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

Lihue, Kauai –                   80
Honolulu airport, Oahu –   83
Kaneohe, Oahu –               78
Molokai airport –                80
Kahului airport, Maui –        81
Kona airport –                    81
Hilo airport, Hawaii –          73

Air Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level – and on the highest mountain tops…as of 5pm Saturday evening:

Barking Sands – 83F
Hilo, Hawaii – 73

Haleakala Crater –     missing (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea summit – 28 (under 14,000 feet on the Big Island)

Precipitation Totals – The following numbers represent the largest precipitation totals Saturday evening:

0.92    Mount Waialeale, Kauai
0.98    Schofield South, Oahu
0.06    Molokai
0.00    Lanai 
0.00    Kahoolawe
1.27    Kaupo Gap, Maui
1.34    Hilo airport, Big Island

Marine Winds – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map showing a 1029 millibar trade high pressure system to the north of Hawaii. Our trade winds will be locally strong and gusty, although easing up a touch into 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 web cam 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 web cams 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 ended November 30th here in the central Pacific…and begins again June 1st.

 Aloha Paragraphs

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2788/4177985252_9d0c9438d2.jpg
Windy, with passing windward showers…
and a very large full moon tonight!
 
 
 

The trade winds will be locally blustery Sunday through Monday, before picking up a notch Tuesday into Wednesday…on into next weekend.  According to this weather map, we find a 1029 millibar high pressure system to the north of the islands Saturday night. The outlook shows the trade winds easing up in strength slightly into Monday. The forecast then shows the strong and gusty trade winds starting up Tuesday-Wednesday onwards. We still have our small craft wind advisory flags up over most all the coastal and channel waters…in addition to an ongoing wind advisory for those windiest areas on Maui and the Big Island.

Strong and gusty trade winds…the following numbers represent the strongest gusts, along with directions Saturday evening:

37 mph       Port Allen, Kauai – NE
31              Kahuku, Oahu – NE
28              Molokai – NNE
55              Kahoolawe – E 
40              Kahului, Maui – E
13              Lanai Airport – NE   
47              South Point, Big Island – NE

We can use the following links to see what’s going on in our area of the north central Pacific Ocean Saturday night.  This large University of Washington satellite image shows a bit of high cirrus clouds around the Hawaiian Islands…with more further to the southeast, west, and north. Looking at this NOAA satellite picture we see lots of clouds upstream of the islands, with generally clear to partly cloudy skies over the leeward sections. We can use this looping satellite image to see the cirrus clouds rotating in a counter-clockwise direction, associated with an upper level low pressure moving westward. There is a minor band of clouds, whats left of an old front stretched out along our windward sides…bringing showers. Checking out this looping radar image shows showery looking clouds moving over the windward sides….generally light to moderately heavy.

As noted above, the trade winds will be around for the long haul, along with frequently passing windward biased showers tonight into Sunday morning. The trade winds are being supplied by a high pressure system to our north. The trade winds may ease up ever so slightly, although most folks won't notice this. A new surge in the trade winds will arrive around Tuesday onwards. They are expected to become just about as strong and gusty as the current windy episode we've had over the last several days. Meanwhile, an old cold frontal cloud band is being carried in our direction on the trade winds. This will bring off and on showery weather to our windward sides into early Sunday morning. Conditions should dry out again Sunday through Tuesday, before another area of showers possibly arrives with that next surge in the trades by mid-week. 

Friday evening after work I went to see a new film, one of several which I'm interested in. This particular film was called Battle: Los Angeles, starring Aaron Eckhart, Bridget Moynahan, Michelle Rodriquez…among many others. It's being billed as an action/adventure and science fiction fantasy. The synopsis: for years, there have been documented cases of UFO sightings around the world — Buenos Aires, Seoul, France, Germany, China. But in 2011, what were once just sightings became a terrifying reality, when Earth was attacked by unknown forces. As people everywhere watch the world's great cities fall, Los Angeles becomes the last stand for mankind in a battle no one expected. It was a big week at work in Kihei, and I was in the mood to just sit myself down in the theater and be carried away into just such a mindless film as this. The critics are giving this film a C grade, while viewers are giving it a B+ rating. Personally, I thought it was a bit long, and rather tedious at times. I can't highly recommend it by any means, although I'll go so far as to give it a C+ grade. I like action films as many of you know, although this one was slightly over the top in some ways, just a bit too laborious to sit through for two hours. Here's the trailer…just in case you are curious.

Meanwhile, this is a big weekend in terms of our March full moon tonight, and the end of winter…leading into the beginning of our spring season on Sunday. Here's a good NASA link detailing this unusual full moon…being called a super full moon! It's pretty remarkable to know that this full moon is suppose to be 14% larger than normal! I'm looking forward to seeing it come up this evening, and I'm sure that I'll be checking it out often during the night…or at least a couple of times from my bed. These are the last few hours of winter, as our spring equinox occurs soon. The official transition from winter to spring is at exactly 1:21pm Sunday afternoon here in Hawaii. Probably the best known fact about this equinox, is that there is an equal number of hours of daylight and darkness…across the globe. Perhaps more importantly for many people, will be the fact that temperatures will begin to warm up as we leave winter behind. This won't happen immediately of course, but will steadily progress as we get into April, and May into June. The June solstice, or the beginning of summer happens here in the islands on June 21st. 

~~~ Here in Kula, Maui at around 530pm, my wind chimes are sounding off nicely, with an air temperature of 68.7F degrees. Skies are clear to partly cloudy looking down towards the leeward sides, while the windward sides look showery. I have a pretty good idea that I'll be back later this evening with some other things to say, or perhaps to share a few youtube music video's that I might be listening to. At any rate, I hope you have a chance to check out that big full moon, although you folks over on the windward sides may have a tough time seeing it through the clouds. Aloha for now…Glenn.