The latest update to this website was at 852pm Friday evening (HST)

 

Here are the highest temperatures Friday afternoon…and the lowest Friday morning:

83 / 75  Lihue AP, Kauai
87 / 75  Honolulu AP, Oahu
84 / 70  Molokai AP, Molokai
84 / 69  Kahului AP, Maui
88 / 74  Kona AP, Big Island
84 / 70  Hilo AP, Big Island

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

1.36  Mount Waialeale, Kauai
0.24  Waiawa, Oahu
0.28  Puu Alii, Molokai
0.00  Lanai
0.34  West Wailuaiki, Maui
0.43  Waiakea Uka, Big Island

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

22  Port Allen, Kauai
32  Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu
28  Makapulapai, Molokai
27  Lanai 1, Lanai
30  Maalaea Bay, Maui
30  Pali 2, Big Island

Hawaii’s Mountains – Here’s a link to the live webcam on the summit of our tallest mountain Mauna Kea (~13,800 feet high) on the Big Island of Hawaii. These webcams are available during the daylight hours here in the islands, and at night whenever there’s a big moon shining down. Also, at night you will be able to see the stars, and the sunrise and sunset too…depending upon weather conditions.

 

https://weather.gc.ca/data/satellite/goes_gwdisk11_1070_100.jpg

Big Blue…click twice for largest version

 

https://cdn.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/GOES17/ABI/SECTOR/tpw/13/GOES17-TPW-13-900x540.gif 

 We see lots thunderstorms and high clouds west, which are moving over the state locally…plus thunderstorms far to the south
(click for larger version)

 


https://cdn.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/GOES17/ABI/SECTOR/hi/GEOCOLOR/GOES17-HI-GEOCOLOR-600x600.gif

Variable clouds across the state

 

https://cdn.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/GOES17/ABI/SECTOR/hi/13/GOES17-HI-13-600x600.gif

Low clouds arriving on the trade wind flow…higher clouds coming in from the southwest

 

https://radar.weather.gov/ridge/standard/HAWAII_loop.gif

Localized showers

 

https://www.weather.gov/images/hfo/satellite/Kauai_VIS_loop.gif

Kauai and Oahu (Satellite)

 

https://radar.weather.gov/ridge/standard/PHKI_loop.gif

Kauai and Oahu (Radar)

 

https://www.weather.gov/images/hfo/satellite/Oahu-Maui_VIS_loop.gif

Oahu and Maui County (Satellite)

 

https://radar.weather.gov/ridge/standard/PHMO_loop.gif

Oahu and Maui County (Radar)

 

https://www.weather.gov/images/hfo/satellite/Hawaii_VIS_loop.gif

 Maui, Kahoolawe, Lanai, and the Big Island (Satellite)

 

https://radar.weather.gov/ridge/standard/PHKM_loop.gif

Maui County and the Big Island (Radar)

 

https://radar.weather.gov/ridge/standard/PHWA_loop.gif

Big Island (Radar)

 

Model showing precipitation through 8-days (you can slow this animation down)

 

https://www.weather.gov/wwamap/png/hfo.png

Please open this link to see details on any current Watches, Warnings and Advisories noted above

 

 

https://www.weather.gov/images/hfo/graphics/pmsl.gif

 

~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~

 

Glenn’s Aloha Friday comments: I’m home here in upper Kula, Maui, Hawaii

Good day everyone, I hope you have a great Friday wherever you happen to be spending it.

502am, it’s mostly clear early this morning here in Kula, with a chilly low temperature of 51.5 degrees at my place.

1240pm, sunny to partly cloudy, with some high cirrus and developed cumulus over the offshore waters.

436pm, sunny to partly cloudy, along with some high cirrus clouds around the edges here on Maui.

553pm, partly sunny, not much wind here in upper Kula, although over some parts of the eastern islands, these trade winds are gusting up to 40+ mph in gusts.

855pm, the clouds are clearing fast, and as such, the temperature here at my place has dropped to 61.3 degrees.

 

Hawaii’s Broad Brush Weather Overview:   A strong high pressure system north of the Hawaiian Islands is gradually weakening. Trade wind speed trends will decrease to the moderate to breezy range tonight into Sunday, and then to moderate levels from Monday onward and the high continues to weaken.

Strong and stable subsidence aloft will limit shower potential for most days into next week. However, a slight increase in cloud and shower trends may develop later tonight through Saturday, as a weak easterly low moves from east to west across the island chain.

Hawaii’s Weather Details:  The pressure gradient over the state has weakened and trade wind speeds are on a decreasing trend. Scattered clouds with isolated showers embedded in the trade wind flow will focus along windward and mountain areas. Models continue to show a subtle low level trough moving from east to west across the island chain tonight through Saturday.

This could elevate inversion heights enough allowing for increasing shower trends, mainly over windward and mountain areas, with some spillage to leeward areas of the smaller islands. However, total precipitable water values locally and upstream will remain near to below average, so this may put an upper limit on rainfall totals.

The high far north of the state will continue to gradually weaken into next week, resulting in a decreasing wind speed trend. Trades are expected to become moderate to breezy Saturday to Sunday, before further weakening to more moderate levels Monday onward. Some of the more wind favored areas may see brief periods of locally breezy wind speeds next week.

