The latest update to this website was at 327am Thursday morning (HST)

 

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

83 / 73  Lihue AP, Kauai
m / m    Honolulu AP, Oahu
85 / 74  Molokai AP, Molokai
86 / 72  Kahului AP, Maui
86 / 73  Kona AP, Big Island
81 / 68  Hilo AP, Big Island

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

1.59  Mount Waialeale, Kauai
0.77  Schofield East, Oahu
0.25  Kamalo, Molokai
0.00  Lanai
0.85  West Wailuaiki, Maui
0.66  Waiakea Uka, Big Island

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

28  Port Allen, Kauai
31  Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu
31  Molokai AP, Molokai
30  Lanai 1, Lanai
22   Kahului AP, Maui
35  PTA Range 17, 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…thunderstorms in the deeper tropics
(click for larger version)

 


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

High and middle 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 Wednesday comments:  I’m here in Corte Madera, California, I hope you have a great Wednesday wherever you happen to be spending it.

501am, lots high clouds early this morning…the low temperature was 36 degrees here in Corte Madera.

505pm, still quite sunny at the end of the day, although clouds are starting to appear to the northwest as we approach the sunset hour. This classic coma shaped cold front will move over this north bay (SF) area tonight…expecting perhaps a 1/4″ of the wet stuff.

 

Hawaii’s Broad Brush Weather Overview:  High pressure to the north will maintain moderate to locally breezy trade winds over the next few days. Showers focused over the windward and mountain slopes will increase and continue through Friday. Weaker trade winds with fewer showers are expected this weekend, with another round of increasing showers next week.

Hawaii’s Weather Details:  Satellite imagery shows a few unsettled cloud bands riding into each island on the trade winds. Periods of light showers are showing up in the local radar imagery, mainly over windward and mountain areas. Upper air balloon soundings show subsidence temperature inversion heights in the 7,000 to 8,000 foot range. These inversion heights are slightly higher than expected and will support continued periods of showers, mainly along windward and mountain slopes.

Later this afternoon deeper tropical moisture and instability will move into the eastern islands, associated with the remnants of former Hurricane Kristy, affecting the windward slopes of the Big Island. This band of unstable tropical moisture will then spread numerous showers westward across the smaller islands through Friday. There remains a chance for a few heavy showers in this pattern, although not enough to support a Flood Watch at this time.

The forecast for this weekend continues to trend drier, and light to moderate trade winds are favored due a weaker high pressure ridge to the north of the state. Lighter large scale winds will allow sea breezes to expand in coverage along western terrain sheltered slopes of each island.

The weather pattern changes towards the wet side early next week starting on Monday, as a easterly tropical wave brings unstable moisture and showers into the islands, enhanced showers will spread from east to west through Tuesday.

By the time we reach Wednesday a weakening cold front moves through the islands from the north. Both the American (GFS) and the European (ECMWF) operational models are in fair agreement with this weather story for the first half of next week.

Longer range forecast changes towards the end of next week are less certain as the GFS model shows a strong surface low approaching the islands from the north, while the ECMWF model holds a strong ridge north of the state, with less rainfall and breezy trade winds.

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:  Fresh to strong easterly trades will continue through Friday, then potentially ease over the weekend as a weakness forms in the ridge to the north. Expect the strongest winds and roughest conditions over the windier waters and channels from Oahu to the Big Island, where a Small Craft Advisory is posted. The advisory may shift back to the typical windier zones and waters around Maui County and the Big Island tonight through Friday.

Surf along north-facing shores will remain up at select locations that favor north-northeasterly swells. Observations at the buoys reflect this potential with a small north-northeast swell lingering. Guidance shows this holding, but then  lowering Thursday into Friday.

An upward trend is expected this weekend due to a storm-force low centered over the far western Bering Sea. Earlier satellite data showed a large swath of storm-force winds aimed at Hawaii within the 310-330 degree directional bands. A drifter buoy near the head of the fetch also is depicting a slightly underdone model forecast.

Expect small forerunners to arrive around sunset Friday evening from the north-northwest, then building over the weekend with a peak now anticipated on Sunday. Heights could approach advisory levels for exposed north- and west-facing shores during the peak, especially if the swell comes in higher than predicted.

Surf along east-facing shores will remain rough throughout the week, due to the strong trades locally and upstream across the eastern Pacific. A downward trend is possible this weekend.

Surf along south-facing shores will remain small, with mainly a mix of southeast and background south swell energy.

 

                           Your Guide to Makena Cove: Maui's Secret Beach is Practically Private in Every Way - Maui Trip Guide | Best Things to Do and See

 

 

World-wide Tropical Cyclone Activity

 

Atlantic Ocean:  There are no active tropical cyclones

Caribbean Sea:  There are no active tropical cyclones

>>> Southwestern Caribbean Sea:

A broad area of low pressure is likely to develop over the southwestern Caribbean Sea during the next couple of days. Gradual development is possible thereafter, and a tropical depression could form over the weekend or early next week while the system drifts generally northward or northwestward over the central or western Caribbean Sea.

* Formation chance through 48 hours…low…near 0 percent
* Formation chance through 7 days…medium…50 percent

Gulf of Mexico:  There are no active tropical cyclones

Northeastern Pacific:  There are no active tropical cyclones

 >>> Western East Pacific:

Invest 91E

A broad area of low pressure located about 1800 miles west- southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula is producing limited showers and thunderstorms. Environmental conditions are becoming increasingly unfavorable, and development is no longer anticipated.

* Formation chance through 48 hours…low…near 0 percent
* Formation chance through 7 days…low…near 0 percent

>>> Central East Pacific:

An area of low pressure located about 1200 miles southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula continues to produce a large area of disorganized showers and thunderstorms. Some development of this system is possible during the next few days while the low moves slowly to the west-northwest. By the weekend, upper-level winds should become less conducive for development.

* Formation chance through 48 hours…low…10 percent
* Formation chance through 7 days…low…20 percent

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

North Central Pacific:  There are no active tropical cyclone

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

Northwest Pacific Ocean

Tropical Cyclone 23W (Kong-Rey) is located approximately 190 NM south-southeast of Taipei, Taiwan

https://www.metoc.navy.mil/jtwc/products/wp2324.gif

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:  When is a Heat Wave Just a Heat Wave, and When is it Climate Change?

When extreme weather events occur, can we tell if they’re directly attributable to climate change? A new study used the 2023 heat wave in Texas and Louisiana as a test case for establishing processes that tease out whether particular weather events are climate related.

“Our main goal with this project is to be able to tell communities that are affected by extreme weather events whether they will continue to see more events like this in the future,” says Carl Schreck, senior research scientist with North Carolina State University’s North Carolina Institute for Climate Studies (NCICS). “Getting this information to them in a timely manner will help them make informed decisions about hardening infrastructure or rebuilding after a weather event.”

Schreck and a team of scientists from NC State, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the University of Colorado, Boulder and Princeton University set out to establish a routine process for evaluating extreme weather events.

The test case for the study was an extreme heat wave that occurred in Texas and Louisiana in 2023. The event was notable for its duration – it lasted almost the entire summer. Most heat wave measurement metrics are designed for events that last three to seven days.

Read more at North Carolina State University