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

84  Lihue, Kauai
88  Honolulu, Oahu
81  Molokai
87  Kahului, Maui
85  Kona, Hawaii
82  Hilo, Hawaii


Air Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level – and on the highest mountain tops on Maui and the Big Island…as of 810pm Monday evening:


Kailua Kona – 81
Hana airport, Maui – 73


Haleakala Summit –   48 (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea Summit – 41 (13,000+ feet on the Big Island)


Hawaii’s Mountains – Here’s a link to the live web cam on the summit of near 13,800 foot Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii. This web cam is 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. Here’s the Haleakala Crater webcam on Maui – if it’s working.

 


Aloha Paragraphs



http://www.alternative-hawaii.com/activity/images/outrigger_canoe_oahu.jpg


Small craft wind advisory…windiest coasts and channels
around Maui and the Big Island


Moderately strong trades continuing…stronger at times

A few passing showers windward sides…dry elsewhere





The following numbers represent the most recent top wind gusts (mph), along with directions as of Monday evening:

28  Port Allen, Kauai – NE
36  Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu – NNE
28  Molokai – NE
46  Lanai – NE
30  Kahoolawe – NE
32  Kahului, Maui – NE
32  PTA Keamuku, Big Island – NE


Here are the latest 24-hour precipitation totals (inches) for each of the islands as of Monday evening:

1.22  Mount Waialeale, Kauai
0.04  Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu
0.13  Molokai
0.00  Kahoolawe
0.00  Lanai
0.00  Maui
0.57  Kawainui Stream, Big Island


We can use the following links to see what’s going on in our area of the north central Pacific Ocean. Here’s the latest NOAA satellite picture – the latest looping satellite image… and finally the latest looping radar image for the Hawaiian Islands.


~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~



Moderately strong trade winds this week…locally stronger at times. Here’s a weather chart showing high pressure systems located to the northwest and northeast of the islands. A well established trade wind weather pattern will continue…with no interruptions in the foreseeable future.

A normal or somewhat drier than normal…August trade wind weather pattern through this work week. Satellite imagery shows fairly typical low clouds upstream of the islands, which will be carried into the windward sides at times. At the same time, we’re now seeing a narrow area of high cirrus clouds moving through the state from the southwest. Here’s the looping radar image, showing just a few light showers falling along the windward coasts and slopes. Looking ahead, we’ll likely see a weak tropical system or two (tropical disturbances), generating in the eastern and central Pacific this week…one of which may bring showers to the Big Island this weekend.


There’s a chance that we could see some increase in tropical showers this coming weekend, especially around the Big Island end of the state. This possible increase in showers is associated with an area of disturbed weather now in the central Pacific, well to the southeast of the islands…as shown on this looping satellite image – with a low 20% chance of development. Here’s a satellite picture, with this area circled in yellow. Otherwise, nothing unusual is in store here in the central Pacific for the time being.  I’ll be back with more updates on our local weather this evening. I hope you have a great Monday night, and hopefully there will be lots of meteors flying around tonight, as noted further down this page. Aloha for now…Glenn.



World-wide tropical cyclone activity:

Atlantic Ocean:  There are no active tropical cyclones


TROPICAL CYCLONE FORMATION IS NOT EXPECTED DURING THE NEXT 48 HOURS

Caribbean Sea: There are no active tropical cyclones

 
CLOUDINESS AND SHOWERS EXTENDING FROM THE SOUTHWESTERN CARIBBEAN
SEA NORTHEASTWARD TO HISPANIOLA ARE ASSOCIATED WITH A TROPICAL WAVE
AND A BROAD AREA OF LOW PRESSURE. UPPER-LEVEL WINDS OVER THE
WESTERN CARIBBEAN SEA ARE EXPECTED TO BECOME MORE FAVORABLE FOR
DEVELOPMENT OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS AS THE DISTURBANCE MOVES
TOWARD THE YUCATAN PENINSULA AND THE SOUTHERN GULF OF MEXICO. THIS
SYSTEM HAS A LOW CHANCE…10 PERCENT…OF BECOMING A TROPICAL
CYCLONE DURING THE NEXT 48 HOURS…AND A MEDIUM CHANCE…30
PERCENT…OF BECOMING A TROPICAL CYCLONE DURING THE NEXT 5 DAYS.

