Hawaiian Islands Satellite Interpretation Message
Tue, 21 Sep 2010 07:30:00 -0500
Based on data through 1200 UTC September 21 2010.
The presence of a surface high far north of Kauai continued to maintain moderate trade winds across the Hawaiian island chain early this morning. The low-level trade wind flow was transporting scattered to broken low clouds and scattered showers associated with the remnants of an old frontal system across the coastal waters adjacent to the windward and southeastern Big Island. The greatest shower coverage was over the waters southeast of the Big Island. There was also a small plume of scattered to broken low clouds with embedded isolated showers west of the Kona coast on the Big Island. There were mainly scattered low clouds with embedded isolated elsewhere across the Hawaiian coastal waters.
The general motion of the low clouds across the windward Hawaiian coastal waters was toward the west southwest at 15 to 20 mph. The highest tops of the low clouds over the ocean just southeast of the Big Island were near 10 thousand feet, while the highest cloud tops over the waters surrounding the remaining Hawaiian islands were estimated to be about 5 thousand feet.
As of 200 am HST Tuesday, scattered low clouds were along parts of the windward facing slopes of Kauai and Oahu. Scattered to locally broken low clouds were detected above the northeastern tip of Molokai. Skies were mostly clear across Lanai. On Maui, scattered to broken low clouds were along the windward shoreline, the lower windward slopes of mount Haleakala and the western mountains. Broken to locally overcast low clouds were across most of the windward Big Island coastal areas. Scattered low clouds were affecting parts of the central leeward coast of the Big Island.
The ragged band of broken clouds and scattered showers associated with the remnants of an old front were within 85 miles southeast of a line from Hilo to 22.5°N 150°W to 27°N 140°W. This band appeared to have remained nearly stationary during the past 6 hours.
According to loops of water vapor imagery and satellite derived upper level winds, the axis of a relatively weak northeast to southwest oriented upper tropospheric trough extended from a low aloft near 28°N 147.5°W to 24.5°N 154°W across Oahu to 18.5°N 160.5°W. This trough aloft has moved little during the past 6 hours. This feature has not been having a significant impact on island weather tonight. However, the trough may be supporting the ragged band of low clouds and showers associated with the remnants of the former front adjacent to the eastern Big Island.
An area of disorganized showers and isolated thunderstorms was located about 650 miles south southeast of Hilo. Infrared satellite imagery and a recent scatterometer pass indicated there may have been a weak low-level circulation near 11°N 151°W. Troughs extended from this apparent weak circulation to 11°N 140°W, and to 09°N 155°W. This system has been moving slowly westward during the past 6 hours. The highest tops of the cumulonimbus clouds associated with this feature were estimated to be about 46 thousand feet.
Elsewhere in the deep tropics far south of the Hawaiian islands, the intertropical convergence zone, or ITCZ, extended from near 09.5°N 157°W to 07.5°N 171°W to 06°N 176°W to 06°N 180°W. Scattered moderate thunderstorms were within 220 miles north, and within 130 miles south of the ITCZ. The highest tops of the cumulonimbus clouds associated with the ITCZ were estimated to be about 51 thousand feet.
HOUSTON
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