The latest update to this website was at 755pm Sunday (HST)

 

Here are the highest temperatures Sunday afternoon…and the lowest Sunday morning:

80 / 71  Lihue AP, Kauai
m / m  Honolulu AP, Oahu
82 / 70  Molokai AP, Molokai
84 / 62  Kahului AP, Maui
83 / 67  Kona AP, Big Island
81 / 63  Hilo AP, Big Island

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

0.04  Puu Lua, Kauai
0.02  Waiawa, Oahu
0.00  Molokai
0.00  Lanai
0.00  Maui
0.17  Pali 2, Big Island

The following numbers represent the strongest wind gusts (mph) as of Sunday evening:

18  Makaha Ridge, Kauai
20  Kuaokala, Oahu
16  Molokai AP, Molokai
16  Lanai 1, Lanai
16  Kahului AP, Maui
10  Kaupulehu, 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 couple of cold fronts are located northwest 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

Some low clouds arriving on the Kona winds…high clouds mostly to the east and north

 

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

Localized showers…not many

 

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

It’s clear and calm (although voggy!), with a chilly low temperature of 49 degrees according to my outside temperature sensor.

820am, now that it’s fully light I can see that there’s less vog than there has been lately…thank goodness!

1215pm, Gusty kona breezes are blowing early this afternoon, which is helping to blow some of this voggy air away.

Just after sunset skies over Maui County are mostly clear, although there are some low clouds approaching from the south-southwest, we’ll see of they are able to bring a few showers to our parched islands…at least on our leeward sides.

My high temperature was 71.5 degrees here at my Kula weather tower.

 

Hawaii’s Broad Brush Weather Overview:  Light to moderate winds are blowing out of the south then southwest over the next couple of days, and will increase over the western end of the state as a cold front approaches and stalls to the northwest. The front will move through the western third of the state around mid-week, bringing beneficial rain and breezy winds. Showers will linger as trades return during the second half of the week.

Hawaii’s Weather Details:  Relatively dry conditions and light winds remain the dominant pattern across the majority of the state. Current satellite and radar imagery reflects this, showing mostly clear island interiors, with a few showers moving up from the south through the Kauai Channel and hovering just off the southeast coast of the Big Island.

The overall airmass is beginning to moisten up a bit, as evidenced by precipitable water values about a quarter of an inch higher on the Lihue sounding (slightly less at Hilo) compared to yesterday. However, enough mid-level dry air remains to keep rainfall totals minimal today.

As a weak cold front inches closer and stalls northwest of the state into Tuesday, local winds will remain light and veer out of the south over the eastern half of the island chain, while southwest kona winds increase over the western half. Localized land and sea breezes will continue during this period for Maui County and the Big Island, allowing for limited cloud and shower development over leeward and interior areas during the day, then clearing offshore at night.

Gradually increasing moisture being pulled up from the south and the potential for low-level convergence bands setting up ahead of the front, will allow periods of mainly light showers embedded in the southwesterly flow to move into leeward areas of Kauai, Oahu, and western portions of Maui County at times.

An upper-level trough will deepen and move down across the central Pacific, helping to push the stalled front through the western third of the island chain by the middle of the upcoming week. The latest model runs continue show the front reaching Kauai Tuesday evening then slowly moving into Oahu on Wednesday, before stalling again and dissipating. This front will bring some beneficial rain to the majority of the island chain, along with breezy north-northeasterly winds for the western half.

Convergence along the dissipating front, an abundance of upstream moisture, and a new plume of moisture associated with a low-level disturbance moving towards the eastern end of the state, will keep rain chances in the picture through the latter part of the week. Rainfall will mainly be focused over windward areas during this period, as high pressure builds behind the front and trades return.

Long-term model guidance is hinting at the aforementioned upper trough becoming a closed low just southeast of the Big Island next weekend, which could enhance the remaining shower activity, and bring a slight chance of thunderstorms over the eastern half of the island chain. Confidence remains low regarding timing and location of any thunder. A more typical wind pattern looks to return late next weekend with fewer showers and moderate easterly wind speeds.

Fire weather:  No critical fire weather conditions are expected for the next week. Light southerly flow with local land/sea breezes will continue into early in the new week, with relative humidities staying above critical levels through the forecast period. A front is expected to move through part of the state during the middle to late part of next week, initiating breezy northeasterly winds and much needed rain.

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:  Expect several days of warning level surf along exposed north and west facing shores, which may last through Wednesday night, as overlapping significant swell energy moves into the Hawaii area. The current west-northwest (290-310 degree) swell is peaking. Reported swell heights at the buoys continue to run slightly above wave model guidance. Surf along exposed north and west facing shores of all islands are peaking well above warning thresholds, and will only slightly decline, holding above warning levels into Monday.

The next round of significant northwest swell will arrive late Monday. Surf heights may briefly drop below warning thresholds by Monday morning, however this next round of significant swell energy will will swiftly build surf heights back above warning levels from Monday night through Wednesday.

The High Surf Warning (HSW) was extended in time through Monday afternoon for north and west facing shores of Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, and Molokai, as well as north facing shores of Maui, and west facing shores of the Big Island. A Small Craft Advisory (SCA) was also extended through Monday afternoon for all waters except Maalaea Bay, as high seas are expected for all waters exposed to the northwest swell. This HSW and SCA will likely be extended in time to cover the multiple rounds of significant swell energy moving though Hawaiian Island waters.

Surf heights along east and south facing shores will remain small.

The surface ridge over the state will shift southeastward in response to an approaching cold front. Light and variable winds over the western half of the state will give way to moderate to fresh southwesterly winds, then moderate to strong northwest winds from Tuesday night to Wednesday. Across the eastern end of the state, gentle to locally fresh east to southeast winds will hold through Monday, then become light and variable by Tuesday. The front may reach Kauai as early as Tuesday night with moderate northerly winds filling in behind it.

 

The New Reality of Vog and What We Can Do About It


Vog (Volcanic emissions from the Big Island) remains over much of the state

 

 

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:  Increased Wildfire Activity May Be a Feature of Past Periods of Abrupt Climate Change, Study Finds

A new study investigating ancient methane trapped in Antarctic ice suggests that global increases in wildfire activity likely occurred during periods of abrupt climate change throughout the last Ice Age.

The study, just published in the journal Nature, reveals increased wildfire activity as a potential feature of these periods of abrupt climate change, which also saw significant shifts in tropical rainfall patterns and temperature fluctuations around the world.

“This study showed that the planet experienced these short, sudden episodes of burning, and they happened at the same time as these other big climate shifts,” said Edward Brook, a paleoclimatologist at Oregon State University and a co-author of the study. “This is something new in our data on past climate.”

Read More: Oregon State University