lighter than normal winds, as high pressure ridges are pushed southward over the islands. At the same time, these light winds typically bring hazy conditions to the islands…this haze often has the volcanic vents on the Big Island, as their source. Since we’re talking about El Nino, often we see examples where cold fronts lose their impetus before arriving, or stall as they try and enter the island chain. This in turn limits their rainfall potential, putting the state in a drought condition…as is now happening. One more common thread through this El Nino display is larger than normal surf, destined for our north and west facing shores.

As mentioned above, there appears to be more of the same in store, with off and on periods of volcanic haze, more weak cold fronts, and large to extra large surf for next week. It looks likely that our New Year’s Eve celebrations may have just enough breezes to help with ventilation, although there’s lots of volcanic haze around at the same time. We should see a brief spell of north to NE winds later Friday, perhaps helping to clear the hazy weather away a little. This won’t last long though, as more soft winds will return this weekend, with probably just enough of a southerly and southeasterly flow to bring the vog back by Sunday. This will be happening as a ridge drops down over or near us, prompted by the approach of the next weak cold front, which won’t produce much rainfall…and stall someplace between Kauai and Oahu again around early next Tuesday.









I’ve certainly been talking a lot about cold fronts lately, although they haven’t amounted to very much…that’s for sure! This is so typical of a winter influenced by El Nino. All the major storms remain far to the north of the islands, as shown on this weather map. All those storm and gale low pressure systems, are riding the polar jet stream winds, up around 45 and 50 degrees north latitude. The low pressure systems down here closer to the tropics are much weaker, as are their associated cold fronts. At the same time we have high pressure systems pushed down further south than normal too, which keeps our local winds light. At the same time, we have high pressure ridges anchored nearby, which often helps to draw volcanic haze up over parts of the island chain.

It’s almost Thursday evening here on Maui, as I begin writing the last section of today’s narrative.  We have a lot going on now, what with the cold front, the gusty Kona winds, the vog, the blue full moon, and New Year’s Eve!











  Here’s an IR satellite image of this cloud band. Here’s a much larger satellite image of the Pacific, showing the islands outlined in blue. ~~~











I’m going out for my early evening walk now, but will be back a little later, likely having a nice celebration drink in hand, to add a few further thoughts then. In case this is your last read of the year, I hope you have a great, great New Year! Thanks so much for being one of the readers of this Hawaii Weather Today website! We’ll, it’s a little later in the evening now, and that totally huge full moon has risen over the flank of the Haleakala Crater…beaming in the window of my weather tower at the moment. I’m having a little to drink, and I must admit it feels good, well…it’s true. In my mind, New Years Eve is the ultimate date night, even if you’re by yourself! I’m gonna go find us another song, somethin’ to follow the Beatles, now that might not be so easy! I found a couple more things in the video realm, as the full moon once again catches my eye….out the window. Time to drink some water, excuse me for a few moments. I just got my hands on the photo from early this morning, showing the near full moon sliding into the West Maui Mountains…from right next door to where I live here in Kula. We’re going to lose the moon in a while, as the frontal clouds migrate down through the islands. I don’t know if I’m going to be staying up until midnight, it’s about 10pm, and I’m getting a little slowed down, a little tired, and thinking fondly about crawling under that warm down comforter. If I check out, no worries, I’ll meet you back here tomorrow, on New Year’s Day. Aloha for now…Glenn.

Extra: “Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do, than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” —Mark Twain

Extra2: The truth about the Blue Moon

Extra3: One of my favorite singers and dancers of all times…what better night to watch this video than the last night of the decade!

Extra4: Sometimes you just wanna to get down and dirty...like tonight! – don’t be afraid of that volume switch on this one!

5artxE:…alright, if you insist

Only on a December 31st, several hours before midnight…falling deeper into the night.

We can’t leave out the basic truth here, in a song...don’t be afraid to turn it up now.

This is a fast moving cold front bringing showers through the islands now! The rains were over Oahu at the moment, a little after 9pm, falling where President Obama and his entourage are staying on the windward side.

>>>>>>>Interesting, up the mountain from here, people are firing off guns into the night, that certainly got my attention! I havn’t heard that sound in a long time.<<<<<<<<<

Interesting:  In 2005, the journal Injury Prevention reported that New Year’s Day is more deadly for pedestrians than any other day of the year. From 1986 to 2002, 410 pedestrians were killed on New Year’s Day. Fifty-eight percent of those killed had high blood alcohol concentrations. Alcohol also plays a significant role in the deaths of pedestrians throughout the year, according to information from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

In 2007, their research found that "37 percent of fatally injured pedestrians 16 and older had blood alcohol concentrations at or above 0.08 percent." Of those killed at night, 54 percent had high blood alcohol levels. During the period from July 2008 to June 2009, of the 86 patients ages 16 and older who were treated at Loyola after being struck by cars, 18 were found to have some level of alcohol in their system.

