Abstract
Local sea-breeze and land-wind regimes in Hawaii meet and interact with the prevailing trade wind giving rise to cloud lines of distinctive character. These cloud systems are sources of rain and are sufficiently frequent to be important influences in local microclimates. Four different types of interaction are described.
The types of interaction are primarily determined by the height and size of mountain barriers. High barriers may split the trade wind into lateral currents flowing around the mountain while low barriers allow the trade wind air to blow over the top of the mountain.
Measurements of local surface-pressure gradients and pilot-balloon data taken adjacent to the zones of interaction provide bases for a description of the vertical and horizontal circulations set up by the meeting of trade wind and sea breeze.
