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It was summertime Chicago hot for Illinois natives Rich and Debbie Hare. The couple was among hundreds who visited Diamond Head State Park Wednesday to make the 1.5 mile trek up and down the 560 foot tall crater.
Humid conditions that have hung over the state the past several days made the normally challenging hike that much more difficult.
“It's a long way up that hill,” said Rich Hare, as he clung onto a shave ice. “A lot farther than I thought it was going to be. She turned around and came back,” Hare added, nodding to his wife.
According to forecasters at the National Weather Service, Hawaii normally experiences 60 to 75% relative humidity. Since Sunday humidity has shot up as high as 90% in the mornings and remained in the 70 to 80% range in the afternoons.
The main culprit for the sauna-like conditions is a low pressure system to the north of the state, which cutoff the normal trade wind flow and allowed vog and moisture to build in from the south.
“To have that kind of persistent low pressure system up north of the island - it's a bit unusual,” said the Weather Service’s Kevin Kodama. “High pressure will hopefully build back in next week and we'll get back our normal trades.”
Until then, Kodama says anyone working or playing outside should drink plenty of liquids.
At Diamond Head hikers flocked to Magoo’s Burgers. The yellow lunch wagon became an oasis for those seeking relief from the heat and humidity.
Although there are no thermometers at the state park, owner Curtis Hong said he can still measure the heat with what he calls the shave ice index.
“They're just dying for a shave ice or water,” Hong said of the hikers, many of whom made a B-line to his lunch truck.
Andrew may be reached at ph. 368-7273.
