Subject: Central Pacific: Satellite Interpretation Message

From: LDM Weather <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 30 Dec 2010 12:29:53 -0600

443 
ATHW40 PHFO 301829
SIMHI 

HAWAIIAN ISLANDS SATELLITE INTERPRETATION MESSAGE
NWS CENTRAL PACIFIC HURRICANE CENTER HONOLULU HI
1830 UTC THU DEC 30 2010

BASED ON DATA THROUGH 1800 UTC DECEMBER 30 2010

A COMPLEX WEATHER PATTERN CONTINUES OVER THE REGION...WHILE 
GRADUALLY REBUILDING HIGH PRESSURE AT THE SURFACE AND ALOFT OVER AND 
EAST OF THE MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS HAS USHERED IN A TRADE WIND FLOW.

A NEARLY ZONAL...OR WEST TO EAST FLOWING...JET STREAM IS RACING 
ACROSS THE WESTERN PACIFIC ROUGHLY ALONG 30N...THEN ABRUPTLY TURNS 
TO THE NORTH NEAR 160W AS IT SLAMS INTO AN UPPER LEVEL RIDGE 
ESTABLISHED ALONG 145W. AT THE BASE OF THE UPPER RIDGE...A CENTER OF 
HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT IS PARKED 500 MILES NORTHEAST OF THE BIG ISLAND 
NEAR 23N148W. MEANWHILE...AN UPPER LEVEL LOW CENTERED NEARLY 1000 
MILES SOUTHWEST OF OAHU AT 12N170W IS DRIFTING TO THE WEST.

A TRADE WIND FLOW HAS BECOME ESTABLISHED OVER ALL OF THE MAIN 
HAWAIIAN ISLANDS AS THE UPPER HIGH NORTHEAST OF THE STATE EXERTS A 
GREATER INFLUENCE AND THE UPPER LOW TO THE SOUTHWEST WEAKENS AND 
DRIFTS AWAY FROM THE ISLANDS. THE FIRST VISIBLE SATELLITE IMAGES OF 
THE DAY REVEAL SCATTERED TO LOCALLY BROKEN CUMULUS AND STRATOCUMULUS 
CLOUDS AROUND THE ISLANDS MOVING FROM THE EAST AROUND 20 MPH. A 100 
MILE WIDE AREA OF BROKEN LOW CLOUDS EMBEDDED WITHIN THE TRADE WIND 
FLOW COVERS ALL OF OAHU EXCEPT THE SOUTH SHORE. THIS CLOUD AREA... 
WHICH HAS TOPS TO 7000 FT...IS CURRENTLY MOVING ONTO WINDWARD KAUAI. 
ACROSS THE REST OF THE STATE...ONLY SMALL PATCHES OF BROKEN LOW 
CLOUDS ARE FOUND MAINLY ACROSS WINDWARD TERRAIN. HIGH CLOUDS 
DISSIPATED DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS AS A SUBTROPICAL JET STREAM 
ASSOCIATED WITH THE UPPER LOW TO THE SOUTHWEST WEAKENED.

BEYOND 100 MILES EAST OF THE BIG ISLAND...RATHER STABLE...BROKEN 
STRATOCUMULUS DOMINATE. SATELLITE DERIVED PRECIPITABLE WATER VALUES 
ARE LESS THAN 1 INCH IN THIS AREA...IN CONTRAST TO THE 1 TO 1.3 
INCHES CURRENTLY DETECTED OVER THE ISLANDS.

WITH THE ZONAL JET STREAM ABRUPTLY CHANGING COURSE OVER THE FAR 
NORTHWEST PORTION OF THE AREA...A SERIES OF FRONTS ARE STACKED UP 
OVER NORTHERN WATERS...AS WELL AS A FIELD OF BROKEN HIGH CLOUDS 
NORTH OF 24N EAST OF 167W. A STALLED TROUGH SITS ALONG 30N155W... 
27N159W...AND 20N167W. ANOTHER DECAYING FRONT RUNS ALONG 30N160W AND 
28N173W. RAGGED LOW CLOUD BANDS...ROUGHLY 100 MILES WIDE...MARK 
THESE FEATURES...THOUGH ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS RISE TO 38000 FT NEAR 
29N155W. ANOTHER FRONT RAPIDLY APPROACHING THE DATE LINE WILL REACH 
MIDWAY ATOLL LATER TODAY.

TO THE SOUTH OF THE STATE...ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WITH TOPS TO 
51000 FT ARE BEING TRIGGERED BY THE UPPER LOW ALONG THE ITCZ NEAR 
07N160W. ELSEWHERE...THUNDERSTORMS ARE NON-EXISTENT ALONG THE 
ITCZ...WHICH IS CONFINED SOUTH OF 10N.

$$

DWROE

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