Hawaiian Islands Weather Details & Aloha Paragraphs / May 4-5, 2018

Air Temperatures – The following high temperatures (F) were recorded across the state of Hawaii Friday…along with the low temperatures Friday:

76 – 69  Lihue, Kauai
85 – 72  Honolulu, Oahu
78 – 73  Molokai AP
82 – 71  Kahului AP, Maui
86 – 74  Kailua Kona
85 – 73  Hilo AP, Hawaii

Here are the latest 24-hour precipitation totals (inches) for each of the islands Friday evening:

0.59  Wainiha, Kauai
0.57  Punaluu Stream, Oahu
0.51  Molokai
0.37  Lanai
0.00  Kahoolawe
2.71  West Wailuaiki, Maui
1.55  Kaloko-Honokohau, Big Island

The following numbers represent the strongest wind gusts (mph) Friday evening:

13  Mana, Kauai
24  Kuaokala, Oahu
18  Molokai
18  Lanai
22  Kahoolawe
24  Maalaea Bay, Maui
18  South Point, Big Island

Hawaii’s Mountains – Here’s a link to the live webcam on the summit of our tallest mountain Mauna Kea (nearly 13,800 feet high) on the Big Island of Hawaii. Here’s the webcam for the Haleakala Crater on Maui. These webcams are available during the daylight hours here in the islands, and at night whenever there’s a big moon shining down. Also, at night you will be able to see the stars — and the sunrise and sunset too — depending upon weather conditions.

Aloha Paragraphs

The tail-end of a cold front/trough remains over the eastern islands

A multi-layered cloud plume remains over most of the state…thunderstorms and cirrus south

Partly to mostly cloudy skies over most of the islands

Showers locally – Looping image

 

~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~

 

Broad Brush Overview: The extensive canopy of tropical moisture over the islands, will keep periods of showers falling across the state through Saturday. At the same time, an upper level trough will move over our area from the northwest, enhancing this shower activity across the western half of the state…with a flash flood threat for Kauai County and Oahu. High pressure will build to the north of the islands Sunday into next week, bringing improving weather conditions across the islands. This in turn will finally bring us more typical windward shower activity, along with moderate trade winds for the first half of next week. Leftover moisture will linger near the Big Island Monday and Tuesday, keeping showers fall along the windward slopes of Maui and the Big Island.

Details: A long lasting sub-tropical jet stream, located just northwest of the state, continues to carry copious high clouds over us. In addition,  there’s an upper level trough of low pressure west of Kauai, which will migrate into our area. At the same time, we have this plume of tropical moisture anchored over the island chain, which will stick around for a few more days. The upper level trough west of the islands will move into the state, bringing off and on periods of moderate to heavy showers over Kauai, Niihau and Oahu. Scattered showers are forecast elsewhere, with off and on showers along all windward slopes. Isolated thunderstorms are also forecast through tonight across the western islands…keeping the threat of localized flooding alive.

Looking Ahead: As we push into the weekend time frame, the upper level trough will pass through the islands from west to east, as a strong high builds across the Central Pacific waters to our north. This passing trough will also sweep the moisture eastward towards the Big Island Sunday and Monday…spreading showers across Maui County in the process. These elevated moisture levels, along with moderate trade winds are expected to keep windward showers over Maui and the Big Island Sunday through Tuesday. Meanwhile, over the smaller islands, an increasingly stable atmosphere, in the wake of the passing upper trough will start a drying trend through the first half of next week. I think most of our island residents and visitors alike, will find this positive change in our weather outlook very encouraging!

Here’s a wind profile of the Pacific Ocean – Closer view of the islands / Here’s the vog forecast animation / Here’s the latest weather map

Marine environment details: The current small south swell will gradually lower through Saturday. Otherwise, there will be a series of small southerly swells for most of next week. A new north-northwest swell is expected to arrive Sunday night, peak Monday, then gradually lower Monday night. A slightly larger north swell is expected to arrive Monday night, peak early Tuesday, then gradually lower Tuesday night and Wednesday. Strengthening trade winds early next week will cause an increase in choppy surf along east facing shores.

Winds and seas will likely remain below Small Craft Advisory levels through Sunday. Winds and seas are expected to rise Sunday night and Monday, likely requiring a Small Craft Advisory over some coasts and channels early next week.

There will be a slight chance of thunderstorms through tonight over coastal waters near Kauai…as an upper level trough affects the area.

 

World-wide Tropical Cyclone activity

Here’s the latest Pacific Disaster Center (PDC) Weather Wall Presentation…covering a tropical disturbance being referred to as Invest 97W in the western Pacific Ocean

>>> 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:

Here’s a wide satellite image that covers the entire area between Mexico, out through the central Pacific…to the International Dateline.

