Hawaiian Islands Satellite Interpretation Message
Mon, 31 Jan 2011 12:30:00 -0600
Based on data through 1800 UTC January 31 2011.
A cold front runs across the northeast portion of the area southwest to the Big Island, while a dry and stable post-frontal air mass covers the rest of the main Hawaiian islands.
The northern portion of the front is marked by a 175 mile-wide band of broken to overcast layered clouds centered from 30°N 145°W to 23°N 149°W that is travelling to the east around 15 mph. To the southwest, the front narrows to 125 miles in width and continues to the Big Island at 19°N 156°W. Isolated, embedded thunderstorms have increased in coverage along the front during the past six hours, with tops rising as high as 39000 ft. Thunderstorm tops near the Big Island reach 32000 ft.
Increased thunderstorm activity along the front is being triggered by an upper level trough digging to the east southeast at 20 mph. The trough axis extends from 30°N 150°W to 24°N 152°W then across the Big Island to 15°N 159°W. During the past six hours, the upper trough is also igniting thunderstorms in areas of pooled low level moisture ahead of the front. Four areas of isolated thunderstorms with tops to 35000 ft are observed within 90 miles of the following points, 15°N 154°W, 17°N 150.5°W, 21°N 148°W, and 26°N 144°W.
The tail end of the front is producing broken to overcast cumulus clouds over northeast Big Island from Volcano to Upolu Point, while stable, broken stratocumulus clouds are piled up along north and northeast exposures of the smaller islands in a post-frontal air mass. Cloud cover is slightly more extensive over Maui and Molokai, as well as waters just north. However, skies across leeward sections of all islands, including the Big Island, are mostly clear. Satellite-derived precipitable water estimates reveal 1.5 inches along the front, decreasing rapidly to 0.6 of an inch over Oahu and Kauai.
The low precipitable water values over the western end of the main Hawaiian islands extend over most of the area to the northwest and west of the state, as high pressure at the surface and aloft builds in from the west behind the front. Based on low cloud motions, a surface high is centered roughly near 25°N 165°W, about 375 miles northwest of Kauai.
Elsewhere, a weak, nearly stationary upper level low centered 875 miles east southeast of the Big Island near 16°N 142°W is filling. This system is managing to trigger isolated thunderstorms with tops to 34000 ft from 20°N to 14°N east of 144°W.
DWROE
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