Subject: Central Pacific: Satellite Interpretation Message

From: LDM Weather <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 17 Dec 2010 06:38:38 -0600

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

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