A few sprinkles overnight
but not enough to do much good. 1 10th of an inch.
Another totally dry night
But soon the sun will rise out of the Pacific to a mostly clear sky.
I've already irrigated my crops which is the time that I prefer to do it. Just before sunrise. The plants seem to like it better.
But if it is a breezy day, they'll get another but light irrigation in the late afternoon.
Cool, clear and dry this morning
The nearly new moon hasn't risen yet but Orion is high in the sky.
No rain in the offing. At least not for a couple more days.
A cool, dry night
Presently 63 degrees at my home and it is clear.
Should be another cloudless sunrise with just a little bit of volcanic haze until mid morning.
No rain in the past 24 hours.
Nice and warm Tuesday
It got into the mid 80s here today which saw me out in the yard wearing shorts and a tank top! I haven't been able to do that since October! My kind of weather. Nice Equatorial winds with higher humidity. I felt very good today and got a lot done. The Sun sure felt good!
Of course the snow is all gone now on Mauna Kea.
Heavy rains along our southern shore
The strong southerly winds that have come ashore from Kapoho to K'au have brought very heavy downpours and some thunderstorm activity to those areas over the past 3 days. It is supposed to let up on Thursday but another front will bring more of the same on the weekend. Virtually no rainfall this far north in Hilo.
Continuing dry
But the temps are right on normal for this time of year. It has been sunny in the mornings and, for the most part, just occasionally cloudy as blobs of high altitude clouds are breaking off from a stalled front just northwest of Kaua'i.
The winds have turn southeast and are bringing us warmer temps and higher humidities for a few days. I'm always glad for warmer than normal days! I'm a heat freak! The warmer it is, the more energy I get. I'm at my best when the temps are between the upper 70s and the lower 90s!
The latest front dissipated
We were 'supposed to' get some measureable precip out of the latest frontal system but it started to dissipate not long after it arrived over O'ahu, dumped a fair amount of precip on the windward side and pretty much fizzled out against the mountains of West Maui.
So we are dry here on the BI and likely will be for a few days.
Surprise rainfall overnight
According to the forecasts, the increase in shower activity was not supposed to start until tonight. But it began last night and I've received a half inch of rain over the past 12 hours!
So..I will not need to irrigate the crops today! That's good as I have some other things that have to be done and can get them done sooner!
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Updated: 5:09 PM GMT on January 13, 2012
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Full Moon
Watching the Full Moon set over the 'Saddle' this morning was a sight! The sky was perfectly clear and since the Moon was so close to the horizon of the Saddle, it appeared as though it was located right above Kailua Kona! The silhouette of the two great volcanoes on each side painted a beautiful picture.
I just wish I had a camera that was good enough to take the photo.
Another beautiful day
Winter is here with cool nights and warm days. We're not getting our normal rainfall which is usually about a quarter to a half inch of precip at night and early morning.
The Trades have been a notch above normal but they're dying down a bit now as a high pressure system north of the islands slowly moves off to the east.
The snow atop Mauna Kea is almost gone now. Just a few patches here and there. Too early for the skiiers to go up and have a good time! That will likely change before the end of February.
Too lazy today
Well.I did not get out to do my Hilo 'photo op'! I just felt like staying home. That's getting to be a habit with me. "Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home."
Clear and cool morning
The sky is cloudless and the air is clean. No vog.
This morning may be a good day for me to mosey around Hilo and take a bunch of pictures to put together in a slideshow on my Picasa Web Album page of this pretty town and the dramatic backdrop it has of Mauna Loa, the 'Saddle' that lies between her and her sister Mauna Kea and the magnificently spectacular peak upon which the Keck Observatory sits!
I don't know of any town that is this breathtaking on a clear morning.
The Trades have returned!
Vog is all gone and it is a beautiful, sunny day. Picture perfect!
Fireworks smoke is gone
However we are in our first doldrum period of the winter which has brought the vog from the now 29 year old eruption of Kilauea into town for the past two mornings. When the tradewinds go away which is normal in the winter months from time to time, the air mass becomes almost non-movable and the vog will blanket the entire island chain until the trades return.
Yesterday was the 29th anniversary of the start of this eruption and there is no sign whatsoever of letup. This is the longest continuous eruption to take place on Kilauea for about 500 years. That one lasted 80 years.
I went up to the Volcanoes National Park last night to hear a presentation by one of the USGS geologists, Tim Orr, give a talk and slide show on what is happening now. Most of the pictures and time lapse photos were done by him on foot mostly but occasionally by helicopter. The auditorium was packed 'to the gills' with Big Islanders.
They will be doing a lot of such presentations this month all over the island this month as it is our annual 'Volcano Awareness Month'. I expect to attend at least two more this month that will take place here in Hilo.
And the beat goes on.
Noisy night
Very noisy around here last night with all the firecrackers etc. going from 7PM to 1AM which is the time period when it is legal to use them.
Occasionally there was a large, loud burst which sounded more like military ordnance and they shook the house. I know those were illegal but what can one do?
For a few years their use has dwindled and nothing like it was during the 50s and 60s when their use was completely unregulated but last night was just like way back then!
A lot of smoke was the end result of course as there were virtually no breezes to take it away. We are now in a period of light winds with offshore breeze at night and onshore breezes during the day.
I hope the 2012 is a better year for everyone than 2011 was but I have my serious doubts about that.
