Category Archives: Weather

The other side of the road

A view of Keanuiomano Stream above the Queen Kaahumanu Highway on the Big Island Hawaii

I was driving home yesterday and I was struck by a contrasting view. The top photo shows the Keanuiomano Stream running down towards the Queen Ka’ahumanu Highway, the main road along the coast from Kailua Kona to the north.

I posted (here) about the river running high a few weeks ago, following the passage of Tropical Storm Calvin. Since then, there’s been a gradual decline in volume, but there’s still a trickle of water and the stream bed is full of pools. This area is popular with the goats, because it’s a good source of water and fodder after rainfall.

Crossing the road, the view is starkly different. The passage of Hurricane Dora triggered strong, dry trade winds. When fires broke out, they spread quickly (here). This view shows the aftermath of one of the relatively small fires, which burned about 500 acres next door to Mauna Kea Resort. The palm trees and houses on the left of the bottom image are part of the resort.

Ironically, when I took river running high photos, I checked out the other side of the highway for possible photos. I didn’t bother taking any, as I couldn’t see much because of the thick vegetation. Now it’s wide open down to the ocean.

A view of Keanuiomano Stream below the Queen Kaahumanu Highway on the Big Island Hawaii

Wake up and smell the smoke

Strong winds fan a fire near Kawaihae on the Big Island, Hawaii

Yesterday morning, around 4:30, I got a text alerting me to a brush fire burning alongside the road I take to work. It said the road would be closed for two to three hours. This was not a good way to start the day! It meant I’d have to take the road over Kohala Mountain.

When I headed out, the wind was howling and the mountain road was strewn with tree debris, including some sizable branches. Farther along, I noticed a cloud of smoke ahead of me in the vicinity of Waimea. For a few moments, I thought this new fire was burning around the alternate route I was taking, but I saw it was a bit farther away than that. This fire was quickly contained, but the first one is still going strong as I write, with people living in the area being evacuated for safety.

The fires were a byproduct of the passage of Hurricane Dora, well to the south of Hawaii, but still a major hurricane. Its passage caused very strong, but dry trade winds over the island, which exacerbated conditions in some already drought-hit areas. It was no surprise that fires broke out and that, once they did, they quickly got out of hand.

The top photo looks up the coast toward the fire, later in the day. The burning area is in the distance with smoke billowing out over the water. In front of that is a cloud of brown dirt being blown from the dry gullies of the hillside on the right. In the foreground is a smaller, pale cloud of sand being blown from the beach in Kawaihae Harbor.

The bottom photo is a view of the fire near Waimea. When I stopped the car to take photos, the wind was blowing so hard I could barely open the door. That same wind buffeted me around so that, despite propping myself against a rail, I couldn’t keep the camera still enough to get a sharp photo!

Strong winds fan a fire near Waimea on the Big Island, Hawaii

Life’s a beach

The beach at Anaehoomalu Bay on the Big Island, Hawaii
The beach at Anaeho’omalu Bay is very popular. This was taken in the late afternoon when the crowds had thinned out.

This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Lazy, Hazy Days of Summer.’ See more responses here. Beach scenes seemed appropriate for this, even if some of these photos were taken in the winter! Captions on the photos.

The beach at Kaloko Honokohau on the Big Island, Hawaii
Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park is also popular, but not many walk the length of it, so there are often empty stretches of sand.
The beach at Hapuna on the Big Island, Hawaii
No wonder Hapuna beach often appears on lists of best beaches.
The beach at Kohanaiki on the Big Island, Hawaii
Kohanaiki is popular with surfers, but the beach is good too, even if it is close to the airport.
The beach at Kawaihae harbor on the Big Island, Hawaii
The beach in Kawaihae Harbor is popular with locals, especially on weekends. It’s a great spot for families with the water protected by a long breakwater.
Spencer Beach Park on the Big Island, Hawaii
Another beach that’s popular with families is at Spencer Beach Park. Smooth sand, calm water, shade trees, and good facilities are the reasons why.

The storm birds are gathering

Great Frigatebirds circle in the skies above Hawaii
Great Frigatebirds circle in the skies above Hawaii

“Graham, get your camera. Storm birds!” With that alert, I dashed out of the office at work and saw these Great Frigatebirds circling in the gray skies towards Kohala Mountain. There were 16 of them, which is the most I’ve seen at one go.

These birds are known as ’Iwa in Hawaii. This means ‘thief’ in the Hawaiian language, a reference to their practice of harassing other birds into dropping prey they’ve caught, which the ’Iwa then take for themselves.

In Hawaii, a gathering of these birds is seen as a sign of stormy weather coming, Hence the storm birds name. They were on the money again, with Tropical Storm Calvin hitting the island a few days later.

A river runs high

A river in Hawaii after heavy rain

Keanuiomano Stream has been bone dry for weeks, but yesterday’s passage of Tropical Storm Calvin transformed it into a roaring river. There was a lot of rain up in the Kohala Mountain area, which is the source of the stream. It was interesting, though, that the gullies that carry water off the leeward side of that mountain were still dry, so all that rain must have fallen mostly on the windward side and the east end of the mountain.