Hawaiian Islands Satellite Interpretation Message
Sat, 15 Jan 2011 18:30:00 -0600
Based on data through 0000 UTC January 16 2011.
Weak ridging at the surface and aloft over the main Hawaiian islands is being slowly eroded by an upper level trough and cold front approaching from the west.
A stalled surface ridge extends from 30°N 140°W to the southwest near Kauai at 22°N 160°W. With the ridge nearby, low clouds in the trade wind flow were travelling from the east at 15 mph near the Big Island, decreasing to around 10 mph and veering out of the east southeast near Molokai and Oahu, then sharply turning out of the southwest at 10 mph near Kauai as the flow rounds the ridge.
Cloud cover is following a typical trade wind pattern on the Big Island, while a sea breeze pattern dominates across the rest of the state. Broken low clouds cover most slopes of the Big Island below 6000 ft. Patches of broken low clouds are observed covering the terrain on Maui county and Oahu, while broken to overcast low clouds blanket all but the north shore of Kauai. Few to scattered low clouds are noted over waters around the central islands. Meanwhile, a 200 mile-wide area of broken low clouds extends 275 miles south of the Big Island, and a narrow, prefrontal band of mainly stable, broken low clouds runs across Kauai from the northeast to southwest.
An extremely strong, low latitude, and zonal, or west to east flowing, west Pacific jet stream runs along 30°N to 165°W then turns to the northeast. The jet stream is driving a cold front that covers the islands from laysan to just northwest of Nihoa. The 300 mile-wide band of layered clouds marking the front stretches from 30°N 158°W to 24°N 170°W to 20°N 180°. This feature is moving to the east at nearly 15 mph east of 170°W and has stalled to the west.
To the south of the jet stream, weak ridging aloft is hanging on over the main Hawaiian islands. To the southeast of the islands, the upper level flow dives into a weak, elongated, nearly stationary upper low centered near 14°N 144°W. The upper low is triggering isolated towering cumulus cells or thunderstorms with tops to 33000 ft in the area from 16°N to 10°N between 149°W and 145°W. Farther south, this feature is enhancing convection within the ITCZ south of 10°N east of 150°W.
DWROE
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