Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures were recorded across the state of Hawaii Tuesday: (latest information not available from NWS)
Lihue, Kauai – 80
Honolulu airport, Oahu – 84
Kaneohe, Oahu – 80
Molokai airport – m
Kahului airport, Maui – 88 (record for Tuesday – 94 in 1953)
Kona airport 83
Hilo airport, Hawaii – 80
Air Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level – and on the highest mountain tops…as of 5pm Wednesday evening:
Barking Sands, Kauai – 85
Hilo, Hawaii – 72
Haleakala Crater – m (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea summit – m (over 13,500 feet on the Big Island)
Here are the 24-hour precipitation totals (inches) for each of the islands as of Wednesday morning: (latest information not available from NWS)
0.85 Kilohana, Kauai
0.71 Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu
0.09 Molokai
0.01 Lanai
0.42 Kahoolawe
0.56 Puu Kukui, Maui
1.10 Kawainui Stream, Big Island
Marine Winds – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map showing a 1031 millibar high pressure system…far to the northeast of our islands. Our local winds will be strengthening into Friday.
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 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. 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 web cam on the summit of near 13,500 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 web cams are available during the daylight hours here in the islands…and when there’s a big moon shining down during the night at times. Plus, during the nights you will be able to see stars, and the sunrise and sunset 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. A satellite image, which shows the entire ocean area between Hawaii and the Mexican coast…can be found here.
Aloha Paragraphs
Increasing trades, high and middle level clouds…showers too
The trade winds blowing across the islands will gradually become somewhat stronger through Saturday…backing off some Sunday into early next week. Glancing at this weather map, we find a 1031 millibar high pressure system located far to our northeast. This high pressure cell has an elongated ridge of high pressure draping southwest, putting it to the north of our islands. As this high moves a bit more southward towards Hawaii, our trade winds will increase a notch into Saturday. These trade wind breezes, with their stronger gusts, have triggered a NWS issued small craft wind advisory. This advisory covers the windiest channels and some coasts too, around Maui County and the Big Island. The computer forecast models suggest that by later this weekend, into next week…our trades would ease up some.
Our trade winds will be strengthening…the following numbers represent the strongest gusts, along with directions Wednesday morning: (latest information not available from NWS)
16 Port Allen, Kauai – NE
23 Kahuku, Oahu – ENE
08 Molokai – NE
24 Kahoolawe – ESE
25 Lipoa, Maui – SE
07 Lanai – S
30 Upolu Point, Big Island – NE
We can use the following links to see what’s going on in our area of the north central Pacific Ocean Wednesday night. Looking at this NOAA satellite picture we see those high and middle level clouds moving over the entire state, associated with an upper level low pressure system…with a few towering cumulus or even a small thunderstorm to the southwest of the state. We can use this looping satellite image to see areas of high level clouds over the islands now, with a counterclockwise rotation to them. We can also see lots of lower level cumulus clouds to our east, being carried in our direction on the strengthening trade wind flow too. Checking out this looping radar image we see that our local radar is down, at least at the time of this writing.
Sunset Commentary: Here we go again, with yet another upper level pool of cold air having slipped right over us. This slightly counterclockwise rotating low pressure system…can be viewed by clicking on this satellite image. This water vapor looping satellite image shows it well too. This colder than normal air overhead will help to once again destabilize our overlying atmosphere…like we saw last week. The word unusual has to be written here again, especially considering the slight chance of thunderstorms over the state.
Meanwhile, we have lots of lower level clouds riding in on the strengthening trade winds, to our east-northeast. We can see these cumulus clouds moving our way by checking out this looping IR satellite image…although the high cirrus is obscuring it lots. The instability mentioned above will help to enhance the windward biased showers, which may become quite generous at times through Saturday. The cold air aloft might allow a few downpours in the upcountry leeward slopes…especially on the Big Island and perhaps Maui too. I don’t expect more snow atop Mauna Kea, but this year, who the heck knows anymore? At any rate, this period of somewhat stronger trade winds, and the somewhat increased chance of showers, will likely continue right on into the weekend.
Here in Kihei, Maui at 535pm Wednesday evening, skies are generally cloudy, alright all cloudy. Theve been that way all day, or at least since those high clouds from the west slid overhead. Looking upcountry, where I'm heading soon, there may be a few light showers falling. Here in Kihei though, nary a drop in sight. I'll be back early Thursday morning, which will be Friday for me, as there's a holiday on the actual Friday, glory be! At any rate, I hope you have a great Wednesday night wherever you may be spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.
Extra: There's still a little snow atop Mauna Kea on the Big Island Wednesday evening…although its melting fast!
Interesting: The Sun unleashed an M-2 (medium-sized) solar flare, an S1-class (minor) radiation storm and a spectacular coronal mass ejection on June 7, 2011. The large cloud of particles mushroomed up and fell back down looking as if it covered an area of almost half the solar surface.
A solar flare is a sudden brightening observed over the Sun surface or the solar limb, which is interpreted as a large energy release of up a sixth of the total energy output of the Sun each second. Solar flares strongly influence the local space weather in the vicinity of the Earth. They can produce streams of highly energetic particles in the solar wind, known as a solar proton event, or coronal mass ejection.
These particles can impact the Earth's magnetosphere and cause a geomagnetic storm. A geomagnetic storm is a temporary disturbance of the Earth's magnetosphere caused by a disturbance in the interplanetary medium.
A geomagnetic storm is a major component of space weather and provides the input for many other components of space weather, and present radiation hazards to spacecraft, astronauts and cosmonauts.
The current flare event is moving at 1400 km/s according to NASA models. The flare event should deliver a glancing blow to Earth's magnetic field during the late hours of June 8th or June 9th. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras when it arrives.
Interesting2: New research focusing on the Houston area suggests that widespread urban development alters weather patterns in a way that can make it easier for pollutants to accumulate during warm summer weather instead of being blown out to sea. The international study, led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), could have implications for the air quality of fast-growing coastal cities in the United States and other midlatitude regions overseas.
The reason: the proliferation of strip malls, subdivisions, and other paved areas may interfere with breezes needed to clear away smog and other pollution. The research team combined extensive atmospheric measurements with computer simulations to examine the impact of pavement on breezes in Houston.
They found that, because pavement soaks up heat and keeps land areas relatively warm overnight, the contrast between land and sea temperatures is reduced during the summer. This in turn causes a reduction in nighttime winds. In addition, built structures interfere with local winds and contribute to relatively stagnant afternoon weather conditions.
"The developed area of Houston has a major impact on local air pollution," says NCAR scientist Fei Chen, lead author of the new study. "If the city continues to expand, it's going to make the winds even weaker in the summertime, and that will make air pollution much worse."
Interesting3: The 8th of June is World Oceans Day, our annual chance to celebrate all things marine! Coordinated by The Ocean Project and The World Ocean Network, World Oceans Day encourages us to consider everything that the oceans provide us with — from oxygen to climate regulation, food to pharmaceuticals and of course, the breath taking beauty of this underwater wonderland.
By raising awareness of the resources that the oceans provide, World Oceans Day hopes to encourage us to do our bit to protect this valuable environment, especially in these challenging times when factors like climate change, plastic waste, over-fishing and environmental disasters such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill all threaten to damage our oceans beyond repair.
Wherever you are in the world there are loads of ways to get involved, whether you want to get together with friends or colleagues to organise an aquatic clean up, take the Seven C’s Pledge to reduce your environmental impact, or simply host your own celebration of the seas. If you are stuck for ideas, the World Oceans Day website has plenty of suggestions as well as a list of organized events around the globe, as they say, there’s an "ocean of opportunities" to help and celebrate!
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