TROPICAL CYCLONE FORMATION IS NOT EXPECTED DURING THE NEXT 48 HOURS.


Gulf of Mexico: There are no active tropical cyclones


TROPICAL CYCLONE FORMATION IS NOT EXPECTED DURING THE NEXT 48 HOURS.


Here’s the link to the National Hurricane Center (NHC)


Eastern Pacific: There are no active tropical cyclones



A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM LOCATED WELL TO THE WEST-SOUTHWEST OF THE
COAST OF MEXICO IS PRODUCING DISORGANIZED SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS.  ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO BE
MARGINALLY CONDUCIVE FOR DEVELOPMENT DURING THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS
BEFORE UPPER-LEVEL WINDS BECOME MORE UNFAVORABLE ON THURSDAY.  THIS
SYSTEM HAS A MEDIUM CHANCE...40 PERCENT...OF BECOMING A TROPICAL
CYCLONE DURING THE NEXT 48 HOURS...AND A MEDIUM CHANCE...50
PERCENT...OF BECOMING A TROPICAL CYCLONE DURING THE NEXT 5 DAYS
WHILE IT MOVES WESTWARD AT 15 TO 20 MPH.



Here’s a satellite image showing this tropical disturbance



Elsewhere, tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 48 hours 


Here’s a wide satellite image that covers the entire area between Mexico, out through the central Pacific…to the International Dateline.



Central Pacific Ocean:  There are no active tropical cyclones



An area of low pressure located about 1000 miles southeast of the Big Island of Hawaii continues to produce showers and thunderstorms. The system is a bit less organized than 6 hours ago. Development of this disturbance, if any, is expected to be slow to occur, as it moves westward at about 15 mph over the next couple days. This system has a low chance, 20 percent, of becoming a tropical cyclone during the next 48 hours.



Here’s a satellite image showing this tropical disturbance  
 
Here’s a link to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC)…covering our central Pacific.



Western Pacific Ocean: Typhoon 11W (Utor) remains active, located approximately 236 NM south-southeast of Hong Kong. Here’s a JTWC graphical track map…along with a NOAA satellite image.  





South Pacific Ocean: There are no active tropical cyclones


 


North and South Indian Oceans: There are no active tropical cyclones



Here’s a link to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC)

 
 Interesting: Perseid meteor shower peaking tonight. Dim the lights, grab a blanket and hope for clear skies — an annual magic show, the Perseid meteor shower, can be seen tonight.



You don’t need tickets to view nature’s free show. And no binoculars are needed, because the flashes may be anywhere in the sky, though they will seem to come from the northeast.



“The crucial issue is that meteors are faint, so you need a location where the sky is dark,” according to Andrew Fraknoi, chairman of the astronomy department at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills. “The darker your site, the more you will see.”



Your best views come after midnight — so it is an event most appreciated by night owls. That’s because the Earth turns after midnight to face the shower, so the meteors come more directly at us. And the crescent moon has set, immersing us in darkness.



At its peak, it is possible to see up to sixty shooting stars per hour. The shower actually started in July and will extend for most of August, but with less drama.



The stars are called the sons of Perseus, because they seem to shoot from that constellation, named after the Greek demigod famed for saving Andromeda from a sea monster. They were first recorded 2,000 years ago.



But they’re not really stars — just meteoric dust, no bigger than the size of a dime. They burn as they careen into the Earth’s atmosphere at 7 to 44 miles per second.



“They are cosmic ‘garbage’ left over from a regularly returning comet, called Swift-Tuttle,” after its discoverers, Fraknoi said. Leftovers from the early days of our solar system, the flashes are the last gasp of cosmic material that formed about 5 billion years ago.



To enjoy the event, get away from city lights and coastal fog. State or city parks or other safe, dark sites are your best bet. Dress warmly for nighttime temperatures.



Once you have settled at your observing spot, lie back so the horizon appears at the edge of your peripheral vision, with the stars and sky filling your field of view. Meteors will grab your attention as they streak by.



Be patient — because they are more subtle than fireworks, it may take up to 15 minutes for your eyes to adjust to the dark. Several minutes might pass without a single flash.



If it’s cloudy, don’t despair: Another meteor shower, the Leonids, will spark the night sky on Nov. 16.