Hawaiian Islands weather details & Aloha paragraphs
Posted by GlennDecember 28-29 2007
Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures were recorded across the state of Hawaii Friday:
Lihue, Kauai – 77
Honolulu, Oahu – 79
Kaneohe, Oahu – 76
Kahului, Maui – 81
Hilo, Hawaii – 79
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii – 82
Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level at 4 a.m. Saturday morning:
Lihue, Kauai – 76F
Molokai airport – 68
Precipitation Totals – The following numbers represent the largest precipitation totals (inches) during the last 24 hours on each of the major islands, as of Saturday morning:
2.41 MOUNT WAIALEALE, KAUAI
1.83 POAMOHO 2, OAHU
0.04 MOLOKAI
0.00 LANAI
0.00 KAHOOLAWE
3.48 KAUPO GAP, MAUI
2.46 HAKALAU, BIG ISLAND
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.
Weather Chart – A moderately strong 1034 millibar high pressure system is located to the NE of Hawaii Saturday. This high pressure system will keep our trade winds blowing in the locally strong and gusty realms through Saturday…then slightly lighter Sunday. 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.
The spectacular Protea flowers of Hawaii
photo credit: flickr.com
Passing showers continue to bring off and on wet periods along the windward sides of the islands. Those windward sides of the islands will remain rather soggy…as they have been all week. The leeward sides won’t see most of these showers, although will find a few showers flying over the lower mountains on the smaller islands. The Kona coast on the Big Island, and the Wailea/Kihei, and Lahaina areas on Maui, have taller mountains behind them, blocking the windward showers from spreading over into those lee sections.
We’ll find a brief change in the weather occurring early in the new week ahead, although it won’t be anything to worry about. The computer forecast models continue to show a weak shearline cloud band approaching the state right after the weekend. There’s a chance for this frontal boundary to push into the state, bringing a modest increase in showers New Years day along the windward sides. This won’t bring much rain, so that the main thing that folks will notice will be the cool north to NE breezes coming into the state slightly ahead of, and behind the cloud band. This in turn will bring a brief tropical cool snap to the islands, followed by the return of the fair weather producing trade winds by mid-week onward.
It’s Friday evening here in the islands, as I begin updating this last paragraph of today’s narrative. We have about another day of the gusty trade winds to deal with, and then the winds will finally mellow-out some during the second half of the weekend. The eastern part of the island chain will see the strongest winds blowing through Saturday. As usual however, there will be those areas that are sheltered from the blustery winds, even on the Big Island and Maui. ~~~ A large area of high and middle level clouds continues to spread up over the island chain from the southwest, and will likely remain overhead into Saturday. This looping satellite image shows these high level clouds streaming into our area. ~~~ So, the three weather elements that are most influential at this time continue to be the gusty trade winds, the windward biased showers, and the high clouds moving into our area from the deeper tropics…carried by the jet stream level winds. Putting a positive spin to these, there will be sheltered areas from the winds on each island, the incoming trade wind showers will be of an off and on nature, and there will be more frequent thin spots in the high cloudiness into Saturday. That’s about the best I can do, considering what I have to work with at this point. ~~~ This evening I’m heading over to the Maui Arts and Cultural Center to see a new film called Atonement. The main thrust of this film is that a young girl irrevocably changes the course of several lives when she accuses her older sister’s lover of a crime he did not commit. This film is receiving rave reviews in some quarters, and I am looking forward to seeing it, after being aware of it for so long. Here’s a link to the trailer, if you feel so inclined to check it out. ~~~ I’ll be back early Saturday morning with your next new weather narrative. I hope you have a great Friday night wherever you happen to be spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.
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