May 23 – 24 2006

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

Lihue, Kauai – 80F
Honolulu, Oahu – 80
Kaneohe, Oahu – 80
Kahului, Maui – 87
Hilo, Hawaii – 80
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii – 83

Temperatures early Wednesday morning ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level at the 4 a.m. hour:

Kaneohe, Oahu – 75
Molokai airport – 61

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

1.84 WAILUA, KAUAI
2.00 MAUNAWILI, OAHU
0.04 MOLOKAI
0.25 LANAI
0.00 KAHOOLAWE
0.18 OHEO GULCH, MAUI
0.26 PALI 2, BIG ISLAND

Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map…showing a weak 1021 millibar high pressure system located to the NNE of the islands. This high is being pushed away by low pressure to our NW, and an associated late season cold front. The high will leave behind a trailing ridge, which will be close enough to the islands to keep light ESE to SE winds blowing through Thursday. 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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Calm tropical seas


An area of low pressure far NW of the islands, near the International Dateline, will start having some influence here in the islands now. It has been weakening and pushing our trade wind producing high pressure system southward. Our local trade wind speeds will really be on the decline now, with the air flow gradually swinging around to the SE direction. This change will be moving us from a fairly routine trade wind weather pattern, into what we call a convective weather pattern. This simply means that whatever showers that around, will stop falling over the windward sides, and shift to over and around the mountains during the afternoon hours.

Typically during the second half of the month of May, we would see steady trade winds blowing across our latitudes of the north central Pacific. Those trade winds are going to take a break through the rest of this work week. SE winds, as they come into the islands, find themselves blocked by the Big Island and Maui. This produces what we call island blocking, with the net result being, that much of the state finds itself in a wind shadow. These light winds can give rise to warm and humid conditions, with even the possibility of volcanic haze being carried NW from the Big Island, over the smaller islands…especially over Maui County.

As mentioned above, the bias for showers will be over the interior upcountry areas now. The days will usually start off nice and clear, and slightly cool for this time of year. As the sun gets higher in the sky, the daytime heating of the islands cause air currents to begin rising in the late mornings through the afternoons. Whatever moisture that is rising in those thermals of air, cool and condense into clouds. These afternoon clouds will likely drop some showers in places…some of which may be briefly heavy. When the sun goes down and the air cools, the clouds will collapse…we return to clear skies at night. This pattern will remain active through Friday.

As the weekend rolls around, the low pressure system will shot off to the NE. This will allow the high pressure system, which has been suppressed southward near our islands, to migrate northward again. This will prompt the trade winds to fill back into the Hawaiian Island weather picture. As the cool and refreshing trades make their return, the muggy weather will come to an end. The focus for showers will shift back over to the windward sides, and we’ll slide back into a more normal trade wind weather pattern again then…continuing into the following week.

It’s early Tuesday evening here in Kula, Maui. Wind speeds took a tumble today in most areas in Hawaii. It brought a peaceful reality to our fair islands, as opposed to the noiser sounds of fresh trade winds blowing. The ocean too, like the picture above, smoothed out significantly. I flew to Honolulu this morning, and then right back to Maui early this afternoon. I am always amazed at the endless variety of human beings, as I watched them walking by at the Honolulu and Maui airports. I am definitely a people watching kind of person, I think it comes from watching the weather so much, it just feels natural to look at everything. When I asked the lady at the airport for a taxi, to take me the University of Hawaii, actually the East West Center, where my meeting was, I was surprised to find a super long stretch limo pull up to the curb! She swung the door open for me and said “University of Hawaii, Aloha.” I can see why big time celebraties, and rock stars, surround themselves with lots of people…as it’s kind of lonely in the back of that very long back seat. There was a bar in there, and these little blue lights on the roof (inside), that were suppose to look like stars I think. At any rate, it was very interesting, and had me dreaming briefly that people on the freeway, driving into town, wanted to see through the dark windows, to see who the big shot was in there! Although they would have been disappointed I’m sure, as it was just little ol’ me in there! Slash – the sunset is going to be nice in a few minutes. I’m listening to a series of Beatles songs on internet radio…Lucy in the Sky just now. I hope you have a great Tuesday night, and that you will meet me here again early Wednesday morning for the next weather narrative, from these light winded islands in Hawaii. Aloha for now…Glenn.