From owner-wx-tropl@LISTSERV.ILLINOIS.EDU Fri Dec 17 20:39:02 2010 Received: from vacuum.cso.uiuc.edu (vacuum.cso.uiuc.edu [128.174.5.113]) by cozumel.ust.hk (8.13.8/8.13.8) with ESMTP id oBHCd16V015649 for ; Fri, 17 Dec 2010 20:39:02 +0800 Received: from vacuum.cso.uiuc.edu (vacuum.cso.uiuc.edu [128.174.5.113]) by vacuum.cso.uiuc.edu (8.14.2/8.14.2) with ESMTP id oBG87IPW004460; Fri, 17 Dec 2010 06:38:45 -0600 (CST) Received: by LISTSERV.ILLINOIS.EDU (LISTSERV-TCP/IP release 14.5) with spool id 4803491 for WX-TROPL@LISTSERV.ILLINOIS.EDU; Fri, 17 Dec 2010 06:38:45 -0600 Received: from relay02.cites.uiuc.edu (relay02.cites.uiuc.edu [128.174.196.4]) by vacuum.cso.uiuc.edu (8.14.2/8.14.2) with ESMTP id oBHCcjaG023865 for ; Fri, 17 Dec 2010 06:38:45 -0600 (CST) Received: from weather3.admin.niu.edu (weather3.admin.niu.edu [131.156.8.48]) by relay02.cites.uiuc.edu (8.14.4/8.14.2) with ESMTP id oBHCccb5008112 for ; Fri, 17 Dec 2010 06:38:44 -0600 (CST) Received: by weather3.admin.niu.edu (Postfix, from userid 501) id 967C43FE0084; Fri, 17 Dec 2010 06:38:38 -0600 (CST) X-Proofpoint-Spam-Reason: safe Message-ID: <20101217123838.967C43FE0084@weather3.admin.niu.edu> Date: Fri, 17 Dec 2010 06:38:38 -0600 Reply-To: wxmaster@COX.NET Sender: WX-TROPL Tropical Storm and Hurricane WX products From: LDM Weather Subject: Central Pacific: Satellite Interpretation Message To: WX-TROPL@LISTSERV.ILLINOIS.EDU Precedence: list 205 ATHW40 PHFO 171238 SIMHI HAWAIIAN ISLANDS SATELLITE INTERPRETATION MESSAGE NWS CENTRAL PACIFIC HURRICANE CENTER HONOLULU HI 1230 UTC FRI DEC 17 2010 BASED ON DATA THROUGH 1200 UTC DECEMBER 17 2010 HIGH CLOUDS MOVING OVER THE MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS FROM THE WEST HAVE THICKENED SOMEWHAT FROM THURSDAY EVENING...ESPECIALLY OVER KAUAI...AND WATERS WEST OF KAUAI. OTHER THAN THE HIGH CLOUDS...SKIES OVER MOST ISLAND AREAS ARE MOSTLY CLEAR...WITH LIGHT WINDS ALLOWING ISLAND SCALE LAND BREEZES TO BRING ABOUT CLEARING OF ANY LOW CLOUDS. NEAR THE BIG ISLAND...HOWEVER...A LIGHT EAST WIND PREVAILS...AND THESE WINDS ARE CARRYING AN AREA OF BROKEN...BUT STABLE...LOW CLOUDS OVER THE LOWER SLOPES OF WINDWARD AND SOUTHEAST BIG ISLAND. LOW CLOUDS NEAR WINDWARD BIG ISLAND...AND OVER WATERS SOUTH OF THE BIG ISLAND...ARE MOVING TOWARD THE WEST AT ABOUT 15 MPH...WHILE LOW CLOUDS OVER WINDWARD WATERS EAST OF THE OTHER ISLANDS ARE MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHWEST AT ABOUT 10 MPH. WHILE THE ENCROACHING HIGH CLOUDS ARE LIMITING THE VIEW OF LOWER CLOUDS OVER WATERS WEST OF KAUAI...MOST OF THE LOW CLOUD FEATURES OVER THE ISLANDS AND ADJACENT WATERS STILL REMAIN IDENTIFIABLE. AN AREA OF BROKEN TO OVERCAST CUMULUS /CU/ AND STRATOCUMULUS /SC/... WITH EMBEDDED TOWERING CU...CONTINUES TO TREK SLOWLY NORTHWESTWARD OVER WATERS TO THE SOUTH AND SOUTHWEST OF THE ISLANDS. THIS AREA OF CLOUDS LIES ABOUT 100 MILES EITHER SIDE OF A LINE FROM 22N161W TO 16N159W...WITH THE COLDER CLOUD TOPS INDICATING TOWERING CU LOCATED NEAR 17N159W. WATER VAPOR IMAGERY HIGHLIGHTS THE EXTREMELY AMPLIFIED UPPER AIR PATTERN OF THE NORTH PACIFIC...WITH A SHARP TROUGH ALOFT STRADDLING THE INTERNATIONAL DATE LINE WEST OF THE ISLANDS. A STRONG SOUTHERLY JET ALONG THE TROUGH/S WESTERN FLANK HAS SHARPENED THE TROUGH OVER THE PAST 6 TO 10 HOURS...AND APPEARS TO HAVE INCITED INCREASED THUNDERSTORMS EAST AND SOUTHEAST OF THE TROUGH AXIS. THE TROUGH EXTENDS THROUGH 30N176W TO 20N180 TO 10N175E TO THE EQUATOR NEAR 161W...AND HAS BEEN NEARLY STATIONARY OVER THE PAST 12 HOURS...IF NOT LONGER. THIS TROUGH IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE EXTENSIVE AND PERSISTENT...NORTHEAST TO SOUTHWEST ORIENTED...AREA OF LAYERED CLOUDS...AND EMBEDDED THUNDERSTORMS...THAT LIES WEST OF THE ISLANDS...FROM ABOUT 7N TO 30N...BETWEEN 160W AND 180. A SURFACE LOW CENTERED NEAR 25N178W HAS SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS NEAR ITS CENTER...AND IS ASSOCIATED WITH A WEAKLY DEFINED CLOSED LOW ALOFT NEAR THE CORE OF THE TROUGH. WATER VAPOR IMAGERY ALSO HIGHLIGHTS A COMPACT LOW ALOFT CENTERED ABOUT 450 MILES SOUTH OF THE BIG ISLAND/S SOUTH POINT...AND THIS LOW HAS BECOME ELONGATED IN AN EAST-WEST DIRECTION OVER THE PAST 8 HOURS. ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS LOW ARE LOCATED FROM 08N TO 16N BETWEEN 145W AND 154W. $$ BIRCHARD +-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+-+ To unsubscribe from WX-TROPL send e-mail to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.ILLINOIS.EDU with "unsub wx-tropl" in the body of your message. For help with WX-TROPL write to cnovy@cox.net. For more information on tropical weather products, see the NHC Homepage at http://www.nhc.noaa.gov.