Weather Details and Aloha Paragraphs

September 12-13 2006

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

Lihue, Kauai – 83F
Honolulu, Oahu – 86
Kaneohe, Oahu – 85
Kahului, Maui – 91
Hilo, Hawaii – 84
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii – 86

KAILUA-KONA – 79
KAHULUI AIRPORT – 68

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

Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map…showing a 1026 millibar high pressure center located to the NE of our islands Wednesday. At the same time, there’s a deep 978 millibar storm to the NNW of the islands. This low, with its early season cold front, has pushed our trade wind generating ridge close to the islands. The winds will become light trade winds again later today into Thursday…as the ridge moves some distance northward.  Here’s a Weather Map Symbol page for clarification about what all those weather symbols mean on the map.

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.

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.

Tropical Cyclone Activity – The eastern Pacific hurricane season runs from May 15 through November 30…while the central Pacific (where Hawaii is) runs from June 1 through November 30. The latest storm information for the eastern Pacific can be found by clicking here. A storm tracking map for both the central and eastern areas can be found by clicking here . For the central Pacific, the latest storm information can be found by clicking here.

 

Beautiful cirrus clouds
Photo Credit: flikr.com

The trade winds will be lighter than normal Tuesday. This reduction in our local wind speeds will be caused by the presence of a newly formed storm, with its early season cold front to the NNW of Hawaii. These low pressure features are pushing our trade wind producing ridge of high pressure down closer to Hawaii now. This is why our trade winds have gotten softer for the time being. The latest computer forecast models indicate that this early season cold front will not reach the islands. The trade winds will rebound a little starting later Wednesday, remaining active through the rest of the week.

This week will more than likely turn out to be a dry one in most areas.  The windward sides will see a few showers falling at times, although nothing heavy is indicated. The leeward sides in contrast will likely see hardly a drop. As the winds are quite light now, we should see some increase in interior cloudiness during the afternoon hours. These cumulus clouds won’t drop very much rain, but there could be a few light showers here and there. As the trade winds pick up again during the second half of the week, the bias for light showers will return to the windward sides again then.