Issued: Jan 16, 2013 7:30 PM HST
Based on data through 7:00 pm Jan 16 2013 HST
A nearly stationary band of clouds associated with a weakening front extended across Hawaiian waters within 200 miles of the curve from 30°N 145°W to 26°N 145°W to 22°N 148°W and further north, and within 75 miles of the curve from 22°N 149°W to 18°N 156°W to 14°N 165°W and further west. Northeast of the point 22°N 149°W, this feature consisted of deep layered clouds with isolated embedded thunderstorms. Within 100 miles of the point 18°N 154°W, the band largely broke up. Elsewhere, this feature consisted of fragmenting low to middle stratus layers.
A second cloud band associated with another weakening front extended across Hawaiian waters within 75 miles of the curve from 30°N 148°W to 24°N 154°W to 22°N 167°W. This feature consisted mostly of fragmenting low to middle stratus layers. It moved southeast slowly. Densely packed cold-air cumuli prevailed between the trailing edge of this band and 30°N. Loosely packed stratocumuli and large stratus fragments extending from the west end of the cloud band toward the dateline may have broken off from this band originally.
A third, much larger, frontal cloud band extended across the main Hawaiian islands within 120 miles of the line from 30°N 172°W to 27°N 180 and further northeast and southwest. This feature moved east at around 10 miles an hour.
To the south, there was little or no thunderstorm activity to mark an ITCZ. Layered middle to high debris clouds from earlier convection partly to mostly obscured lower features from 11°N to the equator.
Otherwise, cloud cover across Hawaiian waters consisted mainly of loosely packed cumuli and stratocumuli within 180 miles of the curve from 20°N 147°W to 17°N 145°W to 15°N 140°W, and within 120 miles of the curve from 15°N 180 to 14°N 176°W to 16°N 170°W. East of 150°W, these clouds generally moved toward the northwest at around 15 miles an hour, while west of 170°W they moved toward the west southwest at around 20 miles an hour.
Across the main Hawaiian islands, cloud cover consisted mostly of the second frontal cloud band over Kauai county, and fragments of the first frontal cloud band over northeast through southeast lower to middle slopes of the Big Island. Afternoon cumulus buildups and their layered debris clouds also were important, especially over southeast Oahu, the east tip of Maui, and northwest middle slopes of the Big Island. These clouds generally rose to heights of 7000 to 8000 feet. Radar data from near the islands showed scattered showers over northwest slopes of Kauai, but isolated showers at most elsewhere.