Look for stable and mostly dry weather trade wind weather through the rest of the week. Strong and stable subsidence under an upper level ridge will continue to limit vertical cloud heights and shower development, into much of next week, as well as near to below average precipitable water values.

Here’s a near real-time Wind Profile of the Pacific Ocean – along with a Closer View of the islands / Here’s the latest Weather Map / Vog map animation

Fire weather: Gusty trade winds and low relative humidity will keep elevated fire weather concerns into the weekend. Windier trade wind areas and downslope leeward locations such as West Maui and leeward Kohala on the Big Island are of particular concern moving forward. Trade winds will gradually ease into the moderate to breezy range Saturday to Sunday, and then down to moderate levels  Monday onward, as the pressure gradient over the state relaxes.

Most leeward areas will remain dry. Brief periods of showers will move into windward areas mainly in the overnight hours. Humidity levels will see good to excellent overnight recoveries. Exceptions to this humidity rule will be for elevations in the 4,000 to 8,000 foot range, which may see periods of warmer temperatures with much drier conditions, within and above the subsidence inversion level.

Exceptions to this humidity rule will be for elevations in the 4,000 to 8,000 foot range, which may see periods of warmer temperatures with much drier conditions, within and above the subsidence inversion level.

Hawaii’s Marine Environment:  Strong high pressure far northeast of the state will continue to produce strong to locally near gale force trade winds. As a result, a Small Craft Advisory (SCA) remains in effect for all Hawaiian waters.

The high will weaken a bit this weekend, resulting in a slight easing of the winds back to fresh to locally strong speeds. The SCA coverage will need to be trimmed back potentially by tonight, to just the typical windier areas around Maui County and the Big Island. Early next week trades continue to ease into the gentle to fresh range.

The enhanced trades will continue to produce rough and choppy surf for the east-facing shores through the weekend. Local wind swell may wrap into select north and south facing shores. Forerunners from a small south-southeast swell has filled in, providing small surf for south facing shores. This will be followed by a background swell from the south-southwest on Saturday. Otherwise, no significant swells are expected for the rest of the week.

 

Lanikai Beach: Everything You Need to Know

 

 

World-wide Tropical Cyclone Activity

 

 

Atlantic Ocean:  There are no active tropical cyclone

>>> Near the Lesser and Greater Antilles:

An area of disturbed weather over the central tropical Atlantic Ocean is expected to interact with an approaching tropical wave during the next several days. Some development of this system is possible while it approaches the Lesser Antilles during the early to middle part of next week and moves generally west-northwestward near the Greater Antilles towards the latter part of next week.

* Formation chance through 48 hours…low…near 0 percent
* Formation chance through 7 days…low…20 percent

Caribbean Sea:  There are no active tropical cyclones

Gulf of Mexico:  There are no active tropical cyclones

Northeastern Pacific:  

>>> South of Southern Mexico:

An area of low pressure is forecast to form by the middle of next week a few hundred miles south of the coast of southern Mexico. Environmental conditions appear conducive for gradual development of this system, and a tropical depression could form during the middle or latter part of next week. This system is forecast to move west-northwestward at 10 to 15 mph, roughly parallel to the coast of southwestern Mexico.

* Formation chance through 48 hours…low…near 0 percent
* Formation chance through 7 days…medium…40 percent

>>> Western East Pacific:

Another area of low pressure could form by the middle of next week well to the southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California Peninsula. Some slow development of this system is possible during the middle and latter parts of next week while it moves westward to west-northwestward across the western portion of the basin.

* Formation chance through 48 hours…low…near 0 percent
* Formation chance through 7 days…low…20 percent

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

North Central Pacific:  There are no active tropical cyclone

Here’s the link to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC)

Northwest Pacific Ocean:  There are no active tropical cyclones

Southwest Pacific Ocean:  There are no active tropical cyclones

North and South Indian Ocean:  There are no active tropical cyclones

Arabian Sea:  There are no active tropical cyclones

Here’s a link to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC)

>>> Here’s a link to the Pacific Disaster Center’s (PDC Global) Weather Wall website

 

Interesting:  How Saharan Dust Regulates Hurricane Rainfall

New research underscores the close relationship between dust plumes transported from the Sahara Desert in Africa and rainfall from tropical cyclones along the U.S. Gulf Coast and Florida.

Giant plumes of Sahara Desert dust that gust across the Atlantic can suppress hurricane formation over the ocean and affect weather in North America.

But thick dust plumes can also lead to heavier rainfall – and potentially more destruction – from landfalling storms, according to a July 24 study in Science Advances. The research shows a previously unknown relationship between hurricane rainfall and Saharan dust plumes.

“Surprisingly, the leading factor controlling hurricane precipitation is not, as traditionally thought, sea surface temperature or humidity in the atmosphere. Instead, it’s Sahara dust,” said the corresponding author Yuan Wang, an assistant professor of Earth system science at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability.

Read more at Stanford University

Image: On June 16, 2020, the GOES-East satellite captured this GeoColor imagery of an expansive plume of dust from the Sahara Desert traveling westward across the Atlantic Ocean.