Hawaiian Islands weather details & Aloha paragraphs / November 30-December 1, 2008

November 30-December 1 2008

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

Lihue, Kauai – 78
Honolulu, Oahu – 79
Kaneohe, Oahu – 79
Kahului, Maui – 83
Hilo, Hawaii – 81
Kailua-kona – 83

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

Kailua-kona – 81F
Molokai airport – 74F

Haleakala Crater    – 43  (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea summit – 36  (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 Sunday afternoon:

0.89 Mount Waialaele, Kauai
2.58 Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu
0.16 Molokai
0.01 Lanai
0.08 Kahoolawe
0.52 West Wailuaiki, Maui
0.12 Pahoa, Big Island

Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map showing a ridge of high pressure located over the state of Hawaii, which will result in a light south flow through Tuesday…giving way to trade winds again by Wednesday. 

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

      

 
  Volcanic haze thickening across the state
Photo Credit: Flikr.com

Light to moderately strong trade winds give way to lighter south to southeast winds…with increased volcanic haze Sunday afternoon. Our local winds ranged between quite light, to locally stronger and gusty Sunday, then generally lighter everywhere starting Monday. Those breezes are backing around to the southeast direction already Sunday afternoon. We’ll see hazy conditions through Tuesday or Wednesday week, with better visibilities thereafter, as the trade winds return again then.

Generally dry weather prevailed Sunday, with just a few upcountry showers expected Monday afternoon. As we move into the new week, with the lighter south to southeast winds, we’ll find clear cool mornings giving way to afternoon cloudy periods around the mountains…with a few generally light showers spilling locally. As the trade winds return around mid-week, the bias for showers will shift back over to the windward sides then, although nothing heavy is expected anytime soon.

It’s early Sunday evening here in Kula, Maui, as I begin writing this last paragraph.  Sunday was generally quite a nice day, although the breezes had turned to the southeast during the afternoon hours…bringing volcanic haze overhead. Looking down towards the West Maui Mountains, from here in Kula, I can barely see the faint tops of those near 5,800 foot peaks. The day was quite dry, with just a few showers falling here and there, mostly around Kauai and Oahu. The clouds that developed during the day, will mostly dissipate overnight, making way for a fairly clear, and relatively cool Monday morning. ~~~ I didn’t start my car at all today, which was a relief, just hunkering-in over long overdue magazines, and a long lasting cup of coffee. It looked like, at least as of earlier this morning, that the light winds and hazy weather was going to last all week, but this afternoon’s computer readouts suggested that the trade winds would return around Wednesday. This will help to whisk away the volcanic haze, and bring back a few windward showers through the rest of the week. This means that our weather will remain quite nice through the next seven days or so, which will make visitors and residents of the islands both happy. ~~~ I’ll be back very early Monday morning with your next new weather narrative from paradise. I hope you have a great Sunday night until then! 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.