Here’s the link to the National Hurricane Center (NHC)

>>> Central Pacific:

Here’s a link to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC)

>>> Northwest Pacific Ocean: No active tropical cyclones

>>> North and South Indian Oceans / Arabian Sea: No active tropical cyclones

Here’s a link to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC)


Interesting: “Curtain of fire”: Hawaii volcano spews lava, forces residents to flee – Nearly 1,500 residents were ordered to evacuate after Hawaii’s Kilauea Volcano erupted. The eruption sent molten lava to chew its way through forest land and bubble up on paved streets.  Volcano officials said they couldn’t predict how long the eruption might last.

— A youtube video from CNN

— Another youtube video

That prompted Gov. David Ige to declare a state of emergency in affected areas, activate the National Guard to help with evacuations and provide security to about 770 structures left empty when residents sought shelter.

Hawaii County officials said steam and lava poured out of a crack in Leilani Estates, which is near the town of Pahoa on the Big Island. There were no immediate reports of injuries.

Footage shown on local television showed lava spurting into the sky from a crack in a road. Aerial drone footage showed a line of lava snaking through a forest.

KGMB-TV reported lava was shooting some 100 feet in the air and nearing several homes.

Fire officials detected extremely high levels of dangerous sulfur dioxide in the air, the stations said.

Resident Jeremiah Osuna captured drone footage of the lava burning through the trees, a scene he described as a “curtain of fire.”

“It sounded like if you were to put a bunch of rocks into a dryer and turn it on as high as you could. You could just smell sulfur and burning trees and underbrush and stuff,” he told Honolulu television station KHON.

The U.S. Geological Survey said new ground cracks were reported Thursday afternoon. Hot vapor emerged from a crack and spattering lava began to erupt.

Scientists said areas downslope of the erupting vent were at risk of being covered by lava. Leilani Estates appeared to be at greatest risk, but scientists said new vents and outbreaks could occur and it’s not possible to say where.

Ige also urged Big Islands residents to “stay calm” and continue to stay tuned to emergency alerts.

Those residents are fleeing with few belongings — just what they could grab in the minutes they had to leave.

One told KGMB he grabbed his father’s ashes as he ran out the door. “My family is safe, the rest of the stuff can be replaced,” another resident said. “When I bought here 14 years, I knew that this day would eventually come. But the reality is sinking in now.”

Another said he could also see “fountains” of lava in the community topping 100 to 125 feet

Asta Miklius, a geophysicist with the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, told The Associated Press in a phone interview that there is no way to know exactly how long the eruption will continue.

“One of the parameters is going to be whether the summit magma reservoir starts to drain in response to this event, and that has not happened yet,” Miklius said. “There is quite a bit of magma in the system. It won’t be just an hours-long eruption probably, but how long it will last will depend on whether the summit magma reservoir gets involved. And so we are watching that very, very closely.”

County, state and federal officials had been warning residents all week that they should be prepared to evacuate, as an eruption would give little warning. Officials at the U.S. Geological Survey on Thursday raised the volcano’s alert level to warning status, the highest possible, meaning a hazardous eruption is imminent, underway or suspected.

Nearby community centers have opened for shelter.

Ranson Yoneda, the recreation director for a Pahoa community center, was readying the gymnasium for evacuees after it was selected as a Red Cross evacuation center.

He said the people who arrived first were hungry for information.

“They just want to know what’s going on because they were told it’s a mandatory evacuation,” he said by telephone.

The eruption comes after days of earthquakes rattled the area’s Puna district. A nearby school was closed due to the ongoing seismic activity and several roadways cracked under the strain of the constant temblors. A magnitude 5.0 earthquake was recorded hours before the eruption began Thursday.

The Puu Oo crater floor began to collapse Monday, triggering a series of earthquakes and pushing the lava into new underground chambers.

The collapse caused magma to push more than 10 miles downslope toward the populated southeast coastline of the island.

USGS geologist Janet Babb said the magma crossed under Highway 130, which leads to a popular volcano access point, on Tuesday night.

Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency closed the area to visitors on Tuesday and ordered private tour companies to stop taking people into the region.

Most of Kilauea’s activity has been nonexplosive, but a 1924 eruption spewed ash and 10-ton rocks into the sky, leaving one man dead.

Puu Oo’s 1983 eruption resulted in lava fountains soaring over 1,500 feet high. In the decades since, the lava flow has buried dozens of square miles of land and destroyed many homes.