Sunday, January 30, 2011

Hawaiian Islands Satellite Interpretation Message

Hawaiian Islands Satellite Interpretation Message
Sun, 30 Jan 2011 12:30:00 -0600

Based on data through 1800 UTC January 30 2011.

As of 1800 UTC, a cold front 90 miles northwest of Kauai was advancing toward the southeast at 25 to 30 mph. The northern portion of the 175 mile-wide front was centered along 30°N 156°W and 25°N 159°W and was marked by broken layered clouds with isolated thunderstorms rising to 32000 ft along its leading edge. The front continued to the southwest to 22°N 164°W as a ragged band of broken cumulus clouds. Farther southwest, low clouds marking the front rapidly dissipated.

A 50 mile-wide band of prefrontal cumulus clouds developed in the past several hours and was poised to move over western Kauai. This band ran from 25°N 158°W to the southwest to 18°N 163°W, just west of Kauai, and was travelling to the east near 25 mph. Isolated towering cumulus cells developed in the last two hours, with tops to 26000 ft. This instability, in contrast the stable conditions reflected in the 1200 UTC Lihue sounding, was generated by a digging upper level trough driving the front. The upper trough axis extended from 30°N 161°W to 27°N 162°W to 24°N 167°W and was moving to the east southeast at 40 mph.

The approaching front had eroded the surface ridge over the main Hawaiian islands, leading to a land breeze pattern over most of the state. Low clouds from the prefrontal band had already spilled over western Kauai by 1800 UTC, while skies over the eastern portion of the garden isle were mostly clear. Mostly clear skies dominated over Oahu and Molokai, while a lingering area of low clouds south of Maui covered Lanai and southern Maui with scattered to broken low clouds. Mostly clear skies dominated over most of the Big Island. The exception was the coast of the Puna district, where broken low clouds persisted from southern end of another prefrontal cloud band. This 50 to 100 mile-wide band of broken low clouds was centered along 30°N 153°W, 24°N 154°W, and 19°N 155°W.

Stable conditions were found on Midway atoll, as a surface high was building over the area behind the front. Based on low cloud motions, it appears that the surface high had passed east of Midway in the last hour.

Elsewhere, an elongated, nearly stationary upper level low was centered 950 miles east southeast of the Big Island near 15°N 141°W. Isolated thunderstorms rose to 37000 ft directly under the center.

Central Pacific Infrared Satellite image for 1800 UTC


DWROE


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