Of that number, 14 had blood alcohol concentrations at or above 0.08 percent, the legal definition for impaired driving in Illinois. "If they had been driving and were stopped by police, they would have been arrested for driving under the influence," Esposito said. Esposito added that the number doesn’t include the people who suffer injuries in their homes from unintentional causes and violence after drinking.

"It’s not just walking outside. All the time we see people who have been drinking that have fallen down the stairs or tripped at home and injured themselves. Others have decided to pick a fight using a knife or with someone holding a gun," Esposito said. If you drink and plan to walk on New Year’s Eve or any other day of the year, you have to take special care, Esposito said. Don’t wear dark clothing at night that can make it difficult for drivers to see you. Walk solely on the sidewalks and cross at designated crossings.

Also, it’s a good idea to walk in a group, which is easier for drivers to spot, and try to walk with at least one person who has not been drinking, a designated chaperone or escort. Drivers need to take extra care when in locations where people drink, such as areas with large numbers of bars, since intoxicated pedestrians have slower reflexes and can be unpredictable, Esposito said.

People throwing parties in which alcohol is consumed have an equal obligation to watch over their guests who are walking home as they do with the ones who may be driving. "You have to be able to assess someone’s perceived ability to safely get from one place to the other," Esposito said. "If their mode of transportation is a car, you do things to prevent them from driving.

If that mode of transportation is their legs, then you either drive them or make them stay at home." Even if a guest who is walking and who has been drinking is staying on the premises, you should be aware that they can trip and fall down the stairs, Esposito said. "So you don’t want to send them up to the second-story bedroom," Esposito said.

Interesting2: For many, celebrating the holidays calls for a champagne toast. But for some people popping a bottle of bubbly can be dangerous to your health. "Eye injuries from flying champagne corks, especially around the holidays, are fairly common," said Mark Melson, M.D., assistant professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the Vanderbilt Eye Institute.

"Champagne is part of the holidays, but opening the bottles properly might save some folks a trip to the emergency room or a visit to their eye doctor. "It might be cool to have the cork pop and it’s exciting to have champagne gush from the bottle, but it’s not fun to suffer an eye injury that may prove to be devastating."

Melson, who specializes in oculoplastic reconstructive surgery and neuro-ophthalmology, said the pressure from a champagne cork can be up to 3 times more than the pressure in a car’s tire. And champagne or sparkling wine corks can travel at speeds up to 50-60 miles per hour.

"That is a lot of force to the eye," said Melson. "The damage can range from corneal abrasions to retinal detachment. The best advice if someone does suffer an eye injury is to seek medical attention immediately.

Do not manipulate the eye in any way." Those suffering from eye-related cork injuries might experience severe eye pain, discharge of fluid from the eye, loss of vision, flashes of light, floaters or specs in the eye as well as the feeling that a curtain or shadow is covering their vision.

Melson, along with the American Academy of Ophthalmology, suggests the following tips for proper champagne opening:

• Make sure the bottle of bubbly is chilled. If left warm the pressure is more likely to build.
• Don’t shake the bottle. This only increases the speed of the cork upon opening.
• Place a towel over the top of the bottle to provide an additional shield.
• Keep the bottle tilted at a 45-degree angle, pointing away from people.
• Hold the cork while twisting the bottle to break the seal. Keep your hand over the cork.
• Never use a corkscrew to open a bottle of champagne. It will only serve as a larger, more dangerous projectile.

"Often times, people have a delayed response because of impaired judgment," said Melson. "And if treated in an appropriate fashion, we can prevent vision loss and permanent eye damage. "I would recommend that people be as responsible as possible and just think about what you are doing before popping the cork. It’s one thing for the cork to hit the ceiling, but you can’t always control where that cork goes."

Interesting3: Research from the University of Reading suggests that two glasses of champagne a day may be good for your heart and circulation. The researchers have found that drinking champagne wine daily in moderate amounts causes improvements in the way blood vessels function. Champagne does this by increasing the availability of nitric oxide, a vascular active molecule which controls blood pressure. It is able to induce these effects because it contains polyphenols, plant chemicals from the red grapes and white grapes used in champagne production.

When you drink champagne, these polyphenols get absorbed into the circulation where they are able to act on the vascular system. Specifically, they appear to slow down the natural removal of nitric oxide from our blood, meaning that it will have a longer time to act on blood vessels and so improve the flow of blood around the body. High nitric oxide levels in the blood, as a result of drinking champagne, can have beneficial effects, because as well as increasing blood flow, it may help to decrease both blood pressure and the likelihood of blood clots forming.

This could therefore reduce the risks of suffering from cardiovascular disease and stroke, but more research needs to be done to determine the long term effects of daily champagne consumption. Dr Jeremy Spencer, from the Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences said: "Our research has shown that drinking around two glasses of champagne can have beneficial effects on the way blood vessels function, in a similar way to that observed with red wine. We always encourage a responsible approach to alcohol consumption, but the fact that drinking champagne has the potential to reduce the risks of suffering from cardiovascular diseases such as heart disease and stroke, is very exciting news."