October 16-17, 2010



Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures were recorded across the state of Hawaii Saturday afternoon:

Lihue airport, Kauai –  85
Honolulu airport, Oahu –  87
Kaneohe MCAS, Oahu –  83
Molokai airport – 83
Kahului airport, Maui – 86
Ke-ahole airport (Kona) –   85
Hilo airport, Hawaii –   79

Air Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level – and on the highest mountain tops…as of 4pm Saturday afternoon:

Honolulu, Oahu – 84F
Molokai airport – 77 

Haleakala Crater –    48 (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea summit – 41 (near 14,000 feet on the Big Island)

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

0.70 Mount Waialeale, Kauai  
0.21 Waihee Pump, Oahu
0.00 Molokai 
0.00 Lanai
0.00 Kahoolawe
0.99 Puu Kukui, Maui
1.78 Kealakekua, Big Island

Marine Winds – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map showing high pressure systems to the north-northeast and far northeast of our islands. Our local winds will remain light to moderately strong from the trade wind direction Monday…then get lighter Monday.

Satellite and Radar Images: To view the cloud conditions we have here in Hawaii, please use the following satellite links, starting off with this Infrared Satellite Image of the islands to see all the clouds around 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. Finally, here's a Looping IR satellite image, making viewable the clouds around the islands 24 hours a day. To help you keep track of where any showers may be around the islands, here’s the latest animated radar image.

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 weather conditions.

Tropical Cyclone activity in the eastern and central Pacific – Here’s the latest weather information coming out of the National Hurricane Center, covering the eastern north Pacific. You can find the latest tropical cyclone information for the central north Pacific (where Hawaii is located) by clicking on this link to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. Here’s a tracking map covering both the eastern and central Pacific Ocean. A satellite image, which shows the entire ocean area between Hawaii and the Mexican coast…can be found here. Of course, as we know, our hurricane season won't end until November 31st here in the central Pacific.

 Aloha Paragraphs

http://photo.bfpmedia.com/wp-images/haleiwasunsetcouple.jpg
It was a great sunrise Sunday morning!
 

 

The trade winds will remain active Sunday…lighter winds are expected to arrive Monday and Tuesday.  Our trade winds remain light to moderately strong Saturday evening, thanks to the positioning of high pressure systems to our north-northeast and far northeast at the moment. This weather map shows these two trade wind producing high pressure systems. At the same time, we find a dissipating cold front extending southwest from off the west coast, between the high pressure cells to our north and NE…and Hawaii. It will take until Monday for our local trade winds to ease up into the lighter realms, which will last through Tuesday. As we move into later Wednesday…our trade winds will start to fill back into our area into the rest of next week. 

 What few showers that are around now will continue to be most active along the windward coasts and slopes…generally during the cooler night and early morning hours.  There may be a few heavy localized showers popping up here and there…perhaps most likely in the Kona area during the afternoon hours. As we can see from glancing at this satellite image, there are very few patches of lower level clouds in our vicinity Saturday evening. Looking to the west of the islands, over the offshore waters, we see lots of high cirrus clouds. We'll see good sunset and sunrise colors into Sunday. As the trade winds drop down in strength after this weekend, we’ll see a decrease in our windward biased showers…with a modest increase in upcountry showers during the afternoon hours. 

 It's Saturday evening as I begin writing this last section of today's narrative update. This weekend will be just fine, and as mentioned above, with the chance of one or two heavier showers here and there. Then during the first couple of days of the new week ahead, our trade winds will falter, moving us into a convective weather pattern. At that point, we'll start our days with clear cool mornings, and cloudy periods during the afternoons, especially in those upcountry leeward slopes. There won't be many showers however, although we might get lucky enough to see some rain falling at times. The main thing will be the lighter winds for those short two or three days. Meanwhile, we'll find a cold front trying to push down into the tropics, although it won't likely have much luck in reaching as far as Kauai. It will provide some clouds though, and as the trade winds return by later Wednesday through next Friday, we'll see some remnant showers from the frontal boundary…arriving over our windward sides.

~~~ A friend and I went to see a film last evening, this time in Kihei rather than Kahului. It was called Red (2010), starring a whole host of well known folks…including Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich, Mary-Louise Parker, Helen Mirren, Richard Dreyfus, Ernest Borgnine among others. Synopsis: Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, and Helen Mirren play former CIA operatives, who have just become the Agency's top targets. The Yahoo critics are giving this film a B- grade, while the users have upped the score to a more respectable A- score. The trailers make it look pretty good, if not just a fairly typical action film…what else is new? As it turned out, this was actually more of a comedy film, rather than a hard core active flick. There were lots of opportunities to laugh or at least chuckle, which was kind of a change of pace for me. I would rate the film B, not an overly strong B, but it had plenty of entertaining value. I could recommend it those who often stay away from action films, due to the violence. This film had plenty of that, although it put a funny slant to most of it…which took the edge off mostly.

~~~ I had a great walk in Keokea this morning, it was just SO beautiful, before coming back here to Kula for breakfast. Today turned out to be a pretty big day, as my neighbor and I drove down to Kahului to get two new tires for my car. Then, it was over to Baldwin Beach, where we hung out on the beach. The sun was so warm, and the ocean felt SO good to get into! Then we went to the health food store in Paia for shopping, before coming back upcountry. It was a great day, as I enjoy being with my neighbor, we have a long history as friends, and enjoy getting into conversations covering quite a few bases. Tonight is my so called "party night" of the week, so I may come back online with a few youtube music videos later. It's fun listening to music, and is what I often turn to on Saturday night's. I've been without a TV for lots of years now. So, you may want to check back later and see what I may have to offer this evening. Otherwise, I'll see you Sunday morning, when I'll have your next new weather narrative waiting for you. I hope you have a great Saturday night wherever you happen to be spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.

Extra: Sade…Cherish the Day

Simply Red... Say You Love Me
Simply Red… You've Got It

Michael Jackson…You Rock my World