Weather Details and Aloha Paragraphs

July 19-20 2006

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

Lihue, Kauai – 83F
Honolulu, Oahu – 84
Kaneohe, Oahu – 83
Kahului, Maui – 86
Hilo, Hawaii – 84
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii – 85

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

KAILUA KONA – 76
KALAELOA, OAHU – 67

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

0.01 KAPAHI, KAUAI
0.03 MAKUA RIDGE, OAHU
0.00 MOLOKAI
0.01 LANAI
0.00 KAHOOLAWE
0.53 WEST WAILUAIKI, MAUI
0.18 KAMUELA, BIG ISLAND

Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map…showing high pressure systems located far to the NW and NE of our islands. Our local trade winds may pick up a bit today, and remain light or a little more than that through Friday. 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 (where Hawaii is) runs from June 1 through November 30. The latest storm information for the eastern Pacific can be found by clicking here. A storm tracking map for both the central and eastern areas can be found by clicking here . For the central Pacific, the latest storm information can be found by clicking here.

Io or Hawaiian Hawk…

The remnants of former tropical cyclone Bud, which is now just a trough of low pressure, will be moving by to the north of the Hawaiian Islands. It has lost whatever strong winds that it had previously, and is now just an area of low clouds…being carried more or less westward by the low level winds. The  most notable influence on our local weather conditions will be the lighter than normal trade wind speeds. This will occur as the trough of low pressure moves in between our trade wind generating high pressure systems to the north and NW, and the Aloha state. We’ll see several days of rather hot and muggy weather, with unusually light trade winds for this time of year. Satellite imagery shows that there is an area of showers running along behind the trough to our north, which may cause an increase in showers for a day or two…restricted for the most part to the windward sides, and around the mountains during the afternoon hours.

The latest computer models show another unusual weather feature moving in right after Bud moves by. This will be the rare approach of a summertime cold front. The cold front won't make it to the Aloha state, but stall some 500 or so miles NW of Kauai. Nonetheless, it's associated trough of low pressure will keep our trade winds lighter than usual through the rest of this week. The most likely place for whatever showers that fall will be along the windward sides, and over and around the mountains during the afternoon hours. The moving by of Bud isn’t all that unusual, although the approach of the cold front during July is very uncommon!

Far to the east, we see another retired tropical cyclone, or at least the leftover clouds associated with Carlotta. We aren’t worried about her, with only a chance that whatever left over showers she may still have, could bring a chance of windward showers to the state later this weekend. Even further to the SE, we find hurricane Daniel. It will weaken back into a tropical storm, or even all the way back down into a tropical depression, before getting into our central Pacific waters. It will however be the one that we’ll be keeping our eye on now, as it moves in our general direction. There's a chance we could see an increase in showers later next week, from whatever that's left of Daniel, as it gets perhaps close to our islands then.

It’s early Wednesday evening here in Kula, Maui, as I begin today's sunset commentary. It was another great day here in the islands, with plenty of sunshine beaming down out of the heavens above. I went to the beach at lunch time and found hardly a breath of air moving, which is unusual. The ocean was smooth, with no white caps in sight, even far out towards Maalaea Bay. The ocean was delightfully warm, as was the sand and air. When I got out of the ocean, I happened to see this tiny squirming little fish, that got washed up on the sand. I gently put it back into the ocean, which somehow made me feel so good. When I left work, I could see very low clouds moving into the Central Valley, with the lightest, very small drop precipitation falling from the base of those light weight clouds. As I came up the Haleakala Highway around Pukalani, and over towards Makawao, there was the faintest mist falling, creating nice little rainbows. By the time I got up to Kula, I was well above the clouds, and now, just before sunset, it's clear as a bell. It will be interesting to track hurricane Daniel over in the eastern Pacific, as it more or less heads in our general direction. I'm not worried about it bringing inclement weather to our islands, as it is forecast to weaken considerably from the strength that it's exhibiting now. I will follow it like a Hawaiian Hawk, and keep you abreast of its progress. Aloha for now…Glenn.

I’d like to highlight the next advertising link on the left hand margin of all the pages on this website. This time it’s Kapalua Vacation Rental. Location, location, location….Most people have to drive to the beach, you only have to walk from here. Bay Villa 22B4 is the ultimate in ocean front living, it has the premier location in the Bay Villa complex. You cannot get any closer to the ocean. The pictures say it all, with 180 degrees of ocean view, it is as if you are standing on the bow of a ship. This is an upstairs unit, so you will not be disturbed from noise above.