Hawaiian Islands Weather details & Aloha Paragraphs / September 12-13, 2013

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

82  Lihue, Kauai
87  Honolulu, Oahu
84  Molokai
88  Kahului, Maui
89  Kona, Hawaii
87  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 743pm Thursday evening:

Kailua Kona – 83
Lihue, Kauai – 75

Haleakala Summit –   48 (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea Summit – 37 (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

A weak, early season cold front is sliding over the state…which
will keep windward showers more active at times locally

Our trade winds will remain active into the weekend

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

29  Port Allen, Kauai – NE
35  Kuaokala, Oahu – N
20  Molokai – NE
28  Lanai – NE
28  Kahoolawe – NE
25  Kapalua, Maui – NNE
37  PTA West, Big Island – NW

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

1.75  Mount Waialeale, Kauai
0.43  Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu
0.10  Molokai
0.00  Kahoolawe
0.00  Lanai
0.11  Ulupalakua, Maui
1.21  Kahuku Ranch, 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 ~~~

The trade winds will remain active through the rest of this week…into next week. Here’s a weather chart showing a near 1025 millibar high pressure system located to the north of the islands…with a second weaker near 1019 millibar high pressure cell well to the east. At the same time, we find an early season cold front hanging over the Hawaiian Islands. This frontal boundary will disrupt our trade winds slightly over the next several days…although still quite strong and gusty in some areas.

The cold front will bring a few windward showers…then back to normal amounts by the weekend. Satellite imagery shows low clouds mostly offshore, except over the Big Island and Kauai at the time of this writing. Here’s the looping radar image, showing light showers moving across the the windward sides of the islands…which may increase a bit tonight into Friday morning. Our weather will remain somewhat more showery at times, along our north and east facing windward coasts and slopes…with a few spreading over in the leeward sides on our smaller islands. The source of these showers are the remnant moisture brought our way by the cold front…riding in on the trade flow.

Reflections from Maui: Here on Maui this evening, skies around the island were mostly clear…despite the cold front that dropped down into the state earlier in the day. This early season frontal cloud band is still around, although isn’t having much influence here on Maui. The front is over Kauai and Oahu, while Maui and the Big Island effects, at least at the moment, are very modest at best. This satellite image shows it straddling the windward sides of the islands.  We may see the frontal clouds/showers becoming more a bit more active tonight, with the cooler air temperatures around then. The main thing here on Maui, and the Big Island in places too, was the wind channeling through valley’s, with rather strong and gusty winds a bit earlier today. I’ll be back with your next new weather narrative early Friday morning, I hope you have a great Thursday night wherever you’re spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.

World-wide tropical cyclone activity:

Atlantic Ocean: Hurricane 09L (Humberto) remains active in the Atlantic. Here’s the National Hurricane Center’s graphical track map…along with a NOAA satellite image. Here’s what the hurricane models are showing for this system. This is the first hurricane of the 2013 hurricane season, a late date for the first occurrence.

Tropical storm 07L (Gabrielle) remains active in the Atlantic as well. Here’s the National Hurricane Center’s graphical track map…along with a NOAA satellite image. Here’s what the hurricane models are showing for this system.

AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE LOCATED ABOUT 400 MILES EAST OF THE LEEWARD
ISLANDS IS PRODUCING LIMITED SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY.
WHILE SURFACE PRESSURES ARE LOW IN THIS AREA…SIGNIFICANT
DEVELOPMENT OF THIS SYSTEM IS UNLIKELY DUE TO UNFAVORABLE
UPPER-LEVEL WINDS. THIS SYSTEM HAS A LOW CHANCE…10 PERCENT…OF
BECOMING A TROPICAL CYCLONE DURING THE NEXT 48 HOURS…AND A LOW
CHANCE…20 PERCENT…OF BECOMING A TROPICAL CYCLONE DURING THE
NEXT 5 DAYS WHILE IT MOVES TOWARD THE WEST-NORTHWEST AT ABOUT 10
MPH.

Caribbean Sea: There are no active tropical cyclones

Interesting:  Groundwater Reserves Discovered in Kenya – It has long been known that Africa has been facing a water crisis. Not only is the continent stressed because of erratic rainfall patterns, arid climates, and hot temperatures, but access to clean, safe drinking water is depriving much of the population of a basic human necessity. Specifically in Kenya, 17 million people lack access to safe drinking water. However, this all could change as an exploration of groundwater resources in northern Kenya has identified two aquifers in the Turkana and Lotikip Basins.

Aquifers are underground layers of permeable rock that contain or transmit groundwater. So in a region known for being hot and dry, this discovery is bound to bring hope and economic growth to the country.

The findings were announced at the opening of an international water security conference in Nairobi yesterday, and are the result of a groundwater mapping project, GRIDMAP (Groundwater Resources Investigation for Drought Mitigation in Africa Programme), spearheaded by UNESCO in partnership with the government of Kenya and with the financial support of the Government of Japan.

Using advanced satellite exploration technology, researchers located the underground aquifers and then confirmed their existence by drilling to see if water was actually there. And there was! While there is a need for further studies to adequately quantify the reserves and to assess the quality of the water, people are hopeful.

Announcing the findings during the opening session of the UNESCO Strategic and High-Level Meeting on Water Security and Cooperation, Judi Wakhungu, Cabinet Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Water and Natural Resources, said that the results were a critical scientific breakthrough for the country.

“The news about these water reserves comes at a time when reliable water supplies are highly needed. This newly found wealth of water opens a door to a more prosperous future for the people of Turkana and the nation as a whole. We must now work to further explore these resources responsibly and safeguard them for future generations,” she said.

“UNESCO is proud to be a part of this important finding, which clearly demonstrates how science and technology can contribute to industrialization and economic growth, and to resolving real societal issues like access to water,” said UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences, Gretchen Kalonji. “It is indeed in line with UNESCO’s vision for science for sustainable development and we will continue to support Africa to unlock the full potential of its invisible water wealth.”

The Government of Kenya also announced the launch of a national groundwater mapping program that would be implemented with UNESCO, which would assist governments in identifying and assessing their groundwater resources.