The latest update to this website was 257pm Thursday afternoon (HST)

 

Air Temperatures – The following high temperatures (F) were recorded across the state of Hawaii Thursday…along with these low temperatures Thursday morning: 

79 – 68  Lihue AP, Kauai
79 – 69  Honolulu AP, Oahu
83 – 65  Molokai AP, Molokai
84 – 60  Kahului AP, Maui 
84 – 71  Kona AP, Hawaii
81 – 66  Hilo AP, Hawaii 

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

0.22  Princeville AP, Kauai
4.24  Poamoho RG 1, Oahu
0.34  Puu Alii, Molokai
0.28  Lanai City, Lanai
0.72  West Wailuaiki, Maui
1.57  Kealakekua, Big Island

The following numbers represent the strongest wind gusts (mph) as of Thursday afternoon:

17  Port Allen, Kauai
21  Kii, Oahu
25  Makapulapai, Molokai
18  Lanai 1, Lanai
23  Kahului AP, Maui
22  PTA Range 17, 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 

A cold front northwest
(click for larger version)

 


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

 Higher level clouds are moving by well to the south of the state

 

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

Low clouds carried our way on the lighter east to southeast winds

 

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

Showers locally…some of which are quite heavy

 

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 Thursday comments: I’m home here in upper Kula, Maui, Hawaii

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

551am, it’s a clear morning here in Kula, with a low temperature of 50.5 degrees at my place.

833am, it’s still sunny along the leeward slopes of the Haleakala Crater here on Maui, although clouds are arriving along the windward slopes, with radar showing those clouds to be showery in appearance.

245pm, it’s turned very cloudy in most areas, with off and on showers, so far quite light here in upper Kula. The temperature is a relatively cool 66 degrees at the time of this writing…at my place.

ACTIVE WEATHER EXPECTED TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY WITH THE RISK OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS AND POSSIBLY FLASH FLOODING…

An unusually strong upper level disturbance will move into the area tonight through Saturday, bringing the possibility of very active weather to portions of the Aloha State. The latest guidance indicates an increasing potential for strong to severe thunderstorms, which could produce damaging winds and large hail, as well as the possibility for localized intense rainfall and flash flooding. Impacts could begin over the western end of the state as early as tonight, with a transition to more of a widespread potential Friday through Saturday.

 

Hawaii’s Broad Brush Weather Overview:  Trade winds will diminish through tonight, as a broad surface trough and upper disturbance move in. Added instability associated with these features will lead to an increasing threat for strong to severe thunderstorms and heavy rainfall late tonight through Saturday.

Although the thunderstorm potential will lower Sunday into early next week, plenty of moisture lingering combined with afternoon sea breezes, and a broad surface trough nearby will support afternoon showers over our interior and leeward areas each day.

This wet pattern could continue through the latter half of next week, as another upper disturbance approaches the island chain.

Hawaii’s Weather Details:  Satellite imagery showed broad upper troughing over the area, with a strong shortwave digging southeastward toward the area. The local winds will respond and diminish over the next 24 hours, as the attendant cold front passes to the north and broad surface troughing evolves over the islands.

The short-term guidance has initialized well with this pattern, showing a few strong to severe thunderstorms and locally heavy rainfall, that could lead to flash flooding through. Impacts could begin over the western end of the state as early as tonight, with a transition to more of a widespread/statewide potential Friday through Saturday.

Models show the upper low beginning to weaken as it lifts off to the northeast later this weekend, which will support a diminishing threat of thunderstorms. The rainfall chances, however, will likely linger as the aforementioned broad surface trough remains over or nearby to the west Sunday through next week.

Expect the light to moderate east to southeast low-level wind flow to persist, which will allow the land and sea breeze regime to hold for most areas. This combined with a sufficient amount of moisture will keep the rainfall chances up each day, especially through the afternoon and early evening periods over interior/leeward areas with the sea breezes.

The wet pattern could persist through the second half of next week, as another upper low drops southward into the area, helping to draw up deep tropical moisture over the island chain.

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

Marine Environmental Details:  A trough developing north of Kauai will strengthen and expand southward over the island chain tonight into Friday, then linger through the weekend. As a result, winds will remain rather light and below Small Craft Advisory thresholds.

A strong disturbance aloft moving overhead will bring a threat for strong to severe thunderstorms late tonight through Saturday. These thunderstorms will have the potential to produce dangerous wind gusts, hail, and frequent lightning. Moderate east to southeast trade winds will gradually rebuild Sunday through early next week.

A long-lived south swell will affect the islands during the next several days, keeping south shore surf above the summertime average. The surf is expected to peak below the High Surf Advisory threshold through Friday, then gradually decline Saturday through Tuesday. A series of overlapping long-period south swells will give another sizable boost to south shore surf Wednesday through late next week.

North shore surf will remain tiny, followed by a small reinforcing north-northwest swell late Friday through the weekend. A small northwest swell will build Sunday night, giving north shore surf a boost early next week. Surf along east facing shores will be well below normal levels through the middle of next week.

 

Oahu, Hawaii: Our Travel Highlights — Miss Minus Sized

 

 

World-wide Tropical Cyclone Activity

 

Atlantic Ocean: There are no active tropical cyclones

Caribbean Sea: There are no active tropical cyclones

Gulf of Mexico:  There are no active tropical cyclones

Northeastern Pacific: There are no active tropical cyclones

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

North Central Pacific:  There are no active tropical cyclones

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:  The Future of Coral Restoration in the Florida Keys After Unprecedented Marine Heat Wave of 2023

In the summer of 2023, portions of the Florida Keys experienced an extreme marine heat wave, unlike any other in recorded history for the region. Heat records were broken and some reefs were completely bleached—they expelled their food-producing algal partners and turned white.

Throughout this prolonged heat wave NOAA scientists and partners raced to rescue vulnerable coral species, fearing mass mortality. Thousands of nursery coral colonies were relocated to climate-controlled labs, some were temporarily moved into deeper, cooler water, and small-scale shading experiments were conducted. In addition, live gene banking was also employed to preserve unique genetic individuals of threatened coral species.

The extreme ocean heat returned to more tolerable levels in the fall, although it was still above average. Previously relocated corals were returned to their original in-water nurseries across the Florida Keys. In February, NOAA’s Mission: Iconic Reefs program and their partners surveyed restored corals—which are nursery raised and outplanted on a reef—throughout the Florida Keys to better understand the impacts of the record-high ocean temperatures from the summer of 2023. The initial findings of this mission were pretty grim for some coral species.

Read More: NOAA

(left) Healthy elkhorn coral at Horseshoe Reef in the upper Florida Keys before last summer’s mass bleaching event. (right) Bleached wild and outplanted staghorn and brain corals at Sombrero Key Reef in the middle Florida Keys in the summer of 2023.