Hawaiian Islands Weather details & Aloha Paragraphs / June 26-27, 2013

Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures (F) were recorded across the state of Hawaii Wednesday:

81  Lihue, Kauai
84  Honolulu, Oahu
82  Molokai
87  Kahului, Maui
85  Kona, Hawaii
84  Hilo, Hawaii

Air Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level – and on the highest mountain tops on Maui and the Big Island…as of 743pm Wednesday evening:

Kailua Kona – 80
Hilo, Hawaii – 72

Haleakala Summit –  46 (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea Summit – 34 (13,000+ feet on the Big Island)

Hawaii’s Mountains – Here’s a link to the live web cam on the summit of near 13,800 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. Here’s the Haleakala Crater webcam on Maui – if it’s working.

Aloha Paragraphs

Rising south swells along our leeward beaches late today into Saturday

Summertime trade winds, with fewer windward showers now
– more showers heading our way via an out of season cloud
band from the north on Friday…mostly on Kauai/Oahu

The following numbers represent the most recent top wind gusts (mph), along with directions as of Wednesday evening:

16  Waimea Heights, Kauai – NW
32  Kuaokala, Oahu – NNE 
25  Molokai – NE
32  Lanai – NE
27  Kahoolawe – NE
24  Kapalua, Maui – NE
30  Kealakomo, Big Island – NE

Here are the latest 24-hour precipitation totals (inches) for each of the islands as of Wednesday evening:

0.23  Mount Waialeale, Kauai
3.61  Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu
0.39  Molokai
0.00  Kahoolawe
0.01  Lanai
1.69  Puu Kukui, Maui
0.39  Keahole airport, Big Island

We can use the following links to see what’s going on in our area of the north central Pacific Ocean. Here’s the latest NOAA satellite picture – the latest looping satellite image… and finally the latest looping radar image for the Hawaiian Islands.

~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~

Trade winds slightly lighter as we push through the rest of this week. Here’s a weather chart showing a near 1024 millibar high pressure system located to the northwest of our islands, with a second near 1018 millibar cell to our east-northeast. Our trade winds will remain active…although easing some through the next couple of days.

Trade wind weather pattern will prevail, with windward showers..and some elsewhere too. Satellite imagery shows pockets of lower level clouds, being carried our way on the trades. Here’s the looping radar image, showing a few showers passing by along some of our windward coasts and slopes, and over the offshore waters as well. Here on Maui, and also over the mountains on Oahu, there were lots of rainfall recently, although conditions have dried out now considerably…which should continue through Thursday.

An old cold front will drop down into the state early Friday into Saturday…which will increase our windward showers some. This out of season band of clouds will reach Kauai and Oahu, and then may push down across Molokai or even Maui. This moisture will influence the windward coasts and slopes primarily, with a a few showers reaching over into the leeward sides on the smaller islands. At about the same time there will be an upper level low pressure system over our area too, which will act to enhance these unusual summertime showers. As we get into Sunday, these wayward showers will back off again, bringing favorably inclined trade wind weather conditions…into the first part of next week. The models are suggesting that we might see a second out of season front arriving around next Tuesday, stay tuned on that outlandish prospect. Then, perhaps later next week, we may see some residual showers from quickly weakening tropical storm Cosme in the eastern Pacific, which will be long retired by then. I’ll be back with your next new weather narrative early Thursday morning, I hope you have a great Wednesday night wherever you’re spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.