Subject: Central Pacific: Satellite Interpretation Message

From: LDM Weather <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 21 Sep 2010 00:28:19 -0500

757 
ATHW40 PHFO 210528
SIMHI 

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS SATELLITE INTERPRETATION MESSAGE
NWS CENTRAL PACIFIC HURRICANE CENTER HONOLULU HI
0530 UTC TUE SEP 21 2010

BASED ON DATA THROUGH 0500 UTC SEPTEMBER 21 2010

THE PRESENCE OF A SURFACE HIGH LOCATED FAR NORTH NORTHWEST OF KAUAI 
WAS MAINTAINING MODERATE NORTHEASTERLY WINDS ACROSS THE HAWAIIAN 
ISLAND CHAIN EARLY THIS EVENING. THESE WINDS WERE TRANSPORTING 
SCATTERED TO BROKEN LOW CLOUDS AND ISOLATED TO LOCALLY SCATTERED 
SHOWERS ASSOCIATED WITH THE REMNANTS OF AN OLD FRONTAL SYSTEM ACROSS 
THE WINDWARD COASTAL WATERS ADJACENT TO MOLOKAI...MAUI AND THE BIG 
ISLAND. THE GREATEST SHOWER COVERAGE WAS OVER THE WATERS SOUTHEAST 
OF THE BIG ISLAND. THERE WAS ALSO A LARGE PLUME OF SCATTERED TO 
BROKEN LOW CLOUDS WITH EMBEDDED ISOLATED SHOWERS EXTENDING SOUTHWEST 
OF THE KONA COAST OF THE BIG ISLAND. THERE WERE MAINLY SCATTERED LOW 
CLOUDS ELSEWHERE ACROSS THE HAWAIIAN COASTAL WATERS AT DUSK THIS 
EVENING.

THE GENERAL MOTION OF THE LOW CLOUDS ACROSS THE HAWAIIAN COASTAL 
WATERS WAS TOWARD THE WEST SOUTHWEST AT ABOUT 20 MPH. THE HIGHEST 
TOPS OF THE LOW CLOUDS OVER THE OCEAN SURROUNDING THE HAWAIIAN 
ISLANDS WERE ESTIMATED TO BE ABOUT 5 THOUSAND FEET.

AS OF 700 PM HST MONDAY...SCATTERED TO LOCALLY BROKEN LOW CLOUDS 
WERE OVER THE WINDWARD FACING SLOPES AND HIGHER TERRAIN ON KAUAI... 
WHILE SCATTERED LOW CLOUDS WERE ELSEWHERE ON THAT ISLAND. SCATTERED 
TO BROKEN LOW CLOUDS WERE ALONG THE KOOLAU RANGE AND WINDWARD 
SHORELINES OF OAHU. BROKEN LOW CLOUDS WERE ABOVE THE EASTERN TIP OF 
MOLOKAI. SCATTERED LOW CLOUDS WERE OVER CENTRAL LANAI AND THE 
REMAINDER OF MOLOKAI. ON MAUI...BROKEN LOW CLOUDS WERE ALONG THE 
LOWER WINDWARD SLOPES OF MOUNT HALEAKALA...THE WINDWARD SHORELINES 
THE WESTERN MOUNTAINS AND PARTS OF THE SOUTH CENTRAL VALLEY... 
INCLUDING THE LOWER ELEVATIONS OF THE SOUTHWEST FACING SLOPES OF 
MOUNT HALEAKALA. BROKEN TO OVERCAST LOW CLOUDS COVERED MOST OF THE 
LOWER SLOPES AND COASTAL SECTIONS OF THE KONA AND SOUTHERN KAU 
DISTRICTS OF THE BIG ISLAND. BROKEN LOW LOW CLOUDS WERE ALONG THE 
WINDWARD COASTAL AREAS OF THE BIG ISLAND.

THE RAGGED BAND OF BROKEN CLOUDS AND SCATTERED SHOWERS ASSOCIATED 
WITH THE REMNANTS OF AN OLD FRONT WERE WITHIN 100 MILES SOUTHEAST OF 
A LINE FROM HILO TO 23N 150W TO 27N 140W. THIS BAND APPEARED TO HAVE 
SHIFTED SLOWLY TOWARD THE NORTH NORTHWEST DURING THE PAST 6 HOURS. 
IN ADDITION TO THIS BAND...THE LEADING EDGE OF ANOTHER BATCH OF 
BROKEN LOW CLOUDS AND SCATTERED SHOWERS EXTENDED FROM A POINT 90 
MILES NORTHEAST OF HONOLULU TO A POINT 75 MILES NORTHEAST OF HANA ON 
THE ISLAND OF MAUI. THIS LEADING EDGE HAS MOVED SOUTHWEST AT ABOUT 
15 MPH DURING THE PAST 6 HOURS....WITH A NOTICEABLE INCREASE IN THE 
COVERAGE OF LOW CLOUDS AND SHOWERS DURING THE PAST COUPLE OF 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 NEAR 30N 
145W TO 26.5N 150W ACROSS OAHU AND MOLOKAI TO 19N 159.5W. THE 
PORTION OF THIS TROUGH ALOFT LOCATED WEST OF 150W HAS MOVED 
LITTLE...WHILE THE NORTHERN PORTION HAS PROPAGATED SLOWLY SOUTHEAST 
DURING THE PAST 6 HOURS. THIS FEATURE HAS NOT MADE A SIGNIFICANT 
IMPACT ON ISLAND WEATHER TODAY. HOWEVER...THE TROUGH MAY BE 
SUPPORTING THE RAGGED BAND OF CLOUDS AND SHOWERS ALONG THE REMNANTS 
OF THE FORMER FRONT ADJACENT TO THE EASTERN BIG ISLAND.

IN THE DEEP TROPICS FAR SOUTH OF THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS...A NEARLY 
EAST TO WEST ORIENTED SURFACE TROUGH EXTENDED FROM NEAR 11.5N 140W 
TO 12N 144.5W TO 10N 151.5W. ISOLATED MODERATE THUNDERSTORMS WERE 
WITHIN 180 MILES ON EITHER SIDE OF THIS TROUGH. ELSEWHERE...THE 
INTERTROPICAL CONVERGENCE ZONE...OR ITCZ...EXTENDED FROM NEAR 08.5N 
153W TO 08N 166W TO 06N 173W TO 05N 180W. ISOLATED TO LOCALLY 
SCATTERED MODERATE THUNDERSTORMS WERE WITHIN 130 MILES ON EITHER 
SIDE OF THE ITCZ. THE HIGHEST TOPS OF THE CUMULONIMBUS CLOUDS 
ASSOCIATED WITH THE SURFACE TROUGH AND THE ITCZ WERE ESTIMATED TO BE 
ABOUT 47 THOUSAND FEET.

$$

HOUSTON

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