Weather Details & Aloha Paragraphs
Posted by GlennMay 31-June 1 2007
Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures were recorded across the state of Hawaii Thursday:
Lihue, Kauai – 83F
Honolulu, Oahu – 88
Kaneohe, Oahu – 83
Kahului, Maui – 88
Hilo, Hawaii – 88
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii – 84
Temperatures early Friday morning ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level at the 4 a.m. hour:
Kaneohe, Oahu – 76F
Kahului, Maui – 64
Precipitation Totals – The following numbers represent the largest precipitation totals (inches) during the last 24 hours on each of the major islands, as of Friday morning:
0.27 OPAEKAA STREAM, KAUAI
0.85 OAHU FOREST NWR, OAHU
0.00 MOLOKAI
0.00 LANAI
0.00 KAHOOLAWE
0.04 OHEO GULCH, MAUI
0.83 PUU WAAWAA, BIG ISLAND
Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map…showing a 1022 millibar high pressure system far to the WNW of the islands, which has its associated ridge running across the International Dateline to a point north of Kauai. Trade winds will be lighter Friday, becoming even lighter this weekend. 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.
Tropical Cyclone activity in the eastern and central Pacific – Here’s the latest 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.
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.
Blue moon… full moon tonight
The trade winds will continue to blow across our area of the north central Pacific, mostly in the light to moderately strong category into Friday. A 1024 millibar high pressure system to the NE of the Hawaiian Islands, along with its associated ridge of high pressure to our north…will remain the source of our local trade wind flow now. A late season gale low pressure system in the Gulf of Alaska, has sent a cold front southward, whose tail-end is close to Kauai. As we move into Friday and the upcoming weekend, our trade winds will get very light, leading us into a light and variable wind condition. The latest models suggest that the trade winds will return right after the weekend…blowing in the light to moderately strong range next week.
We continue to see rather dry conditions, with just a few showers along the windward coasts and slopes…and perhaps over and around the mountains during the afternoon hours locally. The bulk of whatever showers that are around now will deposit themselves along those north and east facing windward slopes. As we get into the Friday through Sunday time frame, we will switch over to a convective shower pattern. This simply means that daytime heating, in combination with onshore flowing sea breezes, will prompt afternoon interior clouds. The atmosphere will remain rather dry though, so those afternoon and early evening showers will be light ones.
It’s early Thursday evening here in Kula, Maui as I begin writing this sunset commentary…although its actually more about the moonrise than the sunset tonight! As noted in the paragraphs above, we’ll be moving into a lighter wind condition soon, along with a fairly dry reality as well. This is going to make for a pretty hot and sultry atmosphere by this weekend, which could turn a little hazy around the edges too. However, our tropical reality will remain on the nice side of the weather spectrum in general well into the future. ~~~ I mentioned Thursday morning that I was having trouble with my monitor, although fortunately, that problem has been fixed. ~~~ It’s still too early to see the full moon rising over the flanks of the Haleakala Crater at this time, although it won’t be long before that grand round ball of silver will come rolling into view. Of course by now, I’m sure you know, that when the moon reaches its most full proportions tonight…it will be called the blue moon. This means that it’s the second full moon during this spring month of May. I hope you have a chance to glance up tonight at some point, and enjoy this special viewing! ~~~ This would be a perfect night for a stroll along one of our wonderful sandy beaches. That, or perhaps a hike through the Haleakala Crater, if you happen to be here on Maui. Maybe just sit out on your lanai on a lounge chair, pondering what this life is all about anyway! Any one care to comment in the reply box below…about where you are, and how the moon looks from there? At any rate, I wish you well, and would like to invite you back for Friday’s edition of this weather narrative from paradise. Aloha for now…Glenn.
Hawaii Weather Today – TV program online now. It’s not precisely like watching it on television, although it’s quite a close approximation. Each day’s new show will replace the previous days show (Monday through Friday) at some point between 10am and noon (HST) in Hawaii. If you click here it will take you to the website where it can be viewed. I want to thank the folks at the Maui Media Lab, located in Paia, Maui for this opportunity to show what’s happening weatherwise here in Hawaiian Islands! By the way, you will need to have a quicktime viewer on your computer to receive the feed…you can get the free download here if it’s not already loaded on your machine.
Email Glenn James: 
