Hawaiian Islands Weather Details & Aloha Paragraphs / February 20-21, 2016

Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures (F) were recorded across the state of Hawaii Saturday…along with the minimums Saturday:

77 – 65  Lihue, Kauai
79 – 65  Honolulu, Oahu
81 – 56  Molokai AP
83 – 59  Kahului AP, Maui
86 – 62  Hilo AP, Hawaii

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

0.54  Anahola, Kauai
0.90  Palisades, Oahu
0.00  Puu Alii, Molokai
0.00  Lanai
0.00  Kahoolawe
0.02  Kahakuloa, Maui
1.66  Waiakea Uka, Big Island

The following numbers represent the strongest wind gusts (mph)…as of Saturday evening:

18  Mana, Kauai – NW
15  Wheeler AAF, Oahu – NW
08  Molokai – NW
15  Lanai – SW
14  Kahaloowe – SSW
12  Kula 1, Maui – SW
14  Kaupulehu, Big Island – NW

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.

Aloha Paragraphs

Pacific storm track remains well north of Hawaii…with
cold fronts draping southward – high clouds just clipping
the islands from the south

Large area of thunderstorms to the south of Hawaii…with the
next cold front approaching to the north and northwest

Scattered low clouds…mixed with clear skies

A few showers locally…mostly over the offshore waters
looping radar image

 High Surf Warning…rising surf along north and west shores
of Kauai, Oahu and Molokai, and north shores of Maui

Gale Warning…Hawaiian offshore waters beyond 40 nautical
miles – out to 240 nautical miles

Small Craft Advisory…coasts and channels around Kauai down
through Maui County

Wind Advisory…Big Island summits – 30-45 mph with 60 gusts /
Haleakala summit Maui – 30-45 with 60 mph gusts

~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~

Lighter winds at the moment, gradually giving way to gusty southwest to westerly kona winds Sunday…as a cold front approaches the state into Monday. Here’s the latest weather map, showing the Hawaiian Islands, and the rest of the North Pacific Ocean. We find high pressure systems far east-northeast, closer to the north, and far west-northwest of Hawaii. In addition, there’s several storm low pressure systems far to the northeast through northwest of Hawaii. There’s an associated cold front to our northwest, which will be approaching the state later this weekend into Monday. The recent gusty trade winds have tapered off now, becoming lighter ahead of this next cold front. As this cold front gets closer to our area however, this frontal boundary will prompt a brief period of gusty southwest to westerly kona winds, at least over those exposed windiest locations around the state. Our winds will then turn cooler and lighter from the north, in the wake of the front’s passage Monday into Tuesday…followed by light breezes into the middle of next week. The latest models are showing light to moderately strong trade winds during the second half of the upcoming week.

Here’s a wind profile…of the offshore waters around the islands – with a closer view

Here’s the Hawaiian Islands Sulfate Aerosol…animated graphic – showing vog forecast

Generally dry weather with quiet conditions will prevail tonight, with gusty south to westerly winds arriving…ahead of a cold front arriving later Sunday into Monday. Meanwhile, there’s also the presence of a trough of low pressure near the state now, which is helping to contribute a few showers around the state now locally. Showers should increase as the next cold front approaches the islands later Sunday into Monday. The latest model runs show this cold front passing down through the state, bringing some rainfall, although excessive precipitation isn’t expected. The latest forecast has most of this precipitation falling along the windward coasts and slopes, although not exclusively. Cooler and generally drier weather, although with still a few passing showers will arrive early in the new week ahead for several days…followed by another possible cold front around Wednesday into next Thursday. The returning trade winds in the wake of that cold front will bring a few windward showers…although not many are expected into next weekend.

Special Weather Statement:  A very large warning level northwest swell is expected to arrive Sunday night, peak on Monday, then lower gradually Tuesday through Wednesday. The upcoming full moon will cause high astronomical tides especially during the early morning tide cycles Monday and Tuesday. Open ocean swell heights are expected to exceed 20 feet so coastal run up will be a concern especially during times of high tide. Wave model output indicates that this may be the largest swell that we have experienced this winter season.

Another very large warning level northwest swell is expected to arrive Wednesday night, peak on Thursday, then lower gradually Friday and Saturday. Open ocean swell heights of around 20 feet are expected with this swell.

