Hawaiian Islands weather details & Aloha paragraphs
Posted by GlennMarch 9-10 2008
Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures were recorded across the state of Hawaii Sunday:
Lihue, Kauai – 80
Honolulu, Oahu – 81
Kaneohe, Oahu – 80
Kahului, Maui – 79
Hilo, Hawaii – 85
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii – 83
Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level at 5 a.m. Sunday morning:
Kailua-kona – 71F
Kahului, Maui – 59
Precipitation Totals – The following numbers represent the largest precipitation totals (inches) during the last 24 hours on each of the major islands, as of Sunday afternoon:
0.04 WAINIHA, KAUAI
0.00 OAHU
0.00 MOLOKAI
0.01 LANAI
0.00 KAHOOLAWE
0.06 KAUPO GAP, MAUI
0.06 KAPAPALA RANCH, BIG ISLAND
Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map. A high pressure ridge over the area between Oahu and Kauai…extends from a 1026 millibar high pressure cell far to the ENE…in the eastern Pacific. Winds will remain light and variable through Tuesday.
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.
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.
Laperouse Bay on Maui
Photo Credit: Flickr.com
Light breezes will dominate, varying in direction between east and southeast. Storms to the north and northwest of Hawaii, will keep a high pressure system pushed into the eastern Pacific, offshore from the southern California coast. A weak ridge will extend from this high to over the islands, keeping our winds light and variable. There will be several cold fronts moving by to our north, keeping the ridge near by or over us, and our winds generally light through Tuesday. The latest computer forecast guidance suggests that light to moderately strong trade winds will arrive Wednesday…prevailing through the rest of the week.
The overlying atmosphere remains rather dry and stable, so despite the extensive afternoon cloudiness over and around the mountains…there won’t be much precipitaton falling from them. Days will start off quite clearly, remaining that way for the most part along the beaches. The upcountry areas however will see rather thick cloud cover during the afternoons, which will collapse after dark. Cold fronts will approach the islands at times during the next week, and may bring a few showers, especially on Kauai, but no major rain event will occur. When the trade winds arrive by mid-week, there will be at least some increase in showers arriving along the windward sides.
It’s Sunday evening as I begin writing this last paragraph of today’s narrative. What you see described in the two paragraphs above are the classic elements of a convective weather pattern. If the details look similar to what you have been reading about here for the last two weeks, you’re absolutely right. In a nut shell, cold fronts to our north will keep a light wind producing ridge of high pressure displaced southward over or near the islands. This will keep our local air mass less shower prone than usual. By the way, with the light winds around again, our haze levels will be on the increase again. ~~~ The light winds were expected to last through the greater part of the new week. It should be pointed out that the computer models have been flip flopping over what the weather solution would be for the second half of the new week ahead. The latest iteration now shows the return of trade winds around mid-week, which are now scheduled to last through the remainder of the week. As the trade winds return, if in fact they actually do, we would expect passing shower activity along the windward sides of each of the islands. ~~~ Clouds have increased in the upcountry areas Sunday afternoon, as expected. They seem less shower prone than they did yesterday however. These clouds will evaporate after dark, leaving a star filled skies during the night. I’ll be back very early Monday morning, until then I hope you have a great Sunday night wherever you happen to be reading from! Aloha for now…Glenn.
Email Glenn James: 
