The latest update to this website was at 105pm Thursday (HST)

 

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

78 / 62  Lihue AP, Kauai
76 / 58  Molokai AP, Molokai
76 / 59  Kahului AP, Maui
82 / 69  Kona AP, Big Island
78 / 64  Hilo AP, Big Island

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

0.13  Kapahi, Kauai
0.66  Maunawili, Oahu
0.05  Makapulapai, Molokai
0.00  Lanai
1.38  West Wailuaiki, Maui
0.33  Papaikou Well, Big Island

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

13  Waimea Heights, Kauai
15  Kii, Oahu
16  Makapulapai, Molokai
12  Lanai 1, Lanai
15  Kahului AP, Maui
20  South Point, Big Island

Hawaii’s MountainsHere’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 

 Cold fronts to the northwest…thunderstorms far south


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

Variable low clouds across the state

 

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

There are high level clouds in the vicinity

 

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

Localized 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 day wherever you happen to be spending it.

It’s clear here in upper Kula early this morning, with a cold low temperature of 47 degrees.

1209pm, it’s clear to partly cloudy with thick volcanic haze (vog) in the air here in Maui County.

Weather Wit of the day:  Climate – What you do to a mountain

 

Hawaii’s Broad Brush Weather Overview:  Light to locally moderate trade winds will continue today, with moderate trade winds returning Friday and persisting into next week.

These lighter winds will focus showers over interior and leeward areas during the afternoon today and over windward areas at night. A slightly drier air mass will move in Friday afternoon, with generally fair weather conditions expected through early next week.

Hawaii’s Weather Details:  Radar and satellite imagery show showers concentrated mainly over windward waters, with a few drifting into windward areas. In particular, moderate to heavy showers have been favoring the eastern coastal areas of Maui, necessitating a Flood Advisory for minor flooding on roads and across poor drainage areas. However, land breezes are helping to keep the majority of land areas dry.

Light to locally moderate trade winds will persist, and likely remain light enough to allow for sea breeze development again this afternoon as a trough aloft induces a weakness in the surface ridge over the island chain. This trough combined with an area of modest low level moisture extending across the area, may help to enhance sea breeze showers this afternoon… particularly over the eastern end of the state, as the trough dives southeast down the island chain and continues its trek eastward.

Moderate trade winds will return by Friday as high pressure strengthens to the northeast, and fills in across the state in the wake of the exiting trough. With the increasing stability from the surface ridge to the northeast, and weak mid level ridging building in from the west, along with slightly drier air filtering in on the trades, shower activity should be minimal through the weekend.

With the island chain remaining on the southwestern end of the surface high through the weekend and into next week, trades will generally be out of the east-southeast. Winds across the western end of the state will be weaker than the eastern end, and have more of a southerly component, while winds across the eastern end of the state will be slightly stronger and more out of the east.

The weaker winds across the western half may allow for isolated sea breeze activity, with afternoon clouds and showers forming over a few leeward and interior areas, and the stronger winds across the eastern half will yield a more typical trade wind weather regime. As mid level ridging tries to remain in control through mid-week next week, overall shower development will continue to be suppressed, but periodic pockets of moisture may bring brief shower activity.

At the very end of the forecast period, we might see a change in the pattern as model guidance shows a deep low forming well to the north of the state, that may drag a cold front across the island chain next Thursday night into Friday.

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 weak surface ridge stretched over waters just north of Kauai will support light and variable winds as it remains nearly stationary. The ridge will move north and strengthen from Friday into the weekend, supporting moderate to locally fresh trade winds that will favor an east to east-southeast direction.

The current medium period (12-14 seconds) northeast (040) swell is expected to remain near its peak, then gradually decline through Saturday. A High Surf Advisory (HSA) for east facing shores remains in effect, but will likely be canceled.

A pair of long-period northwest swells are poised to generate high surf along exposed north and west facing shores over the weekend and into the coming week. The first is expected to build in and peak early Friday. A similarly sized (or slightly smaller) northwest swell is expected from late Saturday into Monday. Either of these swell events could necessitate the issuance of a High Surf Advisory. A sustained west-northwest swell is expected from late Tuesday into Thursday of the coming week.

For those waters exposed to the northwest swell, combined seas are expected to exceed above Small Craft Advisory (SCA) criteria beginning late tonight. Conditions are expected to persist through through Friday evening and possibly beyond. Additionally, an SCA for winds may be needed around Maui and the Big Island this weekend if east winds rise above SCA speeds in response to the strengthening ridge.

 

 

 

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:  

Tropical Cyclone 13S (Vince) is located approximately 1319 NM east of Port Louis, Mauritius

https://www.metoc.navy.mil/jtwc/products/sh1325.gif

Tropical Cyclone 14S (Taliah) is located approximately 302 NM east-southeast of Cocos Islands

https://www.metoc.navy.mil/jtwc/products/sh1425.gif

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:  We Have Underrated the Climate Effects of New Particles in Urban Areas

A recent study published in One Earth has uncovered compelling evidence suggesting that the climate effects of new particles in urban areas have been significantly underestimated.

Particles play a crucial role in climate regulation, influencing processes such as cloud formation and radiation balance. Traditionally, research in urban environments has focused largely on primary particles – those directly emitted from sources like vehicle exhaust and industrial activities – while new particles, which are formed through atmospheric reactions, have often been overlooked in discussions about their climatic impacts.

A recent study published in One Earth has uncovered compelling evidence suggesting that the climate effects of new particles in urban areas have been significantly underestimated.

“To accurately assess the climate effects of particles, we need comprehensive long-term vertical observations”, says Academician Markku Kulmala from the Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research INAR at the University of Helsinki. This call for enhanced observational strategies underscores the complexity of atmospheric processes and the importance of capturing data from different heights to better understand urban aerosol behavior.

Read more at University of Helsinki

Image: Researchers performed the state-of-the-art instrumentation at the top of the Beijing Meteorological Tower to investigate the influence of new particles on cloud formation.