The latest update to this website was at 834am Thursday (HST)

 

Here are the highest temperatures Wednesday afternoon…and the lowest Thursday morning:

82 / 64  Lihue AP, Kauai
m / m  Honolulu AP, Oahu
81 / m  Molokai AP, Molokai
84 / 62  Kahului AP, Maui
83 / 69  Kona AP, Big Island
81 / 65  Hilo AP, Big Island

Here are the latest 24-hour precipitation totals (inches) for each of the islands as of Thursday morning:

0.01  Mount Wailaleale, Kauai
0.11  Tunnel RG, Oahu
0.00  Molokai
0.00  Lanai
0.04  West Wailuaiki, Maui
0.02  Kawainui Strem, Big Island

The following numbers represent the strongest wind gusts (mph) as of Thursday morning:

12  Port Allen, Kauai
12  Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu
09  Makapulapai, Molokai
12  Lanai 1, Lanai
07  Hana, Maui
15  Waikoloa, Big Island

Hawaii’s Mountains – Here’s a link to the live webcams on the summit of our tallest mountain Mauna Kea (~13,800 feet high) on the Big Island of Hawaii, and atop the Haleakala Crater (~10,023 feet) 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.

 

https://weather.gc.ca/data/satellite/goes_gwdisk11_1070_100.jpg

Big Blue…click twice for largest version

 

https://cdn.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/GOES17/ABI/SECTOR/tpw/13/GOES17-TPW-13-900x540.gif 

 A cold front northwest…which will be approaching the state


https://cdn.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/GOES17/ABI/SECTOR/hi/GEOCOLOR/GOES17-HI-GEOCOLOR-600x600.gif

Variable clouds across the state

 

https://cdn.star.nesdis.noaa.gov/GOES17/ABI/SECTOR/hi/13/GOES17-HI-13-600x600.gif

Low clouds arriving from the southeast…rather than the typical trade wind direction

 

https://radar.weather.gov/ridge/standard/HAWAII_loop.gif

Just a few showers

 

https://www.weather.gov/images/hfo/satellite/Kauai_VIS_loop.gif

Kauai and Oahu (Satellite)

 

https://radar.weather.gov/ridge/standard/PHKI_loop.gif

Kauai and Oahu (Radar)

 

https://www.weather.gov/images/hfo/satellite/Oahu-Maui_VIS_loop.gif

Oahu and Maui County (Satellite)

 

https://radar.weather.gov/ridge/standard/PHMO_loop.gif

Oahu and Maui County (Radar)

 

https://www.weather.gov/images/hfo/satellite/Hawaii_VIS_loop.gif

 Maui, Kahoolawe, Lanai, and the Big Island (Satellite)

 

https://radar.weather.gov/ridge/standard/PHKM_loop.gif

Maui County and the Big Island (Radar)

 

https://radar.weather.gov/ridge/standard/PHWA_loop.gif

Big Island (Radar)

 

Model showing precipitation through 8-days (you can slow this animation down)

 

https://www.weather.gov/wwamap/png/hfo.png

Please open this link to see details on any current Watches, Warnings and Advisories noted above

 

https://www.weather.gov/images/hfo/graphics/pmsl.gif

~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~

 

Glenn’s Thursday comments:  I’m home here in upper Kula, Maui, Hawaii. I hope you have a good Thursday wherever you happen to be spending it.

It’s partly cloudy with voggy air, and a low temperature of 53 degrees according to my outside temperature sensor.

 

Hawaii’s Broad Brush Weather Overview:  A stable subtropical ridge over the islands will keep cloud cover and shower activity to a minimum until this weekend. The light southeasterly wind flow will allow sea breezes to expand across all islands. On Saturday and Sunday, a shallow cold front and upper level disturbance will move into the islands and combine forces, as high pressure builds in from the northwest. Expect periods of enhanced trade wind showers across the Hawaiian Islands this weekend, favoring the overnight to early morning hours along windward and mountain slopes of each island.

Hawaii’s Weather Details:  Satellite imagery this morning shows bands of stable low clouds moving into the area from the east-southeast. Most of these clouds are tracking towards the northwest direction, within the leeward rain shadow of the Big Island, which tends to block shower activity due to the wind direction. Local radar imagery continues to show southeasterly winds are blowing across the island chain.

Infra-red satellite imagery clearly shows a small thermal hot spot on the Big Island over Halemaumau Crater, associated with the ongoing Kilauea volcanic eruption. Sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions from the Kilauea eruption are producing a plume of VOG (Volcanic fOG or smOG) over large areas of the Big Island, drifting as far north as Waimea, Kohala Ranch and Honokaa, and as far east as Hilo, based on air quality surface observations this morning.

This VOG plume also extends north and west away from the Big Island, riding the southeasterly wind flow into the smaller islands in Maui County, Oahu, Kauai and Niihau. VOG impacts will persist over the smaller islands through Friday afternoon, and will mainly affect people with breathing difficulties. Returning trade winds from late Friday into the weekend should blow much of this VOG plume towards the south, away from the most populated areas.

