April 9-10 2006

Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures were recorded across Hawaii Sunday:

Lihue, Kauai – 78F
Honolulu, Oahu – 80
Kaneohe, Oahu – 77
Kahului, Maui – 79
Hilo, Hawaii – 79
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii – 83

Temperatures early Monday morning ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level at the 4 a.m. hour:

Kailua-kona – 74
Molokai airport – 68

Precipitation Totals – The following numbers represent the largest precipitation totals during the last 24 hours (as of Monday morning) on each of the major islands, including:

0.24 MOUNT WAIALAELAE, KAUAI
0.01 WAIPIO, OAHU
0.00 MOLOKAI
0.02 LANAI
0.00 KAHOOLAWE
0.65 WEST WAILUAIKI, MAUI
0.90 HONOKAA, BIG ISLAND
Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map…showing a high pressure system to the north of Hawaii. This pressure configuration will cause moderately strong trade winds to blow  Monday and Tuesday …strong and gusty at times. Here’s a Weather Map Symbol page for clarification about what all those funny weather symbols mean.

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 only available during the daylight hours here in the islands…that is unless there’s a big moon rising just after sunset for an hour or two!

Satellite 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.

Aloha Paragraphs
Hula Dancing

The Hawaiian Islands will continue to see great weather conditions Sunday into Monday. After all the cloudy weather that we put up with during March, the sunny weather now feels especially good. We’ve dropped back into a lovely early spring weather pattern, with the trade winds gracing the Aloha state, albeit on the strong and gusty side at times. All things considered, our weather will be quite nice, well into the future!

Let’s talk a little about the specifics, starting off with the breezy trade winds. They will be blowing across our tropical latitudes thanks to a high pressure center to our north. These winds will start off the days quite lightly, then increase in strength through the afternoon hours. The NWS forecast office in Honolulu is keeping a small craft wind advisory active in those areas that experience the strongest winds through Tuesday.

The latest computer forecast models indicate that these brisk trade winds will continue through the next week, at least. Wind speeds will vary, although in general, we can look for 5-25 mph in most areas. Those places that find some physical terrain enhancement, will see gusts topping the 30 mph mark. As usual, the nights and early morning hours will have the lightest breezes…with the late morning through afternoon hours being strongest.

As for sunshine, there will be some. The south and west facing leeward coasts will see the greatest abundance of warm Hawaiian sunshine. These resort areas will be partly sunny during the days, with clear to partly nights prevailing. Temperatures will rise into the 80F’s, dropping to the upper 60F’s to low 70F’s at night. The somewhat cooler windward sides will find more cloudiness, with showers falling at times, although nothing of a flooding nature.

It’s early Sunday evening here in Kula, Maui, as I begin this sunset commentary. High cirrus clouds slid overhead today, muting the sunshine at times. The windward sides saw lots of gray low clouds parading their showery way down the coast. I didn’t start my car today, and only strayed out late in the day for red potatoes, and apple bananas, walking to a near by small market, to accomplish this chore. I hooked-up with my neighbors today, which is always a pleasure. I never got around to just being lazy though, with one of the main to-do items, power washing my upstairs deck. The ping pong table out there is even cleaner now, and I just came back from asking my friends if they were interested in pinging the ball around for a few minutes. Well do this as we watch the last few moments of this rather gray evening. The upper clouds may light up soon…which I’ll keep an eye on for us, as I play a few quick rounds on the table. I hope you have a mellow night, and wouldn’t mind joining me here again on Monday for the next newly updated weather narrative from paradise. Aloha for now…Glenn.