Hawaiian Islands Weather details & Aloha Paragraphs / January 18-19, 2014

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

78  Lihue, Kauai
79  Honolulu, Oahu
79  Molokai
84  Kahului, Maui
81  Kona, Hawaii
81  Hilo, Hawaii

Air Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level – and on the highest mountain tops on Maui and the Big Island…as of 730pm Saturday evening:

Kailua Kona – 77
Lihue, Kauai – 70

Haleakala Summit –   45 (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea Summit – 36 (13,000+ feet on the Big Island)

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

Large northwest swell Sunday, lower heights Monday,
and then back up Tuesday – followed by a very large,
bordering on huge…west-northwest swell Wednesday
through Thursday!

Generally good weather expected in most areas of the
state through Tuesday

A weak cold front will arrive over Kauai and Oahu…
bringing a few showers locally Sunday

Then, as we get into the middle of the new week, a
much stronger cold front will arrive, bringing
widespread rain to most of the state…followed
by relatively cool north to northeast breezes 

High Surf Advisory…north and west shores of all the
islands

High Surf Warning…north and west shores of Kauai,
Oahu and Molokai, and the north shore of Maui

Small Craft Advisory…all coastal and channel waters

The following numbers represent the most recent top wind gusts (mph), along with directions as of Saturday evening:

16  Poipu, Kauai – SW
14  Waianae Valley, Oahu – S
10  Molokai – NW
13  Lanai – SW
12  Kahoolawe – SE
10  Hana, Maui – SE
18  Upolu airport, Big Island – NE

Here are the latest 24-hour precipitation totals (inches) for each of the islands as of Saturday evening (545pm totals):

0.08  N Wailua ditch, Kauai
0.04  Waianae Valley, Oahu
0.01  Molokai
0.00  Lanai
0.00  Kahoolawe
0.03  Ulupalakua, Maui
0.04  Honokaa, Big Island

We can use the following links to see what’s going on in our area of the north central Pacific Ocean. Here’s the latest NOAA satellite picture – the latest looping satellite image… and finally the latest looping radar image for the Hawaiian Islands.

~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~

Generally light and variable breezes…continuing into Monday. This will be followed by the return of southeast, south and southwesterly winds Tuesday…ahead of a strong cold front Wednesday. Here’s the latest weather map, showing the Hawaiian Islands, and the rest of the North Pacific Ocean. ~~~ We find a weak near 1018 millibar high pressure system to the west of the state, moving eastward. At the same time, we see a deep, near 967 millibar storm low pressure system to our north, with an associated cold front approaching Kauai from the northwest. 

Satellite imagery shows patchy low clouds over the ocean, with most of the islands experiencing clear to partly cloudy weather at the time of this writing.  There are cloudy conditions locally, over the interior sections…which will evaporate quickly after dark. Here’s the looping radar image, showing just a few showers falling over the ocean, especially to the southeast of the Big Island…with a few edging over the islands. Looking at this larger satellite image, which is in the looping mode, we can see the next frontal cloud band approaching to the northwest of the state. We’ll see some increase in clouds Sunday, particularly over and around Kauai and Oahu, with the front bringing a modest increase in showers here and there…on those western islands.

The next cold front, as mentioned above, will be arriving over the western islands early Sunday. This cold front, like the last one, won’t amount to much, bringing just a few showers with it. Then, the models show yet another cold front, this one is expected to be considerably stronger, arriving by the middle of the new week ahead. This front will be preceded by gusty Kona winds, and followed by fair weather…with slightly cooler north and northeast winds in the wake of its passage through next Saturday. The front itself will bring locally heavy rains, likely reaching down through the entire state. Meanwhile, with all the gale and storm low pressure systems now active in our north Pacific, we’ll see large and very large high surf events continuing during the next week. These will require great caution when getting near the ocean on our north and west facing shores!  ~~~ I’ll be back Sunday morning with your next new weather narrative, I hope you have a great Saturday night wherever you’re spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.

Friday Evening Film: I went to see one that looked very interesting, and am wondering if it’s referencing what the future will be like!? At any rate, this film is called Her, starring Joaquin Phoenix, Amy Adams, Rooney Mara, Olivia Wilde, and Scarlett Johansson…among others. The synopsis: set in the Los Angeles of the slight future, “Her” follows Theodore Twombly, a complex, soulful man who makes his living writing touching, personal letters for other people. Heartbroken after the end of a long relationship, he becomes intrigued with a new, advanced operating system, which promises to be an intuitive entity in its own right, individual to each user. Upon initiating it, he is delighted to meet “Samantha,” a bright, female voice, who is insightful, sensitive and surprisingly funny. As her needs and desires grow, in tandem with his own, their friendship deepens into an eventual love for each other. From the unique perspective of Oscar-nominated filmmaker Spike Jonze comes an original love story that explores the evolving nature—and the risks—of intimacy in the modern world.

This film looked good, and the critics are being very supportive, with it coming in at an impressive 93 out of a 100 rating. As I was saying here last week, these ratings don’t always hold up completely, although this one certainly did. I heard an interesting piece on this film  recently, on National Public Radio, that made it sound very interesting.  ~~~ The first word that came to mind, when I was asked what I thought of the film last evening, was stunning. There were several of us that saw this film, and out of that crew, there were three A’s, one of those was mine…with also an A+. This was an emotional film, as I felt myself squirming around in my seat many many times. It was a gentle film, sublimely original, taking a true grown-up look at love relationships. It was charming, and yet at the same time…so strange that the lead actor, Joaquin Phoenix, fell so deeply in love with a computer operating system! I wonder, is this a sneak preview at the future of relationships up ahead!? Here’s a trailer, check it out.

World-wide tropical cyclone activity:

Atlantic Ocean: The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1st through November 30th. Here’s the 2013 hurricane season summary

Here’s a satellite image of the Atlantic Ocean

Caribbean Sea:

Gulf of Mexico:

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 Eastern Pacific hurricane season runs from May 15th through November 30th. Here’s the 2013 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.