Hawaiian Islands weather details & Aloha paragraphs
Posted by GlennNovember 20-21 2007
Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures were recorded across the state of Hawaii Tuesday:
Lihue, Kauai – 80
Honolulu, Oahu – 80
Kaneohe, Oahu – 81
Kahului, Maui – 82
Hilo, Hawaii – 80
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii – 84
Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level at 4 a.m. Wednesday morning:
Hilo, Hawaii – 72F
Kailua-kona – 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 Wednesday morning:
0.12 WAINIHA, KAUAI
0.32 MANOA LYON ARBORETUM, OAHU
0.01 MOLOKAI
0.03 LANAI
0.00 KAHOOLAWE
0.51 PUU KUKUI, MAUI
1.16 GLENWOOD, BIG ISLAND
Weather Chart – A low pressure system to the NE of Hawaii, with its associated trough to the east of the state, will keep light to locally moderate north to NE winds blowing across the Hawaiian Islands through Wednesday…strengthening from the NE Thursday. Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map. 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. Here’s a tracking map covering both the eastern and central Pacific Ocean.
Satellite and Radar 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.
Deserted beach…that’s nice warm sand down there!
photo credit: flickr.com
There will continue to be some showers falling, although generally favorably inclined weather conditions will prevail across the Hawaiian Islands. We still have an upper level low pressure system, with it’s surface trough, prevailing to the east and NE of the Aloha state. The air flow around this low will bring in light to moderately strong NE trade wind breezes across our tropical latitudes of the north central Pacific. The northerly aspect to these winds will bring a coolness to the air, although the daytimes will be fairly warm near sea level. The south and west facing leeward beaches will be quite sunny during the days, while the north and east facing windward areas will have more clouds…along with the best chance for showers.
The overlying atmosphere remains a little unstable, so that it wouldn’t be out of the question to see an occasional briefly heavy shower falling. The Big Island and Maui, which are closest to the upper low to our NE, with its colder than normal air aloft, will be the most likely islands for these locally heavy downpours. Look for lots of blue skies, punctuated by cumulus or tall cumulus clouds, dropping showers here and there…although this won’t be a widespread rain event by any means. Looking a little further ahead, drier air will arrive by Thanksgiving, which will make for a nice holiday in most areas. The weather remains somewhat unstable Friday into the weekend, perhaps turning wetter. The windward sides will see the most showers, while the leeward areas will be a good bet for pleasant beaching.
It’s Tuesday evening here in the islands, as I begin writing this last paragraph of today’s narrative. There still remains the trough of low pressure to our east to contend with over the next 24-36 hours, especially if you live on the Big Island or Maui. We may see some locally heavy showers popping on those islands, with the rest of the state’s windward sides finding an occasional shower arriving. Otherwise, weather conditions will be pretty nice for the most part through the next couple of days..although be cooler than normal. ~~~ The good news is that Thanksgiving day is looking good at the moment, with favorable conditions looking more and more likely at this point. The models show the potential for wetter weather arriving by the weekend, at least for the windward sides of the islands…lets hold off on cementing this forecast into place just yet though. ~~~ The big news in the marine environment, as we move into the Thanksgiving holiday and beyond, will be the season’s first really large northwest swell. This major surf event will bring large to very large waves to our north and west facing beaches. It will be a time to exercise caution when going near the ocean in those areas. I’ll be writing more about that over the next few days. ~~~ I’ll be back early Wednesday morning with your next new weather narrative, I hope you have a great Tuesday night wherever you happen to be spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.
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