Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures (F) were recorded across the state of Hawaii Tuesday:
79 Lihue, Kauai
82 Honolulu, Oahu
80 Molokai
84 Kahului, Maui
83 Kona, Hawaii
81 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 Tuesday evening:
Kailua Kona – 78
Hilo, Maui – 73
Haleakala Summit – 43 (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea Summit – 32 (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
Gusty trade winds continuing through Friday, then weakening
during the weekend…with a weak cold front pushing
through the state Saturday night into Sunday
Just a few windward showers – generally sunny leeward
beaches during the days
Small Craft Wind Advisory…over those windiest coasts and
channel waters across the Hawaiian Islands
High Surf Advisory...north and west shores of Kauai, Oahu,
Molokai, and north shores of Maui
Merry Christmas Eve!
The following numbers represent the most recent top wind gusts (mph), along with directions as of Tuesday evening:
13 Poipu, Kauai – NE
28 Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu – N
27 Molokai – E
32 Lanai – NE
29 Kahoolawe – E
20 Kahului, Maui – NE
32 Upolu airport, Big Island – NE
Here are the latest 24-hour precipitation totals (inches) for each of the islands as of Tuesday evening:
0.78 N Wailea ditch, Kauai
1.21 Manoa Lyon Arboretum, Oahu
0.17 Molokai
0.00 Lanai
0.00 Kahoolawe
0.68 Puu Kukui, Maui
0.40 Hilo airport, 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, although with stronger gusts through Friday, lighter Saturday…then stronger again Sunday into early next week. Here’s the latest weather map, showing the Hawaiian Islands, and the rest of the Pacific Ocean. We find strong high pressure system far to the northeast of the state, with the tail-end of an associated ridge extending southwest…not far north of Hawaii. At the same time we see gale and storm low pressure systems far to the north and northwest, with associated cold fronts draping down, located far north and northwest of our islands. ~~~ Our local winds will continue to come in from the trade wind direction through the rest of this work week. Our Christmas holiday will have moderately strong trade winds blowing, although with stronger gusts…otherwise great weather will prevail.
We’ll find a few showers, mostly along the windward sides during the night and early morning hours…lots of sunshine during the days on the leeward beaches. Satellite imagery shows a minor amount of clouds around the islands…with one small area of high clouds far to the east-southeast. Here’s the looping radar image, showing that there are some showers being carried towards the windward sides of the islands from Oahu down through Maui County to the Big Island…at the time of this writing. We’ll find fairly typical trade wind showers drifting across our area through at least Thursday. The leeward sides will have minimal shower activity…with lots of warm sunshine beaming down during the days!
We’ll be experiencing a typical, early winter trade wind weather pattern through Friday…with a weak cold front arriving later Saturday into Sunday. The models continue showing another cold front approaching the state later Friday into the weekend. This front will move down into our chain of islands, although it’s still a question just how far it will make it before stalling. This rather weak front will bring its associated showery weather…although nothing heavy is expected. I’ll be back Christmas morning with your next new weather narrative, I hope you have a great Tuesday night wherever you’re spending it. I hope you all got your Christmas shopping taken care of in time, and wake up in good spirits and health on this special morning! Aloha for now…Glenn.
World-wide tropical cyclone activity:
Atlantic Ocean: The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1st through November 30th. Here’s the 2013 hurricane season summary
Here’s a satellite image of the Atlantic Ocean
Caribbean Sea:
Gulf of Mexico:
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: The Eastern Pacific hurricane season runs from May 15th through November 30th. Here’s the 2013 hurricane season summary
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: The Central Pacific hurricane season runs from June 1st through November 30th. Here’s the 2013 hurricane season summary
Here’s a link to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC)
Western Pacific Ocean: There are no active tropical cyclones
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: Tsunami threat to Sumatra continues – A great offshore earthquake, like the one that killed hundreds of thousands when it struck off Indonesia’s Sumatra coast in December 2004, would seem to offer a small measure of solace to survivors: The offshore tectonic fault that caused the temblor should require many centuries to recharge. Now, it appears such optimism is unwarranted. Three speakers here at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union earlier this month warned that the Indian Ocean coast of northern Sumatra could suffer another tsunami disaster in as few as 60 years.
That sobering news came in three talks by paleoseismologists—researchers who literally dig up records of past earthquakes and tsunamis-associated with Nanyang Technological University’s Earth Observatory of Singapore. Charles Rubin, Kerry Sieh, Jessica Pilarczyk, and their colleagues had been reading the millennia-long histories of past tsunamis in three kinds of geologic records and determining the age of each tsunami recorded there using radioactive carbon-14 dating.
The most novel record was found in a cave located 200 meters from the present-day coastline. Only the far-reaching inland surge of a tsunami can carry sand into this cave, where it can then be deposited layer by layer, tsunami by tsunami. Conveniently enough for the researchers, tsunami deposits in this cave are demarcated by dark layers of guano deposited between tsunamis by the cave’s resident bats. Other records were retrieved from tsunami deposits in coastal wetlands and exposed in eroding sea cliffs.
Taken together, the new records paint a disconcerting picture of highly erratic tsunami recurrence.
Sandra J Says:
I’m a little late Glenn, but Mele Kalikimaka from another Vancouver Islander. We are from Comox, an hour north of Nanaimo. Hope you have a wonderful holiday season, and keep us posted on your trip to Vancouver Island!! Merry Christmas and very best wishes for 2014. Sandra J~~~Hi Sandra, good to hear from you again, and thanks for nice post-Christmas wishes! I’ll be sure to make an announcement on this page when I start to plan for a trip up your way…thanks. Just looked at some pictures of your area online, really nice! Happy New Year! Glenn
Sharon Says:
I spend my winters on Maui, have for years, but head north to Chemainus, a little tourist town on Vancouver Island about 45 minutes south of Nanaimo. Be sure to email before you head up to our way. I head back in early April. By the way, Mele Kalikimaka. What beautiful weather for Christmas.~~~Hi again Sharon, I will do that, thank you. Absolutely, perfect weather here in Hawaii this time around! Aloha, Glenn
Sharon Says:
Just a quick geography lesson, Glenn. Vancouver is not on Vancouver Island but on the mainland. The capital of BC is on Vancouver Island and is called Victoria. Can be confusing.~~~Sharon, Maui Girl, thank you for my Geography lesson, I appreciate it. Are you from there? I really look forward to heading back up that way one day soon! Happy Holiday’s…Aloha, Glenn
John Says:
For sure send us an email before you come.
For your info though, Nanaimo on Vancouver Island where we live, is a 2 hour ferry ride from the City of Vancouver.~~~Hi again John, thanks for the invite! I passed through Nanaimo on the way to Tofino when I was there once before. Again, Happy Holiday’s Glenn
John Says:
Merry Christmas Glenn from another Vancouver Islander.
We will be in Maui in 2 weeks, looking forward to some heat!
we always get a chuckle when you write about a “cold front” moving in. The temp may go down to 81 from 83.
For us it would mean the temp. went from 40 to 30.
I guess it’s all relative!
Keep up the interesting weather reporting.
John~~~Wow, a second note from another citizen of Vancouver, I like that. I’m planning on coming to Vancouver, and won’t know a soul, so before I get there, whenever that is later in the new year, I’ll have to let you folks know, so we can have a visit. You’ll be here on Maui in two weeks, nice, and yes…it will be definitely much warmer here than there. I’ll will keep updating this website with new weather reports each day, thanks for your positive comment. Happy Holiday’s John, and to all of the rest of the readers up there in Canada! Aloha, Glenn