Subject: Central Pacific: Satellite Interpretation Message

From: LDM Weather <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 24 Sep 2010 00:31:17 -0500

984 
ATHW40 PHFO 240531
SIMHI 

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS SATELLITE INTERPRETATION MESSAGE
NWS CENTRAL PACIFIC HURRICANE CENTER HONOLULU HI
0530 UTC FRI SEP 24 2010

BASED ON DATA THROUGH 0500 UTC SEPTEMBER 24 2010

THE PRESENCE OF A WEAK SURFACE RIDGE ABOUT 390 MILES NORTH OF LIHUE 
CONTINUED TO MAINTAIN RELATIVELY LIGHT TRADE WINDS ACROSS THE 
HAWAIIAN ISLAND CHAIN EARLY THIS EVENING. THIS RIDGE CONTINUED TO 
SHIFT SLOWLY SOUTHWARD TOWARD THE ISLANDS...SO WIND SPEEDS CONTINUED 
TO DIMINISH. THIS WAS RESULTING IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF LOCAL LAND 
BREEZES ACROSS SOME PARTS OF THE STATE AT DUSK THIS EVENING. 

THE RELATIVELY WEAK LOW-LEVEL TRADE WIND FLOW WAS TRANSPORTING 
SCATTERED LOW CLOUDS AND A FEW SHOWERS ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE 
WINDWARD COASTAL WATERS. PLUMES OF SCATTERED TO LOCALLY BROKEN LOW 
CLOUDS AND ISOLATED SHOWERS ALSO EXTENDED WEST SOUTHWEST OF SOME OF 
THE ISLANDS. THE GENERAL MOTION OF THE LOW CLOUDS ACROSS THE 
WINDWARD HAWAIIAN COASTAL WATERS WAS TOWARD THE WEST AT ABOUT 15 
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 THURSDAY...SCATTERED TO BROKEN LOW CLOUDS WERE OVER 
PARTS OF KAUAI...ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE CENTER OF THE ISLAND. BROKEN 
LOW CLOUDS WERE ALONG THE KOOLAU AND WAIANAE MOUNTAIN RANGES...AS 
WELL AS THE WINDWARD SHORES OF OAHU. SCATTERED TO LOCALLY BROKEN LOW 
CLOUDS WERE OVER PARTS OF MOLOKAI. SMALL PATCHES OF LOW CLOUDS WERE 
ACROSS PORTIONS OF LANAI. ON MAUI...BROKEN LOW CLOUDS WERE ABOVE THE 
LOWER SLOPES OF MOUNT HALEAKALA...THE WESTERN MOUNTAINS AND THE 
SOUTH CENTRAL VALLEY. BROKEN TO OVERCAST LOW CLOUDS WERE ACROSS MOST 
OF THE KONA...KAU AND SOUTH KOHALA DISTRICTS ON THE BIG ISLAND. 
SCATTERED LOW CLOUDS WERE AFFECTING PARTS OF THE LOWER ELEVATIONS OF 
THE WINDWARD BIG ISLAND.

ACCORDING TO LOOPS OF WATER VAPOR IMAGERY AND SATELLITE DERIVED 
UPPER LEVEL WINDS...AN UPPER TROPOSPHERIC RIDGE WAS JUST WEST OF 
KAUAI THIS EVENING. AS RESULT...THE UPPER LEVEL WINDS WERE 35 TO 50 
MPH FROM THE NORTHWEST ACROSS THE STATE. SIGNIFICANT SUBSIDENCE 
ALOFT WAS ALSO EVIDENT IN THE WATER VAPOR IMAGERY ACROSS PARTS OF 
THE ISLAND CHAIN...ESPECIALLY NEAR THE BIG ISLAND. THESE FACTORS 
WERE CONTRIBUTING TO THE RELATIVELY STABLE ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS 
THAT HAVE BEEN OCCURRING ACROSS THE STATE.

A DISORGANIZED AREA OF SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ASSOCIATED 
WITH A NORTH TO SOUTH ORIENTED SURFACE TROUGH WAS CENTERED ABOUT 475 
MILES SOUTH OF HONOLULU. THE TROUGH...WHICH HAS BEEN MOVING SLOWLY 
WESTWARD...EXTENDED FROM NEAR 17N 158W TO 11N 159.5W. THE SHOWERS 
AND ISOLATED MODERATE THUNDERSTORMS WERE WITHIN 120 MILES ON EITHER 
SIDE OF THE TROUGH. THE HIGHEST TOPS OF THE CUMULONIMBUS CLOUDS 
ASSOCIATED WITH THIS FEATURE WERE ESTIMATED TO BE ABOUT 44 THOUSAND 
FEET.

ANOTHER WEAK TROUGH EXTENDED FROM NEAR 15.5N 168W TO 08.5N 170.5W. 
THIS TROUGH WAS ALSO MOVING SLOWLY WESTWARD. DISORGANIZED SHOWERS 
AND ISOLATED MODERATE THUNDERSTORMS WERE WITHIN 300 MILES EAST...AND 
WITHIN 80 MILES WEST OF THIS TROUGH. THE HIGHEST TOPS OF THE 
THUNDERSTORMS IN THE VICINITY OF THIS WEAK TROUGH WERE ESTIMATED TO 
BE ABOUT 45 THOUSAND FEET.

ELSEWHERE IN THE DEEP TROPICS FAR SOUTH OF THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS... 
THE INTERTROPICAL CONVERGENCE ZONE...OR ITCZ...EXTENDED FROM NEAR 
09N 140W TO 11N 156W...AND FROM 10N 173W TO 09.5N 180W. SCATTERED 
MODERATE THUNDERSTORMS WERE WITHIN 140 MILES SOUTH OF THE ITCZ. THE 
HIGHEST TOPS OF THE CUMULONIMBUS CLOUDS ASSOCIATED WITH THE ITCZ 
WERE ESTIMATED TO BE ABOUT 49 THOUSAND FEET.

$$

HOUSTON

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