The surface ridge north of the state remains in a weakened state with light to moderate large scale southeast winds blowing, in response to the fading surface ridge. This wind direction shift places the smaller islands from Kauai to Maui in the leeward wind and rain shadow of the Big Island, allowing local scale land and sea breeze winds to strengthen and expand in coverage across all islands through Friday. Upper level stability from the subsidence (downward moving air) under the descending limb of the subtropical ridge, and the rain shadowing effects for islands in the lee of the Big Island, will limit cloud cover and rainfall activity until this weekend.

By Saturday morning, a shallow cold front slowly drifts into Kauai and Oahu. The forward motion on this front will stall at some point, perhaps as far east as Oahu, and then the shallow frontal cloud band will start to break apart. High pressure will build in rapidly across the dissipating front with moderate to locally breezy trade winds blowing. An upper level trough will also be riding in above this shallow front, colder air aloft and wind divergence ahead of this upper trough, will help over-ride the stabilizing effects of the large scale subtropical ridge. This means low level cloud bands from the dissipating front and upstream moisture will produce periods of enhanced showers moving into the windward and mountain slopes of each island likely lasting into the first half of next week.

The short and long range forecast for the next 7-days has remained fairly consistent with little changes expected, other than some rainfall amounts and coverage uncertainties associated with the location of the developing upper level low this weekend. The best consensus guidance shows the center of this unstable upper low drifting east to southeast of the Big Island by Sunday night, moderating potential rainfall amounts.

Fire weather:  No critical fire weather conditions are expected for the next seven days. Mostly dry weather remains in the forecast across the state with limited shower activity as the dry spell continues through Friday. Shower trends increase starting Friday night with enhanced trade wind showers lasting into early next week.

Here’s a near real-time Wind Profile of the Pacific Ocean – along with a Closer View of the islands / Here’s the latest Weather Map / Vog map animation

Hawaii’s Marine Environment:  A return of hazardous marine and coastal conditions is expected across exposed Hawaiian waters, as a west-northwest (290-315 degrees) swell rapidly builds down the island chain. Swell observations at the offshore buoys northwest of Kauai reflected this rising trend. This new swell will drive surf heights to warning levels through Friday, prompting an issuance of a High Surf Warning for exposed north and west-facing shores of the smaller islands and for west facing shores of the Big Island.

Following a series of extra-large northwest swells last week, this event is expected to worsen ongoing erosion issues, including the potential for periodic overwash onto low-lying properties and roadways, particularly during high tide cycles. In addition to the coastal impacts associated with the surf, a Small Craft Advisory has been issued. This swell will slowly lower over the weekend and into early next week. An upward trend is possible Monday through mid-week, as a couple of smaller northwest swells arrive.

Surf along south and east facing shores will remain small through early next week. The exception could be for south facing shores exposed to more westerly swells, which could see a slight rise, as the aforementioned west-northwest builds down the island chain.

Trades will remain disrupted due to the surface ridge weakening, in response to a cold front passing to the north over the next couple of days. This pattern will translate to a land and sea breeze regime for most coasts through Friday. The background flow will hold out of the southeast, with a shift out of the north over the western end of the state late Friday. Breezy trades are forecast to return over the weekend, as the ridge strengthens to the north, in the wake of the front stalling near or north of the western end of the state.

 

BEST HIKES IN HAWAII coupled with the best beaches - Travel Groove

 

 

World-wide Tropical Cyclone Activity

 

Atlantic Ocean:  There are no active tropical cyclones

Caribbean Sea:  There are no active tropical cyclones

Gulf of Mexico:  There are no active tropical cyclones

Northeastern Pacific:  There are no active tropical cyclones

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

North Central Pacific:  There are no active tropical cyclones

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

Northwest Pacific Ocean:  There are no active tropical cyclones

Southwest Pacific Ocean:  There are no active tropical cyclones

North and South Indian Ocean:  There are no active tropical cyclones

Arabian Sea:  There are no active tropical cyclones

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

>>> Here’s a link to the Pacific Disaster Center’s (PDC Global) Weather Wall website

 

Interesting:  Are Particle Emissions From Offshore Wind Farms Harmful for Blue Mussels?

After several years of service under harsh weather conditions, the rotor blades of offshore wind parks are subjected to degradation and surface erosion, releasing sizeable quantities of particle emissions into the environment. A team of researchers led by the Alfred Wegener Institute has now investigated the effects of these particle on blue mussels – a species also being considered for the multi-use of wind parks for aquaculture. In the experiment, the mussels absorbed metals from the rotor blades’ coatings, as the team describes in a study just released in the journal Science of the Total Environment, where they also discuss the potential physiological effects.

In a laboratory-based pilot study, a team of researchers explored the potential effects of rotor blade emissions on the physiology of blue mussels. To do so, the material from these rotor blades was ground to a particle size small enough for the mussels to ingest. “We exposed the mussels to varying particle concentrations and took samples after predefined exposure durations,” explains Dr Gisela Lannig, the study’s project head and an eco-physiologist at the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI). In addition, the researchers carried out physiological measurements to detect metabolic changes in the animals. Tissue samples from the mussels were subsequently tested for inorganic elements, particularly metals, at the laboratories of the Helmholtz Centre Hereon.

Read more at Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research