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The 106 record-breaking or tying days of heat at Kahului Airport in 2019 -- 36 more days than the next major Hawaiian island reporting station, Lihue -- was historic, according to a National Weather Service meteorologist on Thursday.
There were 61 daily records broken and 45 records tied at Kahului Airport last year. The next highest number from a major station was in Lihue with 70 (31 broken and 39 tied), followed by Honolulu with 53 (21 broken and 32 tied) and Hilo with 44 (22 broken and 22 tied), according to the National Weather Service in a Facebook post Wednesday.
In addition, the highest temperature ever recorded at Kahului Airport, 97 degrees, was reported twice in 2019 -- on Sept. 16 and July 29. Temperatures ranged from the low to mid-90s for most of the summer.
Ian Morrison, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Honolulu, could not definitively point to the reason Kahului Airport reported the largest number of records, compared to the other stations, but suggested that warmer seas and wind direction could be playing major roles.
Warmer ocean temperatures surrounding the islands and particularly in the northeast are the biggest culprit for the heat wave statewide, weather service meteorologists say. Ocean temperatures 2 to 4 degrees above normal warm the trades that blow over the islands.
Other causes for the heat wave are disruption in the trades, which keep warm humid air around, and the lack of rain, meteorologists say.
Morrison noted ocean temperatures have been cooling since the summer and currently are about 1.5 degrees above normal.
Wind direction, more easterly, and the downsloping of those winds off the mountains could be factors in warming Kahului Airport even more, Morrison said. Winds blowing from the east and east-southeast bring more humid conditions from the Equator as opposed to the more normal northeasterly trades.
Those east and east-southeasterly winds come off the mountains, downsloping toward Kahului Airport and "give you a couple extra degrees," Morrison said.
The Climate Prediction Center said temperatures will be higher than normal this wet season but did not specify a range. The National Multi-Model Ensemble indicates that most months will be a couple of degrees warmer than average.
An "above average" wet season was forecast and the warmer oceans were expected to "put more moisture into the lower atmosphere," which helps fuel more rainfall, meteorologists said. Drought conditions were expected to disappear by the end of the wet season in March.
The forecast for Maui's central valley today is breezy and mostly sunny. Scattered showers in the morning and isolated showers in the afternoon are predicted with a 40 percent chance of rain.
Northeasterly winds of 10 to 20 mph are expected with gusts up to 40 mph in the afternoon. High temperatures should be between 78 and 83 degrees with overnight lows of 61 to 66 degrees.
* Lee Imada can be reached at leeimada@mauinews.com.
** This story includes a correction from the original publication on Fri., Jan. 3, 2020. The article had the wrong number of record-tying and breaking days. The Maui News apologizes for the error.