Don’t buy any water, we’re just about to get clobbered.
People on the Eastern USA keep asking where’s the cold air? It’s been in the North Pacific this Winter and it’s heading our way. Aloft it’s already unusually cold and it’s going to get colder. Hilo had a 11,400’ Freezing level on 2-22-17 and this cold air was a main reason intense thunderstorms with lots of lightning bloomed on the flanks of Mauna Loa over by Kona. At the surface warm moist air from the South/Southeast is ready to meet this cold air and eventually push the cold air North about Weds. This should end the downpours as the cold air gets shoved North.
You probably know the pattern here. When there’s this kind of cold air aloft and warm moist air underneath, it’s like steam hitting an ice cube and it can rain here and then rain some more as the dynamics seem unlimited. This dynamic process will be at the top of it’s form in the afternoons. Thunderstorms might develop. Mauna Kea could get a foot of snow when the deepest moisture gets here Sun. night thru Tues. night. The flow out of the SE will meet the cold air to the NW. Expect the rain to start on Sunday and lighten up on Thurs., heaviest in the afternoons as the sun warms the moist air and it rises and condenses right over our heads.
That said the strongest dynamics will stay North of the islands. While our rain will be enhanced by orographic lift- ocean areas to our North will see the most mixing of the different air masses- hence the strongest dynamics--highest wind, most rain and the most instability.
I recently posted this on a different forum-it’s long (sorry) simplified and out of context but I wanted to share the links;
Once again North Pacific Sea Surface Temperatures (SSTs) continue to drive global and local atmospheric patterns. The recent reversal of warm SSTs to cold SSTs in the North Pacific has been responsible for the storms reaching Calif. and the entire West Coast the last few months and this will continue. Cold air pouring out of the Arctic have been supported by these cool SSTs instead of being dissipated by warm SSTs. The warm SSTs caused the drought years on the West Coast and in particular California.
Illustrated here Major implications for Hawaii as this cold water is sinking South;
http://sealevel.jpl.nasa.gov/images/late...70204P.jpg
This shows satellite sea level measurement as of 2-4-2017. Red/Orange colors indicate where the warm water has expanded and warmed and blue colors show where the cold water is shrinking and sinking.
Latest El Nino/La Nina watch here;
https://sealevel.jpl.nasa.gov/science/el...atestdata/
For past history here- I haven’t seen such cold SSTs in the NE Pacific since 2011;
https://sealevel.jpl.nasa.gov/science/el...a/archive/
Excellent info here on this site! Thank you Jason 3 and JPL!
Caught up in the flow-where will the water go?;
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:...2.png#file
Ocean currents are constantly moving as illustrated here- colors show speed not temperatures;
http://www.opc.ncep.noaa.gov/Loops/GRTOF...lash.shtml
Close-up of ocean currents near Hawaii;
http://www.opc.ncep.noaa.gov/Loops/NCOM/...lash.shtml
Want warm water to swim in?-Track it here High resolution SSTs models for the Hawaiian islands;
http://www.opc.ncep.noaa.gov/Loops/NCOM/...lash.shtml
Global SSTs anomalies are shown here;
http://www.ospo.noaa.gov/data/sst/anomal...6.2017.gif
To see the cold SSTs movement check out the previous dates..
Forecasts of SSTs this Summer indicate that above average SSTs will persists NW of Hawaii and the cool SSTs flow down to our East.
http://www.jamstec.go.jp/frcgc/research/...tlook.html
Click on target season to advance to our Tropical wx season and you’ll see the forecast is for the cold water to plunge south along the West Coast. Last year we had tropical wx systems develop to our East due to above average SSTs there –this year it looks like that is much less likely to happen as the cold SSTs push South.
We will be on the edge of the warm SSTs to our NW and the cool SSTs to our East. Whenever you are on the edge between two separate water masses, this results in increased wind shear;
http://www.tropicaltidbits.com/analysis/models/?model=cfs-mon®ion=cpac&pkg=ashear&runtime=2017021906&fh=4&xpos=0&ypos=276
Click on your month of interest and if you click on our tropical weather season May –Nov. you’ll see this is where higher than average wind shear will be. It’s a little early to predict our tropical weather season but this movement of cold SSTs needs to be monitored.
Storm surge calculator for Hawaii or click on the area near you above;;
http://www.opc.ncep.noaa.gov/Loops/ocean_guidance.php?model=ESTOFS&area=HAWI&plot=srg&loop=1#contents
Long range SSTs forecast;
https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/psd/forecasts/decadal/
The dip in SSTs here-this is what helps Hawaii avoid full strength tropical wx systems;
https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/psd/forecasts/...or3gl.html
Anomaly;
https://www.esrl.noaa.gov/psd/forecasts/...or4gl.html
ENSO info here;
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/an...ts-web.pdf
What are the chances of El Nino or la Nina coming up?;
http://iri.columbia.edu/our-expertise/cl...-cpc_plume
Here what the ensemble of models are indicating for the Nino regions to our South.
Current forecasts are mostly showing neutral conditions expected this tropical season;
http://iri.columbia.edu/our-expertise/cl...o/current/
This might be TMI but I thought I would just put it in there- I hope you enjoy the info and if you have questions there is always more and more data –you just have to know where to look!