September 18-19 2006

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

Lihue, Kauai – 84F
Honolulu, Oahu – 86
Kaneohe, Oahu – 84
Kahului, Maui – 85
Hilo, Hawaii – 82
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii – 84

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

KANEOHE, OAHU – 78
HILO AIRPORT – 69


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

 
1.68 MOUNT WAIALAELAE, KAUAI
0.41 SOUTH FORK KAUKONAHUA, OAHU
0.06 MOLOKAI
0.00 LANAI
0.00 KAHOOLAWE
0.42 OHEO GULCH, MAUI
0.62 WAIAKEA UKA, BIG ISLAND
 

Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map…showing a very large 1032 millibar high pressure center located to the NE of our islands Tuesday. This high, in contrast to a tropical cyclone moving by to the south of Hawaii, will increase the pressure gradient today into Wednesday…with a corresponding increase in trade wind speeds. Here’s a Weather Map Symbol page for clarification about what all those weather symbols mean on the map.

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.


Aloha Paragraphs


 

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Would you mind living here, along Oahu’s windward side of the island, listening to classical piano, or the Rolling Stones on your ocean front lanai…maybe sipping on a nice cup of mint tea, or glass of fine Pinot Noir?
Photo Credit: flikr.com


The primary mover and shaker in the Hawaiian Island weather picture this week will be the gusty trade winds. A high pressure system is located to the NE of our islands Monday, with its associated ridge stretching SW from its center…to the north of the Aloha state. The latest models show this high pressure cell moving eastward and strengthening, with the trade wind speeds picking up a notch or two locally as that happens. This trade wind flow has become strong enough that we have small craft advisory flags flying over the coastal and channel waters now.

There doesn’t appear to be anything unusual coming our way in terms of precipitation…with just the usual windward biased showers. Those windward sides will see a fairly normal amount of showers falling for this time of year, occurring mostly during the night and early morning hours. The leeward sides will likely remain quite dry, although there may be a few afternoon or early evening showers falling along the Kona slopes on the Big Island.  There are no tropical systems approaching from the east or SE, nor any active cold fronts approaching from the NW.

The surf was very active along our south and west facing leeward beaches this past weekend…with Sunday being the larger of the two days. This swell activity coming up from the southern hemisphere will continue through this work week. There’s a high surf advisory flag flying over those south facing beaches, so it would be wise to use caution when entering the ocean where large waves may be breaking. Meanwhile, the north shores will see some rise in surf, although not as large as on the south shores now…starting Tuesday for a couple of days.

Finally, satellite imagery points out a tropical disturbance about 650 miles south of our islands, which has a rather impressive display of thunderstorm activity. There seems to be a strong likelihood that this system will flair up into a tropical depression later today. If it were to develop (as expected), it would be called 02C, and if it were to strengthen (again as expected) it would take on the name tropical storm Kika. It is located far enough south of the islands, that we don’t anticipate any moisture from this source. There could be some high cirrus clouds, which would be the tops of thunderstorms, carried north and NE over our area at times…like is already happening on the Big Island and Maui.  You can see this area by clicking here, and then a closer look at the northern section of this area of disturbed weather by clicking here. Update: this area did become a tropical depression called 02C late Monday afternoon, with the expectation that it will become a tropical storm named Kika, and then a hurricane within a couple of days…although it poses no threat to the Hawaiian Islands. Please refer to this storm track map for reference to its location and expected path.

It’s early Monday evening here in Kula, Maui, as I start writing this last paragraph of today’s narrative.  Yet another nice day here in the islands, on one of our last summer days of 2006. The main change in weather compared to this last weekend, was the stronger variety of trade winds in the southern part of the state. The Kahului airport during the day had gusts to 35 mph or more, while South Point on the Big Island had similar top gusts. Otherwise, it was a decent day, with quite a few windward showers at times along certain windward coasts and slopes. As you might have noticed we have a new tropical cyclone that formed about 650+ miles south of the Kona coast on the Big Island this afternoon. The conditions are very favorable for further development, as 02C heads quickly towards becoming a fairly major hurricane, at least according to some of the latest computer hurricane models. Before anyone gets too nervous about this situation, please rest assured that at this point, it looks very likely that we have nothing to worry about. I had a good day, despite the fact that I didn’t get to dip into the warm ocean during my lunch break. I guess I’m still feeling satisfied with the several hours that I was in the ocean this past weekend, while surfing on the Lahaina side. I hope you have a peaceful Monday night, and that you may plan on meeting me here again early Tuesday morning, when I’ll have the next newspaper resting on your front porch, no, no, I mean the next weather narrative waiting for you here at Hawaii Weather Today on the internet! Aloha for now…Glenn.


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