June 20-21 2006

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

Lihue, Kauai – 84F
Honolulu, Oahu – 86
Kaneohe, Oahu – 83
Kahului, Maui – 87
Hilo, Hawaii – 86
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii – 86

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

Lihue, Kauai – 76
Hilo airport – 70

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:

0.83 MOUNT WAIALEALE, KAUAI
0.14 MANOA LYON ARBORETUM, OAHU
0.01 MOLOKAI
0.00 LANAI
0.00 KAHOOLAWE
0.17 WEST WAILUAIKI, MAUI
0.57 GLENWOOD, BIG ISLAND

Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map…showing high pressure systems located far to the NE and NW of our islands. These high pressure cells, with their connecting ridges, will keep our local trade wind speeds in the moderate to fresh category Wednesday…calming down just a touch 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.

Tropical Cyclone Activity – The eastern Pacific hurricane season runs from May 15 through November 30…while the central Pacific runs from June 1 through November 30. The latest storm information for eastern Pacific can be found by clicking here. A storm tracking map can be found by clicking here. For the central Pacific, the latest information can be found by clicking here.


Aloha Paragraphs

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Waimanalo Beach, windward Oahu


Little change in our Hawaiian Island weather picture is expected now, with trade winds continuing to dominate for the time being. Winds the last couple of days have been rather robust, with locally strong and gusty conditions during the afternoon hours. High pressure remains anchored to the north of the state, which is the source of these balmy breezes flowing across the islands now. The latest computer forecast model output continues to suggest that the winds will mellow-out some starting Wednesday, and keep getting slightly lighter each day into the weekend. They should bottom-out in strength Saturday and Sunday…and then rebound again starting Monday into most of next week.

Precipitation has been occurring along some windward coasts, although nothing unusual for this time of year. Those windward coasts and slopes are apt to find the most generous showers falling during the night and early morning hours. The leeward sides haven’t seen any showers for quite a while, with that reality expected to continue into the foreseeable future. If we were to have a trough of low pressure move overheard, and that might happen later this week, we could see some modest increase in shower coverage and intensity along those windward facing areas. There are no organized rainmakers on our weather horizon at this time.

It’s early Tuesday evening, just as the sun is setting into the cloud shrouded West Maui Mountains. It was another scorcher, on this last full day of spring 2006. Air temperatures were sizzling down near the coasts here on Maui, with thermometers reading in the lower 90F’s in at least a couple of places on the west and south coasts. Sunshine was not a rare commodity by any means, beaming down brightly just about all day. The trade winds were helping to temper the heat though, taking the most extreme edge off the otherwise hot day at sea level. The north and east shores (the windward sides) once again had the most wind exposure, with more clouds there too. It looks like a few showers are riding in on the fresh trade winds this evening, which is nothing unusual. The leeward sides are staying sunny right to the last possible moment though, when the sun finally splashes down into the Pacific…so to speak of course. I hope you have a great Tuesday night, and that you will make it a point to come on back again Wednesday, when I’ll have the next narrative waiting for you. Aloha for now…Glenn.