Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures were recorded across the state of Hawaii Wednesday:
Lihue, Kauai – 79
Honolulu airport, Oahu – 83 (record high for the date: 88F degrees in 1989)
Kaneohe, Oahu – 79
Molokai airport – 78
Kahului airport, Maui 81
Kona airport 81
Hilo airport, Hawaii – 77
Air Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level – and on the highest mountain tops…as of 5pm Wednesday evening:
Kailua-kona – 79
Hilo, Hawaii – 69
Haleakala Crater – 43 (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea – M (over 13,500 feet on the Big Island)
Here are the 24-hour precipitation totals (inches) for each of the islands as of Wednesday evening:
1.04 Mount Waialeale, Kauai
0.52 Manoa Lyon Arboretum, Oahu
0.01 Molokai
0.00 Lanai
0.00 Kahoolawe
1.18 Puu Kukui, Maui
0.77 Waiakea Uka, 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 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 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. This web cam is 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. The Haleakala Crater webcam on Maui just came back online, after being on the blink for several weeks.
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. Here's a tropical cyclone tracking map for the eastern and central Pacific.
Aloha Paragraphs
Trade wind weather pattern,
some showers…large surf
north and west shores
As this weather map shows, we find a strong 1038 millibar high pressure system located far to the northeast of the Hawaiian Islands Wednesday evening. This high pressure cell remains well offshore from the Columbia River mouth, between the Oregon and Washington borders. Meanwhile, we see a weaker 1024 millibar high to the north of the islands. The high pressure cell to the northeast has an elongated ridge of high pressure extending from its center…to the north and northeast of the islands. Our trade winds will remain moderately through into the weekend…locally stronger gusts.
The following numbers represent the strongest wind gusts (mph), along with directions Wednesday evening:
32 Lihue, Kauai – NE
27 Kahuku Training, Oahu – E
31 Molokai – NE
31 Kahoolawe – E
30 Kahului, Maui – NE
39 Lanai – NE
32 Pali 2, Big Island – NE
We can use the following links to see what’s going on in our area of the north central Pacific Ocean early Wednesday evening. Looking at this NOAA satellite picture we find that high and middle level cloudiness are located over the ocean to the southeast, along with some thunderstorms. We can use this looping satellite image to see low clouds being carried over the islands on the trade wind flow here and there…although skies were generally clear in most areas tonight. Checking out this looping radar image we see showers over the ocean, most of which are in the light to moderately heavy category. The most active precipitation areas are coming into the windward sides…with a few heavier clouds offshore to the west of the Big Island.
Sunset Commentary: The trade winds began their strengthening process today, with some gusts reaching up towards 40 mph in a few of those windiest places. These winds are being generated by a strong high pressure system far to the northeast of the state. The forecast calls for these gusty winds to continue blowing through the end of this week. The latest computer forecast models are showing that the trade winds may increase further as we get into the first part of next week. All this air in a hurry will make our local coasts and channel waters rough and choppy well into the future. Early December isn’t well known for such consistent trade winds, as the trade blow on average only 57% of the time during this last month of the year.
Speaking of rough ocean conditions, we’ll be seeing a new northwest swell arriving late today, and then peaking Thursday and Friday…before gradually lowering in size this weekend. High surf advisories are already up along our north and west facing beaches, in response to this larger than normal swell. The strengthening trade winds will add to this gnarly ocean surface, bringing its countless white caps into the mix. In contrast to these large waves, the south facing leeward sides of our islands will be much more user friendly…as is often the case during our autumn and winter months. This of course is due to the summer season in the southern hemisphere now, where our south swells are generated during their winter season.
The rainfall pattern here in the islands continues to be fairly typical for such a trade wind weather pattern. It almost goes without saying, that we’ll see the common passing windward biased showers falling here and there…from time to time. This straight forward reality will continue through the rest of this work week. As we get into the weekend we’ll find some increase in showers along our windward sides. If the trade winds are blowing briskly then, as expected, some of these showers will fly over into the leeward sides on the smaller islands at times. Not all of the forecast models are showing this increase in shower idea, although some are very generous in their potential offering of showers…with heavy precipitation not out of the question into early next week. The Big Island and Maui look to have the best placement for these potential showers.
Here in Kihei, Maui at around 530pm Wednesday evening, skies were mostly clear, after quite a lovely day! The thing that helped enormously, was the lack of high and middle level clouds…finally! I expect the next couple of days to be full of gusty trade winds, and large surf breaking along our north and west facing shores. There will be showers at times along our windward sides, although the leeward shores should be in good shape for beaching. As noted above, we may be looking at an increase in showers this weekend, which could last into early next week. The models are suggesting that we could see an area of cold air migrate over the state aloft then too. This would enhance whatever showers that around, so that we could be looking at some fairly generous rainfall amounts locally. ~~~ I'm heading back upcountry now, to Kula. I will be back early Thursday morning with your next new weather narrative. It should be ready for the reading right around 530am HST. I hope you have a great Wednesday night until then! Aloha for now…Glenn.
Interesting: Deforestation in Brazil's Amazon region fell to its lowest in 23 years in the year through July, the government said Monday, attributing the drop to its tougher stance against illegal logging. Destruction of the Brazilian portion of the world's largest rain forest dropped 11 percent to 2,400 square miles over the 12-month period, satellite data from Brazil's National Institute for Space Research showed.
That is less than a quarter of the forest area that was destroyed in 2004, when clear-cutting by farmers expanding their cattle and soy operations reached a recent peak. Brazil has stepped up its monitoring and enforcement policies in the Amazon in recent years but the improvement has partly been driven by slower global economic growth that has reduced demand and prices for the country's farm produce.
Overall improvement in 2010/11 masked worrying rises in some Amazon states such as Rondonia, where deforestation doubled from the previous year. Forest clearing in the farming state of Mato Grosso rose 20 percent. "Some states are still extremely sensitive," Environment Minister Isabel Teixeira told reporters.
"Rondonia needs to be clarified, we need to understand what has caused the change in its profile." Two large hydroelectric dams are being built in Rondonia, boosting the local economy and attracting migrant workers. The drop in deforestation comes as Brazil's Congress debates an overhaul of the land law that environmentalists say would severely set back conservation efforts.
The Senate is expected to approve the new forest code in the coming days.
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