Hawaiian Islands Weather Details & Aloha Paragraphs / February 28-29, 2016

Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures (F) were recorded across the state of Hawaii Sunday…along with the minimums Sunday:

80 – 68  Lihue, Kauai
81 – 68  Honolulu, Oahu
84 – 59  Molokai AP
83 – 61  Kahului AP, Maui
83 – 71  Kailua Kona
86 – 64  Hilo AP, Hawaii

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

0.08  Mana, Kauai
0.02  Kahuku, Oahu
0.00  Molokai
0.00  Lanai
0.00  Kahoolawe
0.00  Maui
0.19  Saddle Quarry, Big Island

The following numbers represent the strongest wind gusts (mph)…as of Sunday evening:

16  Port Allen, Kauai – NW
15  Honouliuli FWS, Oahu – SW
09  Molokai – N
15  Lanai – SW
15  Kahaloowe – SW
12  Kaupo Gap, Maui – SSW
16  Kohala Ranch, Big Island – WNW

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

Storms in the middle latitudes of the Pacific Ocean to our north…are
sending a weak cold front in our direction – in addition, much larger
than normal high surf along our north and west shores soon

Scattered clouds across the central Pacific Ocean…with a
cold front northwest, and thunderstorms to our south

Clear to partly cloudy skies across the state…a few
cloudy areas,  along with the leading edge of the
next cold front approaching Kauai

Showers…mostly around Oahu and Molokai
looping radar image

~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~

Generally light breezes through Monday…then cooler from the north Tuesday into Wednesday. Here’s the latest weather map, showing the Hawaiian Islands, and the rest of the North Pacific Ocean. We find high pressure systems far northeast, and northwest. At the same time, there’s a weak ridge of high pressure, which has slipped southward over the central islands. In addition, there’s numerous low pressure systems far to the northeast through northwest of Hawaii. There’s an approaching cold front to the northwest…which continues moving in our direction. Our winds will be light and variable tonight into Monday. As the cold front moves into the state, or stalls close to Kauai…we’ll find chilly northerly winds in the wake of the front for a day or two…until they become more northeasterly trades by mid-week. These trade winds will give way to more light winds later in the week, as another cold front moves towards the state by the weekend.

Here’s a wind profile…of the offshore waters around the islands – with a closer view

Here’s the Hawaiian Islands Sulfate Aerosol…animated graphic – showing vog forecast

Scattered showers here and there at times…although limited for the most part. The forecast continues showing a cold front arriving late tonight into Monday…that is unless it decides to stall before reaching Kauai. The expectation is that this cold front will bring a minimal amount of rain, although there will be showers locally. It may turn out to be that pre-frontal showers could bring more precipitation than the actual cold front itself…especially on the Kauai end of the island chain. Northerly winds in the wake of this weak front will bring cool conditions, and potentially a few more minor showers Tuesday into the middle of the week. Looking even further ahead, yet another cold front will approach Kauai next weekend…ushering in some more possible showers locally. In sum, there will be these periodic showers coming our way, although rainfall across the Aloha State will continue to be rather uneventful.

High surf details:  The current northwest swell will maintain high surf advisory level surf along exposed north and west facing shores of the islands through tonight, then lower Monday. The advisory has been extended for shores exposed to the swell through 6 am Monday. Surf may briefly dip below advisory levels during the day, but it will not last long as we head into the month of March. The El Nino fueled north Pacific storm track continues to favor the development of large northwest swells aimed toward Hawaii. The potential for another high impact northwest swell appears to be increasing, with greatest impacts late Tuesday and Wednesday.

Until then, a new north northwest swell arriving late Monday will build surf to warning levels by Monday night and Tuesday. This swell will be closely followed by a giant north-northwest swell Tuesday and Tuesday night, generated by an explosively developing low pressure system, that will pass about 1000 miles north of the islands. Although this swell will not coincide with unusually high tides, tidal heights are not as important, once the waves surpass a given threshold. Still too early to be sure about the eventual Maximum size and timing of the swell on Tuesday, but there is potential for significant coastal impacts.

Surf along north and west facing shores will remain elevated for the remainder of the new week as this swell gradually diminishes, with surf large enough to warrant a high surf advisory…until another possible warning level northwest swell next weekend. Elsewhere, the weather pattern in the south Pacific, east and southeast of New Zealand, will support the generation of south-southwest swells that will bring sub high surf advisory level waves to south facing shores during the second half of the week.

Here in Maui County...It’s mostly clear early this Sunday morning….with still lots of volcanic haze in the air. Here in upcountry Kula we have an air temperature of 45.6F degrees before sunrise. The temperature at near the same time was 63 degrees down in Kahului under partly cloudy skies, 63 out in Hana also under partly cloudy conditions, and 68 at Kapalua with partly cloudy skies as well. Meanwhile, Kahoolawe was 66 degrees, 63 at Lanai City, with 62 at the Molokai airport.

– It’s early Sunday afternoon, under clear to partly cloudy skies in general. The volcanic haze is still part and parcel of our local environment as well. It would be difficult for me to call it anything other than moderately thick!

– Early evening not long before sunset, mostly clear skies…with volcanic haze still in sight.

Friday Evening Film – There are all kinds of new films that have shown up in our local Maui theaters. One in particular jumped right out at me, which is called Triple Nine, starring Casey Affleck, Kate Winslet, Woody Harrelson, Teresa Palmer, Anthony Mackie, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Gal Gadot...among others. The synopsis: In Triple Nine, a crew of dirty cops is blackmailed by the Russian mob to execute a virtually impossible heist, and the only way to pull it off is to manufacture a 999, police code for “officer down.” Their plan is turned upside down when the unsuspecting rookie they set up to die foils the attack, triggering a breakneck action-packed finale tangled with double-crosses, greed and revenge.

My friend Jeff and I took this movie in, and we pretty much knew exactly what we were getting ourselves into. It didn’t take long before we were actively involved in shootouts and bloodshed on the streets of Atlanta. It was like a war zone, with so many tough guys doing their thing, so heavy…so so heavy! It was a little slow in places, although one soon forgot those brief moments, when the action kicked in again, which it did over and over…believe me. This was a very dark crime drama, with barely the light of day sneaking in around the edges occasionally. The cast was excellent, with many top notch actors involved, so that it had to be pretty darn good…and it was. Jeff mentioned on the drive back up the mountain, that he felt rather exhausted from sitting through all that nasty business, and I felt the same way. Did I like it, absolutely, although its difficult to give a grade to a film with so much killing involved! This was a very rough film, no two ways about it…here’s the trailer.

I’ll be back with many more updates on all of the above and below, I hope you have a great Sunday 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)