Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures were recorded across the state of Hawaii Monday:
Lihue, Kauai – 81
Honolulu airport, Oahu – 87
Kaneohe, Oahu – 81
Molokai airport – 86
Kahului airport, Maui – 88 (record high Monday: 91 – 1969, 1980 )
Kona airport – 84
Hilo airport, Hawaii – 81
Air Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level – and on the highest mountain tops…as of 5pm Monday evening:
Honolulu, Oahu – 85
Hilo, Hawaii – 79
Haleakala Crater – 55 (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea summit – 37 (over 13,500 feet on the Big Island)
Here are the 24-hour precipitation totals (inches) for each of the islands as of Monday evening:
0.41 Mount Waialeale, Kauai
0.11 Moanalua RG, Oahu
0.00 Molokai
0.00 Lanai
0.00 Kahoolawe
0.13 West Wailuaiki, Maui
0.53 Kawainui Stream, Big Island
Marine Winds – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map showing a 1034 millibar high pressure system…far to the north-northeast of our islands. Our local winds will remain rather strong and gusty Tuesday and Wednesday.
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. 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 13,500 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 shining down during the night at times. Plus, during the nights you will be able to see stars, and the sunrise and sunset 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. A satellite image, which shows the entire ocean area between Hawaii and the Mexican coast…can be found here.
Aloha Paragraphs
Trade winds – a few windward showers
Memorial Day well wishes
Our local winds will remain active from the trade wind direction…becoming slightly stronger Tuesday through Thursday. Glancing at this weather map, we find a 1034 millibar high pressure system located far to our north-northeast…which will remain our source of our trades now. These trade winds will remain active, although the small craft wind advisories are restricted to just those windiest coasts and channels around Maui and the Big Island for the time being. The trade winds will then falter by the weekend into early next week…perhaps.
Our trade winds will continue to blow…the following numbers represent the strongest gusts, along with directions Monday evening:
29 Port Allen, Kauai – ENE
22 Honolulu airport, Oahu – ENE
29 Molokai – NE
33 Kahoolawe – ESE
31 Kahului, Maui – ENE
18 Lanai – NE
31 South Point, Big Island – ENE
We can use the following links to see what’s going on in our area of the north central Pacific Ocean Monday night. Looking at this NOAA satellite picture we see that most of the clouds in our area are located over the ocean, which are being carried to the windward sides…on the trade winds. There are a few middle and higher level clouds around the islands now too. We can use this looping satellite image to see areas of high clouds in some directions. We can see a counterclockwise rotating upper low to our northeast, which will eventually move over the state as well. At lower levels of the atmosphere we can see cloud patches upstream of the islands, to the east of the state…which are being carried our way. Checking out this looping radar image we see just a few showery clouds over our surrounding waters, which are impacting the windward sides in places.
Sunset Commentary: As noted above the trade winds will continue to blow across our Hawaiian Islands, perhaps even strengthening some later Tuesday through Thursday. These trade winds are then expected to slack off come Friday through the weekend, and even into early next week…which would be unusual if this faltering of the trade winds actually happens.
An upper level low pressure system not far to our northeast, will be moving over the state through the next couple of days. This low and its cold air aloft will destabilize our overlying atmosphere. This will prompt an enhancement to this precipitation, wherever showers happen to be falling. There's even a slim chance of thunderstorms popping up at times later Tuesday through the end of the work week. As we move into the weekend time frame, our weather will likely turn drier.
Here in Kula, Maui at 540pm Monday evening, its clear to partly cloudy over the mountains, although mostly clear elsewhere, including the windward sides. Today was an excellent day, especially in terms of weather around the Aloha state, just the way we like it during a holiday. As noted above, we will run into some changes beginning Tuesday, which continue on locally through Friday. This will be our main focus this week, and should be rather interesting, given that June is typically the driest month of the year. I'll be back with more information in this regard early Tuesday morning, I hope you have a great Monday night until then! Aloha for now…Glenn.
Memorial Day: Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. Service Members who died while in the military service. First enacted by formerly enslaved African-Americans to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War – it was extended after World War I to honor Americans who have died in all wars.
Memorial Day often marks the start of the summer vacation season, and Labor Day its end.
Begun as a ritual of remembrance and reconciliation after the Civil War, by the early 20th century, Memorial Day was an occasion for more general expressions of memory, as ordinary people visited the graves of their deceased relatives, whether they had served in the military or not. It also became a long weekend increasingly devoted to shopping, family get-togethers, fireworks, trips to the beach, and national media events such as the Indianapolis 500 auto race, held since 1911 on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend.
I would add that as a veteran of a foreign war, I was drafted into the army way back when…I feel especially fortunate to still be alive. I would like to join in with the fond memories of all those men and women, who I don't know, but nonetheless am sorry to know that they fell, and aren't around to enjoy the wonders of this ongoing world. I especially would like to give my acknowledgment to all those family and friends, who have carried on without their loved ones by their side to this day.
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