Hawaiian Islands Satellite Interpretation Message
Thu, 30 Dec 2010 12:30:00 -0600
Based on data through 1800 UTC December 30 2010.
A complex weather pattern continues over the region, while gradually rebuilding high pressure at the surface and aloft over and east of the main Hawaiian islands has ushered in a trade wind flow.
A nearly zonal, or west to east flowing, jet stream is racing across the western Pacific roughly along 30°N, then abruptly turns to the north near 160°W as it slams into an upper level ridge established along 145°W. At the base of the upper ridge, a center of high pressure aloft is parked 500 miles northeast of the Big Island near 23°N 148°W. Meanwhile, an upper level low centered nearly 1000 miles southwest of Oahu at 12°N 170°W is drifting to the west.
A trade wind flow has become established over all of the main Hawaiian islands as the upper high northeast of the state exerts a greater influence and the upper low to the southwest weakens and drifts away from the islands. The first visible satellite images of the day reveal scattered to locally broken cumulus and stratocumulus clouds around the islands moving from the east around 20 mph. A 100 mile wide area of broken low clouds embedded within the trade wind flow covers all of Oahu except the south shore. This cloud area, which has tops to 7000 ft, is currently moving onto windward Kauai. Across the rest of the state, only small patches of broken low clouds are found mainly across windward terrain. High clouds dissipated during the overnight hours as a subtropical jet stream associated with the upper low to the southwest weakened.
Beyond 100 miles east of the Big Island, rather stable, broken stratocumulus dominate. Satellite derived precipitable water values are less than 1 inch in this area, in contrast to the 1 to 1.3 inches currently detected over the islands.
With the zonal jet stream abruptly changing course over the far northwest portion of the area, a series of fronts are stacked up over northern waters, as well as a field of broken high clouds north of 24°N east of 167°W. A stalled trough sits along 30°N 155°W, 27°N 159°W, and 20°N 167°W. Another decaying front runs along 30°N 160°W and 28°N 173°W. Ragged low cloud bands, roughly 100 miles wide, mark these features, though isolated thunderstorms rise to 38000 ft near 29°N 155°W. Another front rapidly approaching the date line will reach Midway atoll later today.
To the south of the state, isolated thunderstorms with tops to 51000 ft are being triggered by the upper low along the ITCZ near 07°N 160°W. Elsewhere, thunderstorms are non-existent along the ITCZ, which is confined south of 10°N.
DWROE
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