Ben There, Done That

The Big Blizzard

While we've had quite a few cold fronts move through the islands this wet season, it's definitely nothing compared to the huge snowstorm that blanketed the mainland. Just as a comparison, here's what it looked like from space, courtesy of NOAA and the GOES East Satellite, 22,500 miles up (with helpful state border lines).

Those of you weather-minded can definitely tell that was one huge low-pressure system.

If you want a gigantic high-res version of this photo, you can click here.

No Eddie, but still a nice day

After workers, surfers and spectators spent all that time preparing Wednesday night, there was no Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau big wave surf meet at Waimea Bay. And most people agree that having Eddie stay was the right decision.

At the bay Wednesday night, while watching all those workers putting up scaffolding, banners, tents, television equipment, etc., I asked Eddie spokesperson Jodi Wilmott what would happen if the meet didn't occur. She replied, that instead of watching a surf meet, people around the world would still see some spectacular 18 foot waves and beautiful weather. And they did.

The Eddie is arguably one of the most prestigious surf meets, and not something you do halfway. Only the best should be on display to honor Eddie Aikau.

Is there a chance for Eddie to go this year? Meteorologically speaking the odds are against it. This is a La Nina year, with cooler than normal sea surface temperatures, which usually doesn't bode well for strong storms and large waves in our neighborhood. But having waves get that big this year anyway offers a little hope.  

Ready for Eddie

For the past couple of afternoons I've been getting text messages from "The Quiksilver In Memory of Eddie Aikau," with updates on whether The Eddie will Go. As of this writing, it looks very likely that the waves will be high enough Thursday, and the preparations are under way.

Of course, this means we will have the epic traffic jams heading to Waimea Bay from both directions. The city has already put out the word to use TheBus instead of driving. The last time the Eddie was held, people were parking as far away as Hale'iwa; the ones who thought ahead brought bikes with them (park car, ride bike). And apparently, there were dozens and dozens who thought ahead, and finding a place to secure your bike became a problem in an of itself.

While the Eddie folks prepare, we do so as well, and now launch into the shameless promotions department: Guy will be at Waimea Bay for the early newscasts tonight; I'll be there for the later ones, and Malika Dudley will have the latest on Sunrise Thursday morning.

The " Demonstration Tsunami "

I'm going to use Howard Dicus' phrase to describe what we were calling a "tsunami scare" during our coverage yesterday. As he put it it, there was "enough unnatural wave action to show there had been an event, but not enough to disrupt our lives for more than a day." (The gist of this also came from Pacific Tsunami Warning Center geophysicist Gerard Fryer, describing what happened.) The most dramatic pictures had to come from our exclusive Web cam overlooking Hilo Bay and Coconut Island. You could actually see the tidal surges, with whitewater moving from left to right as the water receded from the bay, and then reversed direction as another surge entered, raising the water level again. It wasn't the eight-foot surge that the computer models had forecast, but there was still definitely something going on. You also could see it in, of all places, the Ala Wai Canal. There were a handful of people who were looking at the water at the McCully Street bridge over the canal, but they didn't stick around very long. It wasn't as dramatic as the tidal surges at Hilo Bay, but as I looked down at the murky water, you could tell there was a strong current coming in, as the water level started rising. And then, the water would swirl around, as if deciding what direction to go in next, before rather rapidly heading back out to sea, stirring up more silt in the process. Litter, like old paper cups and a styrofoam lunch plate, floated by toward the ocean. And then, about ten minutes later, would return as another surge pushed water back into the canal. The outgoing current , the brown water notwithstanding, especially looked strong enough to pull someone out to the ocean, had it continued. Some people mentioned the so called "Waveless Wednesday" of 1986, when there were massive traffic jams as people evacuated -- and others tried to go in the other direction to look at the waves, which never showed up. I was living on the mainland for that, but I was here for another tsunami scare in 1994, where a six-inch tsunami showed up. This tsunami is officially the first one I've actually witnessed, even if it wasn't really a wave. While I was watching this with my photographer, a gentleman walking by paused to rant about how this event was another effort by the media to control the minds of the public, and that we had made the whole thing up because, in his words, absolutely nothing was happening. I listened to him as the incoming water below paused, and then began to lower and head back to sea.

Eddie Went!

With Luke & Guy Hagi and Malika Dudley; Luke was so stoked about getting Kelly Slater's autograph"]The gauntlet of motor vehicles, parked cars, bicycles, mopeds, pedestrians, skateboards and the occasional mini-motorcycle. Haleiwa to Waimea was one hour by car, 50 minutes or so on foot, 20 minutes by bicycle"]Just a tiny handful of the estimated 30,000 who made it to the bay"]"How crowded was it? This was the line for the MEN'S bathroom!"]Kauai's Andy Irons checks the leaderboard"] Malika and Guy had particularly long days; Malika was there at around 3:30 a.m. or so for Sunrise, while Guy got there around 5:30 a.m. both Monday and Tuesday, and still would work through the 10 p.m. newscasts. Even with the long hours, it's one of the most fun events to cover, both from a news standpoint and as something that results from weather.

