Yes, it’s winter in the northern hemisphere. The nights are drawing in and the temperatures heading south. So pull up a chair, set that tall, cool drink on the little table, and just relax!
Merry Christmas everyone.
Picture yourself here
Category Archives: Weather
Sunrise over Mauna Kea
The sun rises behind Mauna Kea, coloring the sky, and backlighting the telescopes at the summit.
Heavy rain
We had some strange weather here a week or so ago when a very wet system hung around the island for several day. One of the results was that we would get some sudden downpours such as this one.
Snow on Mauna Kea
We had a weird weather system settle on the island recently, which provided a week of cloudy, wet weather. It also deposited a decent snowfall on the top of Mauna Kea, which stuck around for a fair while. Maybe it will be a white Christmas after all!
Clouds around Pu’u Ahumoa
Clouds swirl around Pu’u Ahumoa on the slopes of Mauna Kea. This is an area where clouds often build up during the day and visibility can deteriorate rapidly when they do move in.
Maui from the water
A view of Maui from the water off North Kohala. On a clear day like this, Maui looks fairly close, but it’s actually 30 or so miles away from where this photo was taken.
Silent night
This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Christmas Song Lyrics.’ See more responses here.
I’m one of those people who sings, hums, and whistles Christmas songs year-round, often to the annoyance of those in earshot. Spoiled for choice, I decided to go with Silent Night with the intention of taking photos of Hawaii’s star-spangled night sky. However, by the time I got around to taking photos, the stars had been blanketed by clouds. These came from a weather system that prompted warnings of blizzard conditions and 100 mph winds!
Such conditions weren’t expected where I live – that would represent climate change of biblical proportions – but the weather system generated clouds and rain island-wide. In addition, it seemed to swirl back and forth and around the Big Island maintaining these conditions for a week and counting.
This photo looks down on the lights of Kawaihae and I think the heavy clouds add a muffled feeling that’s quite in keeping with the song.
Coast Guard buoy ship
The Coast Guard paid another visit to Kawaihae recently, checking out the buoys marking the entrance to the harbor. The ship approached the harbor around the same time as a double-hulled canoe. The canoeists wisely decided to give the ship priority.
There are rules for who has the right of way on the water, but it’s always wise to remember that a large ship might have little room for maneuver, especially close to shore. I always bear in mind the epitaph, possibly apocryphal, which reads, ‘Here lies the body of Roger Wray, who died asserting his right of way.’
Graham's Island 