Here in Maui County…It’s mostly clear early this Saturday morning…although with lots thick haze or smoke. Here in upcountry Kula we have an air temperature of 43.8F degrees well before sunrise. The temperature at near the same time was 61 degrees down in Kahului, 63 out in Hana, and 43 degrees up at the summit of the Haleakala Crater. Meanwhile, Kahoolawe was 66 degrees, 64 at Lanai City, with 61 at the Molokai airport.

– Early afternoon, under varying amounts of sunshine and cloudiness, depending upon location. At the same time, the volcanic haze is still very thick, and is greatly cutting down on the air visibility!

– Early evening, now partly to mostly cloudy, although with very few showers. The main thing, as it has been all day, is the incredibly thick volcanic haze (vog). / It’s now 915pm, under clear skies, and the thermometer has fallen to 45.6 degrees already…will we end up in the upper 30’s by early Sunday morning?

Friday Evening Film: It appears that a whole new crop of films are now showing, which will be fun to work my way through over the next many weeks. Tonight, my film viewing friend Jeff and I will be seeing one called Hail, Caesar! starring Josh Brolin, George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, Ralph Fiennes, Jonah Hill, Frances McDormand, Channing Tatum, Scarlett Johansson, Tiffany Lonsdale, Alden Ehrenreich…among many others. The synopsis: four-time Oscar winning filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men, True Grit, Fargo) write and direct Hail, Caesar!, an all-star comedy set during the latter years of Hollywood’s Golden Age. Hail, Caesar! follows a single day in the life of a studio fixer who is presented with plenty of problems to fix.

We’ll, I suppose it was bound to happen one of these times, in that one of these films had to fall flat, and I’m afraid this was the one. Neither Jeff nor I liked it, and as we walked out of the nearly full theater, we heard several disparaging remarks from others too. I know, I know, how could a film with so many good actors fail, I wonder that too, however even they couldn’t prop it up. Jeff had just flown in from Europe, so he could blame jet lag as the reason he fell asleep several times. However, I had no good reason to fall asleep briefly a couple of times too, other than it was a boring film. To be honest, I did find myself laughing several times, although those little fun moments faded fast by the time the film ended, and I was relieved that it did in fact. I suppose there were those who loved this film, probably lots of folks in fact, although I wasn’t one of them. If you have any interest…here’s the trailer.

I’ll be back with many more updates on all of the above and below, I hope you have a great Saturday night wherever you’re spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn

World-wide tropical cyclone activity:

>>> Atlantic Ocean: The last regularly scheduled Tropical Weather Outlook of the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season…has occurred. Routine issuance of the Tropical Weather Outlook will resume on June 1, 2016. During the off-season, Special Tropical Weather Outlooks will be issued if conditions warrant. Here’s the 2015 hurricane season summary

Here’s a satellite image of the Atlantic Ocean

>>> Caribbean Sea: The last regularly scheduled Tropical Weather Outlook of the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season…has occurred. Routine issuance of the Tropical Weather Outlook will resume on June 1, 2016. During the off-season, Special Tropical Weather Outlooks will be issued if conditions warrant.

>>> Gulf of Mexico: The last regularly scheduled Tropical Weather Outlook of the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season…has occurred. Routine issuance of the Tropical Weather Outlook will resume on June 1, 2016. During the off-season, Special Tropical Weather Outlooks will be issued if conditions warrant.

Here’s a satellite image of the Caribbean Sea…and the Gulf of Mexico

Here’s the link to the National Hurricane Center (NHC)

>>> Eastern Pacific: The last regularly scheduled Tropical Weather Outlook of the 2015 North Pacific hurricane season…has occurred. Routine issuance of the Tropical Weather Outlook will resume on May 15, 2016. During the off-season, Special Tropical Weather Outlooks will be issued if conditions warrant. Here’s the 2015 hurricane season summary

Here’s a wide satellite image that covers the entire area between Mexico, out through the central Pacific…to the International Dateline.

Here’s the link to the National Hurricane Center (NHC)

>>> Central Pacific: The central north Pacific hurricane season has officially ended. Routine issuance of the tropical weather outlook will resume on June 1, 2016. During the off-season, special tropical weather outlooks will be issued if conditions warrant. Here’s the 2015 hurricane season summary

Here’s a link to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC)