Hawaiian Islands Weather details & Aloha Paragraphs / June 1-2, 2014

Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures (F) were recorded across the state of Hawaii Sunday:

82  Lihue, Kauai
87  Honolulu, Oahu
85  Molokai
86  Kahului, Maui
85  Kailua Kona
81  Hilo, Hawaii

Air Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level – and on the highest mountain tops on Maui and the Big Island…as of 743pm Sunday evening:

Kailua Kona – 81
Hana airport, Maui – 73

Haleakala Summit –   43 (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea Summit – 34 (13,000+ feet on the Big Island)

Hawaii’s Mountains – Here’s a link to the live web cam on the summit of near 13,800 foot Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii. This web cam is available during the daylight hours here in the islands…and when there’s a big moon shining down during the night at times. Plus, during the nights you will be able to see stars, and the sunrise and sunset too… depending upon weather conditions.

Aloha Paragraphs

The winds are taking on a more east-southeasterly orientation,
becoming lighter through Monday…bringing muggy weather
our way – then right back into a trade wind pattern later
Tuesday or Wednesday through the rest of the week

Windward showers arriving in an off and on manner…along
with some afternoon showers over the leeward upcountry
areas locally too

The following numbers represent the strongest wind gusts (mph), along with directions…as of Sunday evening:

16  Port Allen, Kauai – SE
23  Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu – NNE
27  Molokai – SE
15  Lanai – NE
33  Kahoolawe – NE
24  Kahului, Maui – NE
29  Upolu airport, Big Island – NE

Here are the latest 24-hour precipitation totals (inches) for each of the islands…as of Sunday evening (545pm totals):

5.24  Mount Waialeale, Kauai
0.83  Nuuanu Upper, Oahu
0.04  Molokai
0.12  Lanai
0.00  Kahoolawe
3.22  Puu Kukui, Maui
0.91  Mountain View, Big Island

We can use the following links to see what’s going on in our area of the north central Pacific Ocean. Here’s the latest NOAA satellite picture – the latest looping satellite image… and finally the latest looping radar image for the Hawaiian Islands.

~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~

Our winds will gradually weaken through Tuesday…then pick up again thereafter. Here’s the latest weather map, showing the Hawaiian Islands, and the rest of the North Pacific Ocean, along with a real-time wind profile of the central Pacific…focused on the Hawaiian Islands. We have a moderately strong high pressure system located far to our northeast…with its associated ridge extending southwest to north of the state.  At the same time, we have a low pressure system well to the north, with its associated cold front and trough to the northwest of Kauai as well.  This very late season cold front/trough won’t make it all the way down into the state, although is part of the reason that our winds are lighter now. The models suggest that they will increase again later Tuesday or Wednesday through the rest of the week…likely right on into the following week.

Satellite imagery shows patchy lower level clouds, and over the islands in places too…especially the Big Island. Looking at this larger satellite image, we see areas of high clouds being moved along on the upper level winds to our north, southeast and southwest for the most part…some of which will be streaming in over the island chain into Monday. We can also see this cold front and trough located to the northwest of the state. Here’s a looping radar image, showing mostly light showers being carried along in our east to southeast wind flow, impacting the islands locally. The cloud plume coming in towards the Big Island…are light to moderately heavy. A few of the showers around the state tonight into early Monday morning will be briefly heavy at times locally.

Our winds are turning lighter, with isolated showers…some locally quite generous. As these winds take on a more east-southeasterly orientation, and become lighter, as they are now, we’ll be feeling rather hot and muggy through the next couple of days. At the same time, there will tend to be more than the ordinary amount of showers in the upcountry leeward areas of our islands…mostly during the afternoon hours today and Monday. The Kona slopes on the Big Island, and the leeward slopes of the Haleakala Crater on Maui in particular, may see locally generous showers falling. The windward sides, as the trade winds come back online later Tuesday or Wednesday, will carry showers our way at times through the work week. I’ll be back early Monday morning with your next new weather narrative, I hope you have a great Sunday night wherever you’re spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.

Here on Maui, at the 3,100 foot elevation, at my upper Kula, Maui weather tower, the air temperature was 56.5 degrees at 555am on this Sunday morning. Skies are mostly clear overhead, although there were some scattered low clouds over along the windward sides, in addition to the normal capping clouds over the West Maui Mountains.

It’s now 1220pm early Sunday afternoon, under increasingly cloudy skies, light breezes…and an air temperature of 75.9 degrees. There’s been no showers here in Kula yet, although looking over towards the windward sides, it looks like some showers are coming down at the moment. It still looks quite sunny in the central valley, and over in the Kihei/Wailea beach areas. It looks like some showery clouds are stretching over the West Maui Mountains….into the Olowalu area as well. It’s hard to tell, at least from here, what’s going on in Lahaina town this afternoon. Update at 115pm, light showers have arrived, with an air temperature of 70.7 degrees. Update at 215pm, a moderately heavy shower set in for about 20 minutes.

We’re now into the early evening hours at 605pm, under cloudy skies, light winds, no showers at the moment, although it sure looks like it could at any moment…with an air temperature of 72 degrees. I had a feeling it would start coming down, and sure enough, there is a light shower that just began at 615pm.

Friday Evening Film: This film is getting rave reviews by both the critics, and the audience, ranging between 91-95% liking it! It’s called X-Men…Days of Future Past. Starring James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Patrick Stewart, Jennifer Lawrence, Anna Paquin, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, and Ellen Page…among many others. The synopsis: The ultimate X-Men ensemble fights a war for the survival of the species across two time periods in X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST. The beloved characters from the original “X-Men” film trilogy join forces with their younger selves from the past, “X-Men: First Class,” in order to change a major historical event and fight in an epic battle that could save our future.

I liked this film, it had everything that I wanted it to be, from the rather touching and serious, all the way in the other direction…to the most far fetched sci-fi nonesense! There was literally never a dull moment, with uninterrupted and constant action, well acted in its entirety. I must admit that I didn’t understand everything that was going on, it was often happening at a fever pitch, although somehow I didn’t care whether I understood or not! It was just plain and simple entertainment to da max, keeping me in the sweet spot throughout. One critic called it existential melodrama, although in the final analysis, it was both dazzling and intimate, clever and very funny…all at the same time somehow. As for a grade, this is pretty easy, a resounding strong B+. If all this sounds too good to be true, have a quick look at this trailer, and see what you think.

World-wide tropical cyclone activity:

Atlantic Ocean: There are no active tropical cyclones

Today marks the first day of the Atlantic hurricane season, which
will run until November 30. Long-term averages for the number of
named storms, hurricanes, and major hurricanes are 12, 6, and 3,
respectively.

Here’s a satellite image of the Atlantic Ocean

Caribbean Sea: There are no active tropical cyclones

Gulf of Mexico: There are no active tropical cyclones – Here’s a graphical outlook image of the area described below

A stationary trough of low pressure interacting with a large
upper-level low is producing widespread cloudiness and disorganized
showers over much of the southwestern and central Gulf of Mexico,
and across the Yucatan Peninsula, portions of southeastern Mexico,
Belize, and northern Guatemala. Environmental conditions are
currently unfavorable for development, but could become slightly
more conducive later this week as this system moves little.

* Formation chance through 48 hours…low…near 0 percent
* Formation chance through 5 days…low…20 percent

Here’s a satellite image of the Caribbean Sea…and the Gulf of Mexico.

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

Eastern Pacific: There are no active tropical cyclones – however a tropical disturbance is trying to become organized enough, that it would take on this title: tropical depression 02E…and then on to tropical storm Boris. Here’s some good evidence that such a thing could happen soon.

Satellite data indicate that a low pressure system located a few
hundred miles south-southeast of Puerto Angel, Mexico, is gradually
becoming better defined. Showers and thunderstorms have increased
near the center during the past several hours and upper-level winds
are also becoming more conducive for tropical cyclone development to
occur. A tropical depression could form later today or early
Tuesday while the low moves slowly northwestward. Regardless of
tropical cyclone formation, this system is expected to produce
locally heavy rains across portions of western Central America and
southeastern Mexico this week. These rains could cause
life-threatening flash floods and mud slides in areas of mountainous
terrain.

* Formation chance through 48 hours…high…80 percent
* Formation chance through 5 days…high…90 percent

Here’s a wide satellite image that covers the entire area between Mexico, out through the central Pacific…to the International Dateline.