May 19 – 20 2006

Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures were recorded across Hawaii Friday:

Lihue, Kauai – 79F
Honolulu, Oahu – 82
Kaneohe, Oahu – 79
Kahului, Maui – 83
Hilo, Hawaii – 76
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii – 84

Temperatures early Saturday morning ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level at the 5 a.m. hour:

Lihue, Kauai – 73
Hilo airport – 68

Precipitation Totals – The following numbers represent the largest precipitation totals (inches) during the last 24 hours (as of Saturday morning) on each of the major islands, including:

0.45 HANALEI RIVER, KAUAI
0.56 POAMOHO 2, OAHU
0.02 MOLOKAI
0.00 LANAI
0.00 KAHOOLAWE
1.07 WEST WAILUAIKI, MAUI
0.97 MOUNTAIN VIEW, BIG ISLAND

Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map…showing a strong 1037 millibar high pressure system located far to the north of the islands…extending northward all the way into the Gulf of Alaska. This pressure configuration will cause moderate to fresh and gusty trade wind speeds Saturday and Sunday. Here’s a Weather Map Symbol page for clarification about what all those funny weather symbols mean.

Hawaii’s Mountains – Here’s a link to the live webcam on the summit of near 14,000 foot Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii. The tallest peak on the island of Maui is the Haleakala Crater, which is near 10,000 feet in elevation. These two webcams are available during the daylight hours here in the islands…and when there’s a big moon rising just after sunset for an hour or two! Plus, during the nights and early mornings you will be able to see stars, and the sunrise too…depending upon cloud conditions.

Satellite Images – To view the cloud conditions we have here in Hawaii, please use the following satellite links, starting off with the Infrared Satellite Image of the islands to see all the clouds around the state during the day and night. This next image is one that gives close images of the islands only during the daytime hours, and is referred to as a Close-up visible image. This next image shows a larger view of the Pacific…giving perspective to the wider ranging cloud patterns in the Pacific Ocean…out from the islands. To help you keep track of where any showers may be around the islands, here’s the latest animated radar image.

Aloha Paragraphs

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Poipu Beach on Kauai


The trade winds will be taking over now as the primary mover and shaker here in the islands. A high pressure system is becoming well established to the north of Hawaii, which will be the source of these breezy conditions. Wind speeds will be moderately strong, then increase to the moderate to fresh category this weekend. We have no active marine advisories at the moment, however as the winds pick up some, we will likely see small craft wind advisories being issued by the NWS forecast office in Honolulu over the next couple of days.

The latest forecasts call for those fresh trade winds to slack-off after the weekend. Referring to climatology, we would think that the trade winds would continue at moderately strong levels. The computer models are trying to turn our winds east or even SE, becoming lighter early in the new week ahead. In this case, it seems a little late in the season to have SE winds blowing, although this year is not what I would consider a normal year weatherwise. So we may see the winds tapering off, which could put us into a convective weather pattern…with afternoon clouds and showers over and around the moutains.

The windward sides will still a few a few showers riding in on the brisk winds. There may continue to be quite a few of them now through Friday night. As we move into the weekend time frame, we may see a gradual decrease in those passing showers, although there will still some around. I don’t see any organized rainmakers on the weather horizon, other than those occasional bands of clouds arriving along the north and east facing slopes and shores. The leeward sides will remain quite sunny, with dry conditions continuing through the weekend.

It’s early Friday evening here in Kihei, Maui. I just finished work for the week, and am about to head over to Kahului. I’ll start off by visiting Borders Books, where I like to hang out looking around before seeing films on some Friday’s. I’m planning on seeing the new Tom Cruise flick called Mission: Impossible III. Yahoo’s movie review gave it a B from both critics and users. I still haven’t had the time to buy protective equipment for my skateboarding adventures, which means I’ve been pushing my luck…so I’d better skip that adventure for the time being. The weather was fabulous here on Maui today, that is if you didn’t mind a bit of gusty trade winds while visiting our local beahes this afternoon. We should see more gusty trade wind activity this weekend, although there will be lots of sunshine beaming down along the leeward beaches. The windward sides are liable to have the usual passing showers. I’ll catch up with you early Saturday morning, with more weather updates, and to let you know what I thought of Tom’s new film. I hope you have a great Friday night! Aloha for now…Glenn.