The Day Before Eddie Went

 

With photographer Rick Pike, broadcasting live the day before the meet

Checking the waves at the Bay"] Just a few photos, courtesy of a friend of mine, from Monday, December 7th. The bay was almost ready to call the day for the Quiksilver in Memory of Eddie Aikau, as the exclusive surf meet is formally called. Despite the 55-minute drive from Haleiwa to Waimea Bay, and having to gather, organize and write three stories, the experience is worth it, if for no other reason than to experience the big waves. And being surrounded by such scenery, it's almost a crime to call it work. More pictures of "work" -- or when Eddie actually went -- in my next post.

Surrounded

Well, it now looks like the storm system to the north is pulling in thunderstorms from the south. As you may know, low pressure systems in the northern hemisphere rotate counterclockwise (same as tropical cyclones, such as hurricanes). The wettest section of this current system has been just to the north of the islands, leaving us to scratch our heads, look at the blue sky and wonder why the heck there's a flash flood watch. But compare this map with the one I posted yesterday: [caption id="attachment_92" align="aligncenter" width="448" caption="IR Satellite Thursday 10:30 am HST"][/caption] There are still some fierce thunderstorms just to the north of the Big Island and Maui County, but the system is now pulling thunderstorms from the active area south of the islands. The SW to NE oriented line of clouds over those areas is moving to the northeast. And the system, as a whole, is drifting westward. So, if everything holds together, the mess you see to the south will move over us as well. [caption id="attachment_93" align="aligncenter" width="444" caption="Hawaii Radar Thursday 10:55 am HST"][/caption] Checking radar, the Big Island looks like it's going to be hit on both sides, with the Kona side's rain coming from the south/southwest, and more thunderstorms for the Puna and Ka?u Districts approaching from the southeast. Some of those showers south of Maui County could hit the Valley Isle as well. So while some of us still have what could be considered beautiful weather, the storm that has been too close for comfort may finally show its presence today. (By the way, you can click on either map for the latest satellite or radar loop.)

It ' s a Beautiful Day For a Flash Flood Watch

As I write this, the state is under a Flash Flood Watch through Thursday evening, which means there is the possibility that flooding could occur within the next 24 to 48 hours. Of course, if you're in downtown Honolulu, you're likely looking at the blue sky and the sun and wondering if this is the most beautiful Flash Flood Watch you've ever encountered. Well, there is an upper level low that's adding instability to our neighborhood, but we're on the quiet, dry side of the low's circulation. If you look at the map, all the "fun" is actually just to the north of us. Right now, the forecast models are saying that this system will slowly drift to the west, which means the "fun" will be a lot closer to us, if not directly over us, for a couple of days. Stay tuned. We'll have the latest on HawaiiNewsNow.com. UPDATE 3:45 pm: Some callers and Twitterati have let me know that it's coming down hard, with thunder, in Hilo. Looks like part of the fun has begun.

Take a Calendar And a Fistful of Darts

Yesterday, I dropped by the newsroom to check on a few things; Grace Lee was on the phone, and told the caller, "Oh, he just came in. Let me ask him. "Are you working this weekend?" was the question. I said yes, and Grace returned to the caller, saying that I would be on this weekend. The question, "When are you working?" comes up a lot, since I was popping up on just about every newscast over the summer. The best way to explain what's happening is that I'm the utility guy, for lack of a better and simpler explanation. I'm filling in any holes that pop up in the weather or news departments. I've also been at at work, but behind the scenes. For example. I helped shepherd Dan Cooke on his first few days as Sunrise weather anchor (he was fine; technology has made many leaps and bounds in just the few years he's been away from doing weather, and I just made sure he was doing the right things at the right times, that's all). Stuff like that. At times, my schedule seems scattershot, that someone took a firstful of darts and threw it at a calendar. However, this apparent randomness is actually meticulously planned weeks in advance as other people request vacation time, or go on assignment, that kind of thing. So keep you eyes open. I'll be back on the air this weekend and next, and likely other times after that. And thanks for the phone calls and e-mails.

Aloha (Goodbye) to Three; Aloha (Hello) to Guillermo

According to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center, Tropical Depression Maka ceased to be this morning, while the National Hurricane Center said farewell to Tropical Depression 9-E. Of course, we're undergoing the remnants of Felicia, whose center of circulation finally made landfall over MCBH Kane'ohe around 11 am, and then continued over Kailua around noon. But now there is Tropical Storm Guillermo, formerly known as Tropical Depression 10-E. No threat to Hawaii right now, and it's not expected to strengthen into a hurricane. But we'll keep you posted.