The latest update to this website was at 1206pm Thursday (HST)

 

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

78 / 55  Lihue AP, Kauai
74 / 58  Molokai AP, Molokai
80 / 62  Kahului AP, Maui
82 / 71  Kona AP, Big Island
84 / 64  Hilo AP, Big Island

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

0.02  Puu Lua, Kauai
0.09  Pupukea Road, Oahu
0.48  Makapulapai, Molokai
0.26  Lanai City, Lanai
0.86  Haiku, Maui
0.16  Pali 2, Big Island

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

16  Mana, Kauai
15  Waianae Harbor, Oahu
08  Molokai 1, Molokai
14  Lanai 1, Lanai
23  Kula 1, Maui
18  PTA Kemuku, 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 is dissipating over the eastern end of 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

Multi-layered clouds

 

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

Localized showers…with the dissipating cold front near the Big Island

 

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 cloudy after light mist or drizzle through most of the night, with a low temperature of 51.5 degrees according to my outside temperature sensor.

Noon, it’s a cloudy and cool day up here in Kula, with a light sprinkle at the time of this writing…with a temperature of 61.1 degrees.

Weather Wit of the day:  Singles Bar – A place where people first talk about the weather and then about whether

 

Hawaii’s Broad Brush Weather Overview:  Cool and crisp mornings followed by typical daytime high temperatures expected the next couple of days. Moderate trades return this weekend, allowing overnight temperatures to rebound toward normal, and bringing a chance for rain mainly to windward and mountain areas.

Hawaii’s Weather Details:  Cool and crisp conditions in place from Kauai into Maui County behind yesterday’s cold front. Dew points in the low to mid 50s, and light winds have allowed temperatures to drop into the low 60’s and even upper 50’s in a few select sea level locales. Expect a repeat tonight into early Friday, as the cool and dry airmass remains in place and winds further weaken and give way to cool offshore land breezes.

The front has stalled in the Alenuihaha Channel between the Big Island and Maui, and is defined by narrow band of light to moderate showers. Given the loss of upper-level support, little if any additional forward progress is expected and existing shower activity will likely diminish. Thus, this airmass will struggle to reach the Big Island and showers will largely remain offshore except for portions of the Kohala and North Kona Districts. Existing low-level moisture within the frontal band will prompt afternoon clouds and showers over interior Big Island.

A transient period of mid-level ridging over the northeast Pacific Basin will allow moderate trades to return for the weekend. The return of easterlies will usher remnant frontal moisture presently in the vicinity of the Big Island westward, and will serve as a moisture source for typical trade wind showers Saturday night into the first half of next week.

Strong consensus among the extended model guidance, suggests that renewed troughing within northwest flow aloft, will favor low pressure development over the lower latitudes of the Central Pacific. The remnant frontal boundary will strengthen and will serve as the pathway for the surface low to track near or north of the islands during the middle to latter portion of next week. Uncertainty is greater than normal, but the second half of next week, seemingly offers the next opportunity for meaningful rainfall across some or all of the island chain.

Fire weather:  Afternoon RH values are forecast to fall below 45% through Friday, but winds are expected to fall well short of the critical fire behavior threshold.

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:  Moderate west to northwest winds will gradually weaken as a ridge builds over the state, with a period of light and variable winds expected tonight through early Friday. The ridge will lift northward late Friday into the weekend, which should allow light to moderate trade winds to return. The winds become more uncertain early next week, as a trough moves in from the east and a cold front approaches from the northwest.

A Small Craft Advisory (SCA) is now in effect for most marine zones through 6pm Friday due to high seas.

A pair of short and medium period northwest swells are producing large disorganized surf along north facing shores. A new large north to north-northwest swell will arrive, peak tonight, then gradually decline Friday through the weekend. A High Surf Advisory remains in effect for north facing exposures through 6pm Friday. A series of moderate northwest and north swells are possible early next week.

Aside from areas exposed to wrap from north swells, east shore surf will remain well below normal through the middle of next week.

South shore surf will remain at very small levels through the middle of next week.

 

Hawaii County Weather Forecast for August 23, 2024 : Big Island Now

 

 

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:  Cycle of Coral Bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef Now at ‘Catastrophic’ Levels

A team of marine scientists from the University of Sydney has published the first peer-reviewed study documenting the devastating coral bleaching events that occurred on the southern Great Barrier Reef in early 2024.

Led by Professor Maria Byrne from the School of Life and Environmental Sciences, the research highlights the alarming impact of unprecedented marine heatwaves on coral ecosystems, raising urgent concerns for marine biodiversity and the communities that depend on these vital ecosystems.

The study, published in Limnology and Oceanography Letters, provides critical insights into the extent of coral bleaching and mortality during the 2023-2024 global marine heatwave. The research team meticulously tracked the health of 462 coral colonies at the University of Sydney’s Great Barrier Reef research station at One Tree Island over a period of 161 days.

Read more at University of Sydney

Image: Bleached Acropora table coral on One Tree Island reef, southern Great Barrier Reef.