Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures were recorded across the state of Hawaii Sunday afternoon:
Lihue, Kauai – 80
Honolulu airport, Oahu – 82
Kaneohe, Oahu – 78
Molokai airport – 79
Kahului airport, Maui – 81
Kona airport – 83
Hilo airport, Hawaii – 80
Air Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level – and on the highest mountain tops…as of 6pm Sunday evening:
Barking Sands, Kauai – 80F
Hilo, Hawaii – 72
Haleakala Crater – missing (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea summit – 34 (under 14,000 feet on the Big Island)
Precipitation Totals – The following numbers represent the largest precipitation totals Sunday evening:
1.58 Mount Waialeale, Kauai
1.32 Nuuanu Upper, Oahu
0.06 Molokai
0.00 Lanai
0.00 Kahoolawe
1.19 West Wailuaiki, Maui
1.39 Saddle Quarry, Big Island
Marine Winds – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map showing a 1027 millibar trade high pressure system to the north of Hawaii. Our trade winds will be locally strong and gusty Monday and Tuesday.
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
Gusty trade winds through the next week
The trade winds will remain quite strong for the time being, before picking up a notch Tuesday into Wednesday…on into next weekend. According to this weather map, we find a 1027 millibar high pressure system to the north of the islands Sunday night. The outlook shows the trade winds remaining gusty through Monday. The forecast then shows another surge in strong trade winds starting up Tuesday through Thursday…perhaps calming down a touch Friday into the weekend. We still have our small craft wind advisory flags up over most all the coastal and channel waters.
Strong and gusty trade winds…the following numbers represent the strongest gusts, along with directions Sunday evening:
36 mph Port Allen, Kauai – NE
30 Honolulu, Oahu – NE
38 Molokai – NE
38 Kahoolawe – E
37 Kahului, Maui – NE
20 Lanai Airport – NE
38 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 Sunday night. This large University of Washington satellite image shows high cirrus clouds around the Hawaiian Islands. Looking at this NOAA satellite picture we see a few lower level clouds over the windward sides, with generally clear to partly cloudy skies over the leeward sections. We can use this looping satellite image to see the cirrus clouds forming just to the north of the islands. Checking out this looping radar image shows just a few showers around now, with generally dry conditions expected into Monday.
As noted above, the trade winds will be around for the next week. The trade winds are being supplied by a high pressure system to our north. 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 4-5 days. Meanwhile, there are various cloud bands to our northeast, which will be carried to our windward coasts and slopes at times. The leeward sides will be generally dry, although we could see a few showers being carried into to those south and west facing areas at times locally.
This past 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.
Welcome to Spring 2011…which arrived Sunday afternoon here in the islands. Here in Kula, Maui at around 5pm Sunday evening, the air temperature was a nice warm 70.7F degrees. Skies are clear to partly cloudy, although there is some kind of very heavy haze that's in our atmosphere now too. I'm honestly not sure that it isn't volcanic haze, although the winds aren't right to bring it up from the Big Island. There may be some marine haze coming off the ocean too, or it could be dust from the winds, as there have been sugar cane fires the last several nights. At any rate, the morning showers burned off from the windward sides for the most part, and the leeward sides are pretty much cloud free and dry. ~~~ I bbq'd organic chicken thighs this afternoon, which I'll plate each of the upcoming work day evenings….with a combination of red onion, carrots, brussel sprouts, mushrooms, celery, and brocolli, which I cooked this afternoon too. Monday through Friday work days are busy enough, that I prefer to just heat my dinner up when I get home from Kihei. This evening, I have a piece of Ahi, and a piece of Ono, both of which were wild caught in local waters. I'll have these with some fingerling potatoes that I'll steam up, and then brown a little while cooking the fish. I'll likely wash this down with a bottle of Sierra Nevada ale. Right now though, I'm going out to take my wash off the clothes line, and then just relax through the rest of the evening. I washed my car today, so it will look nice as I take off for work early Monday morning. I'll be back even earlier than that with your next new weather narrative, I hope you have a great Sunday night until then! Aloha for now…Glenn.
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