Hawaiian Islands Weather details & Aloha Paragraphs / November 30 – December 1, 2013

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

80  Lihue, Kauai
80  Honolulu, Oahu
79  Molokai
83  Kahului, Maui
85  Kona, Hawaii
84  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 930pm Saturday evening:

Kailua Kona – 79
Hilo, Hawaii – 72

Haleakala Summit –   50 (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea Summit – 36 (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

<Yellow and red reflect the heaviest showers>

Gusty southeast to southwest winds…especially around
strong thunderstorms near Kauai and Oahu

There will be unsettled weather most notably
on the Kauai end of the island chain…with
flooding and heavy thunderstorms

Maui County and the Big Island will see some passing
shower activity…rather limited however

Small Craft Wind Advisory…around Hawaiian waters

Flash Flood Warning Kauai…Watch on Oahu

Severe Thunderstorm Watch…around Kauai and Oahu

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

32  Lihue, Kauai – S
35  Kuaokala, Oahu – SE
21  Molokai – SE
25  Lanai – SE
16  Kahoolawe – SW
12  Kaupo Gap, Maui – NE
32  Kaloko-Honokohau, Big Island – NW

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

7.17  Mount Waialeale, Kauai
2.42  Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu
0.19  Molokai
0.00  Lanai
0.00  Kahoolawe
0.26  Puu Kukui, Maui
0.26  Keamuku, 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 ~~~

Our winds are coming in from the southeast and south, and will become stronger and gusty tonight ahead of a cold front. Here’s the latest weather map, showing the Hawaiian Islands, and the rest of the Pacific Ocean. We see two gale low pressure systems to the north and northwest of the state, with their associated comma-shaped cold fronts to the west of the Hawaiian Islands. The winds ahead of this front will be gradually strengthening from the southeast and south as the slow moving front gets closer tonight. These winds will carry rich tropical moisture to parts of the state…with our air mass remaining quite sultry.

We’ll see some showers falling tonight into Sunday, with rainy weather and gusty winds …mostly on Kauai and Oahu. Satellite imagery shows lots of clouds over and around the islands, extending well offshore in all directions. There are embedded heavy rain bearing clouds associated with the low to the northwest of Kauai, and the slowly approaching frontal boundary. We can see the leading edge of the cold front over the ocean to our northwest, which will be the rainmaker being described above. Here’s the looping radar image, showing light to moderately heavy showers falling, although mostly still offshore of the islands, to the south of the state at the time of this writing…being carried along on the south and southeasterly wind flow. There are now heavier shower echoes in this cloud field, which will present the strong possibility of localized flooding on Kauai and eventually Oahu.

This surface cold front will arrive at about the same time as an upper level low pressure system moves overhead. This combination of weather features will prompt locally strong and gusty Kona winds, locally heavy rainfall, and a good chance of intense thunderstorms. Kauai will have the front arriving first, then likely pushing down over Oahu. As is often the case, Kauai and Oahu will have the most dynamic aspects of this inclement weather, while Maui County and the Big Island will be outside the most active precipitation zone…although still get into the shower activity too.  I’ll continue closely following this wet weather situation, fine tuning the particulars as we go through the rest of this weekend. By the way, it appears that fairly typical trade wind weather conditions will prevail through most of the upcoming new work week. As we get into next weekend, our winds will turn to the southeast again, ahead of the next cold front…with returning volcanic haze then too. ~~~ I’m back on Maui now, and am back in the saddle in terms of updating this website. I had a great time on Oahu, for a great Thanksgiving feast with friends. I hiked up to Manoa Falls yesterday afternoon, before we went to see that film described below. All and all it was a lot of fun to see old friends, and to meet several new friends too! I’ll be back with a little later this evening with more updates on this wet weather situation, that’s about ready to move over Kauai, and then Oahu.  I hope you have a great Saturday night wherever you’re spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.

Friday evening film: My friends here on Oahu want to go see a film later today, so of course I’m game. We’ll be seeing the film called The Book Thief, starring Sophie Nelisse, Geoffrey Rush, Emily Watson, Ben Schnetzer, Nico Liersch…among many others. The synopsis: based on the beloved international bestselling book, The Book Thief tells the story of an extraordinary, spirited young girl sent to live with a foster family in WWII Germany. Intrigued by the only book she brought with her, she begins collecting books as she finds them. With the help of her new parents and a secret guest under the stairs, she learns to read and creates a magical world that inspires them all. ~~~ This film really caught my eye, as one of the trailers before a film I saw recently. It turned out to be as good, if not much better than I thought it was going to be! The two other folks I was with both gave it an A grade, as did I.  Here’s the trailer for this dramatic film.

Saturday evening film:  My neighbor Jeff and I have decided to go have dinner at Whole Foods, and then see the new film Dallas Buyers Club, starring Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, Jared Leto, Denis O’Hare, Steve Zahn, Michael O’Neil, Dallas Roberts…among many others. The synopsis: Real-life cowboy Ron Woodroof’s free-wheeling life was upended in 1985 when he was diagnosed as HIV-positive and given 30 days to live. Shunned by many of his old friends and bereft of government-approved effective medicines, Ron decided to take matters in his own hands, tracking down alternative treatments from all over the world by means both legal and illegal. Bypassing the establishment, the entrepreneurial Woodroof joined forces with an unlikely band of renegades and outcasts, establishing a hugely successful buyers’ club. ~~~ This film is going to be very different than the film I saw last night, that’s for sure! The subject matter will be intense, taking me inside the inner workings of a world I have no familiarity with. The critics are being very generous with this film, and many of the critics are throwing in the words: Oscar-worthy performances. It’s intimidating to look into the world of AIDS, although the more I read about it, the film’s portrayal of it that is, the more I’m drawn to see it. Here’s the trailer if you’re interested in taking a peek.

World-wide tropical cyclone activity:

Atlantic Ocean: There are no active tropical cyclones

Here’s a satellite image of the Atlantic Ocean

Caribbean Sea: There are no active tropical cyclones

Gulf of Mexico: There are no active tropical cyclone

Here’s a satellite image of the Caribbean Sea…and the Gulf of Mexico.

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

Eastern Pacific: There are no active tropical cyclone

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