Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures (F) were recorded across the state of Hawaii Monday…along with the minimums Monday:
79 – 62 Lihue, Kauai
84 – 66 Honolulu, Oahu
81 – 60 Molokai
82 – 59 Kahului AP, Maui
82 – 69 Kona AP
86 – 64 Hilo, Hawaii
Here are the latest 24-hour precipitation totals (inches) for each of the islands, as of Monday evening:
0.06 Lihue, Kauai
0.01 Lualualei, Oahu
0.00 Molokai
0.00 Lanai
0.00 Kahoolawe
0.00 Maui
0.00 Big Island
The following numbers represent the strongest wind gusts (mph)…as of Monday evening:
16 Moloaa Dairy, Kauai – SE
16 Wheeler AAF, Oahu – SE
12 Molokai – ESE
10 Lanai – SW
17 Kahoolawe – SE
15 Maalaea Bay, Maui – NNE
17 Pali 2, Big Island – SE
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.
Aloha Paragraphs
Winter storms remain well to our north
Here’s a wind profile…of the offshore waters
around the islands – with a closer view
The next cold front is approaching to the northwest
Mostly clear…with clouds locally over the islands
Mostly dry statewide – looping radar image
~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~
Light and variable breezes through Tuesday…then cooler northerlies mid-week. Here’s the latest weather map, showing the Hawaiian Islands, and the rest of the North Pacific Ocean. We find high pressure systems far to our west-northwest and far east-northeast…with a connecting ridge over the central part of the state. Meanwhile, there are storm and gale low pressure systems to the north and northwest of our islands, one of which has an associated cold front approaching the state to our northwest. Lighter winds will return during this early part of the week, which should bring more volcanic haze from the Big Island over Maui County by Tuesday. Overnight temperatures will be somewhat cooler than normal with the down slope flow from higher elevations…bringing cooler air to sea level locations. Dew point temperatures will remain in the low 60’s maintaining comfortable daytime conditions. The models show a period of slightly cool north to northeasterly winds arriving Wednesday into Friday, in the wake of a weak cold front, which should finally help to sweep the haze away more fully…at least temporarily. Our winds will diminish again by the weekend, as a high pressure ridge gets pushed down over us again…bringing back the vog once again.
Dry and stable atmospherics over the islands…will keep showers to a minimum through Tuesday. We can expect clear and somewhat cooler than normal early mornings through the next several days. Daytime heating of the islands will prompt clouds to form over and around the islands during the late morning through early evening hours. Yet another weak cold front will approach our area later Tuesday into Wednesday. This front will bring a few showers, and then stall over Maui County and the Big Island through Friday. Cool northerlies arrive with the cold front, light to moderate trade winds return thereafter, along with windward showers. All of the above continues to point the finger towards our strong El Nino winter conditions. You’ll be hearing more and more about drought conditions as we move forward into the spring season. By the way, we see yet another relatively dry cold front arriving by the upcoming weekend.
Here in Maui County…We have mostly clear skies early Monday morning before sunrise, with still volcanic haze in the air…although it is quite thin compared to the last week. Here in upcountry Kula we have an air temperature of 44.6 F degrees at 720am. The temperature was 61 degrees down near sea level in Kahului, with 64 out in Hana, 64 at Kapalua, 63 at Maalaea Bay…and 46 atop the Haleakala Crater at the same time. Meanwhile, Kahoolawe’s highest elevation was reporting 64 degrees, with 62 degrees at Lanai City, and 66 at the Molokai airport.
– It’s 110pm Monday afternoon, with partly cloudy conditions, and still some light vog…with a nice breeze up here in Kula.
– 6pm under partly to mostly cloudy skies (foggy here in upper Kula), still voggy of course, with calm winds. The clouds will soon evaporate, making way for clear skies tonight…leading into another cool morning Tuesday. / It’s 835pm, under totally clear skies, lots of stars that is, and a very chilly 48.5 degrees already! At this pace, we’re heading down into the low 40’s by sunrise Tuesday…likely our coldest morning of the year so far.
I’ll be back with many more updates on all of the above and below, I hope you have a great Monday night wherever you’re spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn
World-wide tropical cyclone activity:
>>> Atlantic Ocean: The last regularly scheduled Tropical Weather Outlook of the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season…has occurred. Routine issuance of the Tropical Weather Outlook will resume on June 1, 2016. During the off-season, Special Tropical Weather Outlooks will be issued if conditions warrant. Here’s the 2015 hurricane season summary
Here’s a satellite image of the Atlantic Ocean
>>> Caribbean Sea: The last regularly scheduled Tropical Weather Outlook of the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season…has occurred. Routine issuance of the Tropical Weather Outlook will resume on June 1, 2016. During the off-season, Special Tropical Weather Outlooks will be issued if conditions warrant.
>>> Gulf of Mexico: The last regularly scheduled Tropical Weather Outlook of the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season…has occurred. Routine issuance of the Tropical Weather Outlook will resume on June 1, 2016. During the off-season, Special Tropical Weather Outlooks will be issued if conditions warrant.
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 last regularly scheduled Tropical Weather Outlook of the 2015 North Pacific hurricane season…has occurred. Routine issuance of the Tropical Weather Outlook will resume on May 15, 2016. During the off-season, Special Tropical Weather Outlooks will be issued if conditions warrant. Here’s the 2015 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.
Here’s the link to the National Hurricane Center (NHC)
>>> Central Pacific: The central north Pacific hurricane season has officially ended. Routine issuance of the tropical weather outlook will resume on June 1, 2016. During the off-season, special tropical weather outlooks will be issued if conditions warrant. Here’s the 2015 hurricane season summary
Here’s a link to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC)
>>> South Pacific Ocean:
Tropical Cyclone 07P (Victor) remains active, located about 410 miles west of Rarotonga. Here’s the JTWC graphical track map, along with a satellite image...and finally what the computer models are showing.
>>> North and South Indian Oceans / Arabian Sea: There are no active tropical cyclones
Here’s a link to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC)
Interesting: SpaceX launches Jason-3 satellite to monitor sea levels – Jason-3, a U.S.-European oceanography satellite mission with NASA participation that will continue a nearly quarter-century record of tracking global sea level rise, lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California Sunday at 10:42 a.m. PST (1:42 p.m. EST) aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
Jason-3 is an international mission led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in partnership with NASA, the French space agency CNES, and the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites.
“Jason-3 will take the pulse of our changing planet by gathering environmental intelligence from the world’s oceans,” said Stephen Volz, assistant administrator for NOAA’s Satellite and Information Service.
The mission will improve weather, climate and ocean forecasts, including helping NOAA’s National Weather Service and other global weather and environmental forecast agencies more accurately forecast the strength of tropical cyclones.
“Jason-3 is a prime example of how our nation leverages NASA’s expertise in space and scientific exploration to help address critical global challenges in collaboration with NOAA and our international partners,” said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for science at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “The measurements from Jason-3 will advance our efforts to understand Earth as an integrated system by increasing our knowledge of sea level changes and the ocean’s roles in climate.”
Minutes after Jason-3 separated from the rocket’s second stage, the spacecraft unfolded its twin sets of solar arrays. Ground controllers successfully acquired the spacecraft’s signal, and initial telemetry reports showed the satellite was in good health.
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