Hawaiian Islands weather details & Aloha paragraphs / November 29-30, 2008

November 29-30 2008

Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures were recorded across the state of Hawaii Saturday afternoon: 

Lihue, Kauai – 72
Honolulu, Oahu – 81
Kaneohe, Oahu – 78
Kahului, Maui – 79
Hilo, Hawaii – 80
Kailua-kona – 81

Air Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level, and on the highest mountains…at 4 p.m. Saturday afternoon:

Kailua-kona – 78F
Kahului, Maui – 70F

Haleakala Crater    – 43  (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea summit – 34  (near 14,000 feet on the Big Island)

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

1.68 Kokee, Kauai
0.44 Makaha Stream, Oahu
0.08 Molokai
0.00 Lanai
0.11 Kahoolawe
0.35 Puu Kukui, Maui
0.14 Waikii, Big Island

Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map showing a shear line that is expected to stall somewhere between Oahu and Molokai, with winds coming into the state from the northeast into Sunday. Otherwise, fronts moving north of the islands will keep a ridge of high pressure in the vicinity of the state through the forecast period...with lighter winds from the south and southeast Monday and Tuesday.

Satellite and Radar 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. 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 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 weather conditions.

Aloha Paragraphs

      

 
  Showers most frequent from Oahu to Maui
Photo Credit: Flikr.com

Our local winds have become northeast across the state into Sunday. At this point it looks as if the band of clouds, riding down the island chain Saturday afternoon, will finally pull to a stop somewhere between Oahu and Molokai during the evening.  Our local winds will range from quite light, to locally stronger and gusty. Those breezes will back around to the south to southeast direction again on Monday and Tuesday, ahead of a second cold front, which will move by to the north of Kauai. There will be volcanic haze moving up from the Big Island over Maui County and perhaps beyond starting Monday.

As the front moves across the state, we’ve seen showers falling with it…and out ahead of it too. A period of cooler weather, associated with the northeast winds, will exist with the locally showery band of clouds for the time being. Here’s a looping radar image, which will allow you to keep and eye on just how extensive the showers become as they work their way southeast over Oahu into Maui County…with a few showers elsewhere too. The south to southeast breezes may bring a few showers to the leeward sides to the islands on Monday into Tuesday. 

It’s late Saturday afternoon here in Kula, Maui, as I begin writing this last paragraph. The frontal boundary has brought clouds and showers into the state…although generally missing the Big Island. The largest amount of rain that I saw, fell as would be expected, in the mountains on Kauai. There were high clouds, and quite a few lower level clouds too, many of which dropped light to moderately heavy showers…mostly along the north and east facing coasts and slopes. The chilly northeast breezes kept our maximum temperatures well down below normal, barely able to climb above 80F in those warmest locations. Many areas saw air temperatures rising only into the lower to middle 70F’s along the windward sides, and only into the 60F’s in the upcountry sections. As long as the winds are out of the northeast, into Sunday, we’ll continue to see this tropical cool snap. Things will warm up Monday and Tuesday, as our local winds swing back around to the south or southeast. ~~~ I’m about ready to drive down into lower Kula, to have a visit and dinner with a friend there. Even though its only a 10 minute drive, the temperature here in Kula is currently 63.3F, at 430pm Saturday afternoon…will likely be 10 degrees warmer there. We’ll walk around her property, have a nice glass of premium Napa Valley red wine, hang out with the cat and dog, before enjoying dinner over a long conversation. We see each seldom, so there will be lots to catch up on. ~~~ I hope you have a great Saturday night, and that you may visit this page again at some point on Sunday. I’ll be back online Sunday morning with more updates, and other weather related information. Aloha for now…Glenn.

Special Note:  On Sunday and Monday nights, skywatchers in the Americas will be able to see a close pairing of Venus and Jupiter. As you look southwest, they will appear to be separated by only the width of your finger, according to the editors at Sky & Telescope magazine. And on Monday night, the crescent Moon will also appear in close proximity. Appearances are deceiving, as the planets are far from us and far from each other. The moon is 252,000 miles away; Venus is 94 million miles away; and you’d have to go 540 million miles to hit Jupiter, the magazine says. Venus and Jupiter won’t appear this close together in the night sky again until 2013. 

Interesting:

For the past two weeks, parts of Australia have been hit by a series of violent storms, bringing torrential rain and gale force winds. The latest storm hit Huntingdale, Melbourne on Friday, and disrupted play at the Australian Masters golf competition. Eighty golfers were forced off the course, as the hail-laced storm swept through. New South Wales, Victoria and southern Queensland have been the worst affected regions. In Queensland a temporary dam used to hold back flood waters burst, killing one young girl. In the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, 10cm of snow fell, which is unseasonably late in the year. The stormy weather has not just been confined to eastern Australia. In the town of Salmon Gums, Western Australia, there has been some intense rainfall and hail the size of golf balls. Crops have been destroyed and livestock killed. Climate scientists from the ‘Griffith Centre for Coastal Management’ have been researching long-term patterns in the prevailing climate. They theorise that the climate alternates between drought and storm conditions over a 30 to 40 year cycle. Australia may be coming out of a 30-year drought phase and entering a period of more stormy weather.

Interesting2: 

New research shows that we should be looking to the ground, not the sky, to see where climate change could have its most perilous impact on life on Earth. Scientists at the University of Toronto Scarborough have published research findings in the journal Nature Geoscience that show global warming actually changes the molecular structure of organic matter in soil. "Soil contains more than twice the amount of carbon than does the atmosphere, yet, until now, scientists haven’t examined this significant carbon pool closely," says Myrna J. Simpson, principal investigator and Associate Professor of Environmental Chemistry at UTSC. "Through our research, we’ve sought to determine what soils are made up of at the molecular level and whether this composition will change in a warmer world."

Soil organic matter is what makes dirt fertile and able to support plant life – both of which are especially important for agriculture. Organic matter retains water in the soil and prevents erosion. Natural processes of decomposition of soil organic matter provide plants and microbes with the energy source and water they need to grow, and carbon is released into the atmosphere as a by-product of this process. Warming temperatures are expected to speed up this process which will increase the amount of CO2 that is transferred to the atmosphere. "From the perspective of agriculture, we can’t afford to lose carbon from the soil because it will change soil fertility and enhance erosion" says Simpson. "Alternatively, consider all the carbon locked up in permafrost in the Arctic. We also need to understand what will happen to the stored carbon when microbes become more active under warmer temperatures."

Interesting3: Much of the eastern half of the country will experience some wet weather over the weekend. Travel home on Sunday could be especially problematic along the Eastern Seaboard (due to heavy rain) and in the Midwest and Great Lakes (because of snow).

Sopping Southeast – Moderate-to-heavy rain is expected Saturday and Sunday throughout most of the southeastern USA from an intensifying area of low pressure. Some severe thunderstorms are also possible Saturday along the northern Gulf Coast. The wet weather will spread into the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast by late in the day on Sunday, remaining as rain along the coast and changing to snow in inland areas. As much as 3 inches of rain is possible in parts of Georgia and the Carolinas. Other than the travel headaches that might ensue, most of the parched region should welcome the rain.

Midwest mess — After some light snow on Saturday around the Great Lakes and in the upper Midwest, heavier snow is forecast Sunday from Missouri to Michigan, with several inches likely. Airport delays are possible in Chicago, Detroit, and Cleveland.

The West is the best — Most of the West will be dry and mild Saturday and Sunday, with only some light snow forecast at higher elevations of the Rockies and Cascades, especially on Saturday. The recent rainfall in southern California has eased the wildfire threat in that area.