Severe Weather in the Solomon Islands

Tornadoes form from intense thunderstorms. From the ground, a rotating body of air forms because of vertical wind shear. This rotating air is then lifted off the ground because of the updraft of a thunderstorm. It is considered a mesocyclone once the rotating air mass is lifted nearly vertically. A mesocyclone is fully developed in the updraft of the thunderstorm. Inside, the rotation gets faster and forms a funnel cloud. Once it touches the ground, it is then considered a tornado. In the U.S, tornadoes typically travel from west to east. They travel from west to east because of the upper level jet stream moves from west to east which they follow. Tornadoes can happen in the Solomon Islands. One happened in 2008 which left 200 people homeless. In the U.S, an average of over 1,000 tornadoes happen yearly (NDCC).

My country is located near Australia which experiences some tornadoes, but they don't really reach my country. Tornado occurrences may have looked to increase over time, but I think that may not be true because the scale used back then was slightly different than the one used today.


Hurricanes form from three things: consistent heating of the surface, high humidities, and cumulus and cumulonimbus clouds. These things can happen in the Solomon Islands and they are called tropical cyclones instead of hurricanes in this region. In the Atlantic and East Pacific region, they are called hurricanes. In the Indian Ocean near Australia they are called cyclones. Off the coast of China and Indonesia, they are called typhoons.

Hurricanes usually travel from east to west in the U.S. because of the easterly winds called the trade winds, which steer the hurricane westward. Hurricanes do happen in my country and they're called cyclones. The worst one to hit the Solomon Islands was Cyclone Namu in 1986, which was responsible for about 150 deaths. The average number of hurricanes that hit the U.S per year is 1.75 from a table in 2001 (AOML).   

Daily Weather in the Solomon Islands

The Capital City of the Solomon Islands is Honiara, on the northwestern coast of Guadalcanal Island. My three day forecast will cover the following days: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. For Tuesday, the forecasted high is 87°F and the low is 76°F with a 100% chance of precipitation. On Wednesday, the forecasted high is 87°F and the low is 75°F with a 100% chance of precipitation. On Thursday, the forecasted high is 89°F and the low is 75°F with a 90% chance of precipitation. The average pressure over the course of these three days is 29.8 inches. The pressure stayed the same over the three day period. The average wind speed over these three days was 3 mph. The wind speed decreased over the three day period.

From the satellite image above, in the capital city of the Solomon Islands there is white and grey clouds covering the island of Guadalcanal. There is not any precipitation in the capital city but there's light rain on the eastern side of the island. The island is mostly mountains with a small river and lake near Honiara. 

Near my country, there's a low pressure system compared to the high pressure systems near Australia. Th lowest pressure is 1008 mb which is closest to my country. The highest pressure is 1028 mb which is located southwest of Australia.  There's not really much going on in these two maps, but there's a cold front on the southern side of Australia.  

Global and Local Winds in the Solomon Islands

The maximum latitude is -5.42° and the maximum longitude is 168.83°, while the minimum latitude is -12.29° and the minimum longitude is 155.51°(World Atlas). The Solomon Islands are located in the Southern Hemisphere. The Solomon Islands are located in the Hadley Cell in the atmosphere. The wind belt my country is in is the southeast trade winds. The wind blows in the direction northwest. My country is near the intertropical convergence zone where the pressure is very low. It makes the air warm and humid with lots of precipitation. My country is approximately ten degrees south from the doldrums.

Since my country is located in the souther hemisphere near the equator, the weather and climate are mostly the same all year-round. It is hot and humid with lots of precipitation. Out of the three atmospheric cells, the Solomon Islands are located in the Hadley Cell, and in this cell, the air rises at the equator and travels north until it subsides at the Horse Latitudes. My country is nowhere near the poles and the polar front. It is near the center, by the doldrums. The picture below shows the pressure in Oceania, the continent where the Solomon Islands are located. It is northeast from Australia.

World Weather Online

 The Solomon Islands do have mountains. There are valley breezes, mountain breezes, chinook winds, katabatic winds, and Santa Ana winds. My country can experience mountain and valley breezes, and also katabatic winds from cool air at night. The Solomon Islands does not have a coastline. Nah, I'm kidding, of course it does. During the daytime, a sea breeze occurs, while at nighttime, a land breeze occurs. Both a land breeze and sea breeze can occur on the Solomon Islands.

Typical Weather and tourism in the Solomon Islands

The Solomon Islands is located in the Southern Hemisphere so the temperature changes occur less frequently compared to a place like the United States. The Winter Solstice will occur on June 21st. It's in June because the solomon Islands are in the Southern Hemisphere (Time and Date). The average maximum temperature during this month is 87°F and the average minimum temperature is 73°F. In June, the type of precipitation likely to occur is rain (Weather Spark).

For the Summer Solstice, this will occur on December 21st (Time and Date). The average maximum temperature during this month is 88°F and the average minimum temperature is 74°F. It is not much different year-round so don't expect any big changes when comparing the solstices and equinoxes. In December, precipitation will likely be in the form of rain again (Weather Spark).

For the Spring Equinox, this will occur on September 23rd (Time and Date). The average maximum temperature during September is 88°F and the average minimum temperature is 73°F. September is considered part of both the wet and dry season, depending on which half of the month it is. The first half is dry, and the second half is part of the wet season (Weather Online). During the month of September, rain will most likely be the precipitation (Weather Spark).

For the Autumnal Equinox, it will occur on March 20th (Time and Date). The autumnal equinox and the spring equinox in the southern hemisphere are both the opposite from the northern hemisphere. This is due to the fact that the Earth is tilted on its orbital plane and rotates on this axis (National Geographic). The average maximum temperature in this month is 87°F and the average minimum temperature is 75°F. In March, precipitation will most likely come in the form of rain (Weather Spark).

The best time to visit the Solomon Islands is in June when the winter solstice occurs, because it is the beginning of the dry season, and that's when most people have days off. In the Solomon Islands, you can go hiking or go snorkeling/scuba diving and also go to a cultural event. There are many WWII relics underwater in the Solomon Islands because many battles were fought there. The Solomon Islands is also a part of the three main culture areas in the Pacific Ocean. The biggest weather hazards during this time are the Southeast Trade Winds and heavy rainfall (Met Gov). Other than that, it is humid and warm.

 

"A Place Every Mother Would Love" 

 
   

Temperature Controls in the City of Honiara in Solomon Islands

So I'm sitting here trying to come up with an introduction to this blog post about temperature controls in the city of Honiara, the capital city of the Solomon Islands, but then everything changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar, master of all three cultural areas could stop them. But when my blog needed him most, he vanished. A hundred years passed and me, myself and I discovered the new Avatar, a Melanesian with a great introduction. And although his introduction is great, he has a lot to learn before he's ready to blog anything. But I believe, he can save my blog. On a serious note, the capital city of the Solomon Islands is Honiara. The latitude is 9.4351 degrees south and the longitude is 159.9512 degrees east.

The warmest month is January with an average monthly temperature of 80.6 degrees fahrenheit. The coldest month on average is August with an average monthly temperature of 78.8 degrees fahrenheit. I know it's not a big difference but that's just how the climate is there (Climatemps). Based on the above demographics, the annual temperature range is just 1.8 degrees fahrenheit.

Honiara is located on the northwestern coast of the island of Guadalcanal and since the Solomon Islands are located in the southern hemisphere, the temperature variation is a lot lower. Due to the geographic position of the Solomon Islands, the warm ocean currents warm the air and make it really hot and humid year-round. In Honiara, the altitude does not affect temperature controls because the elevation is only 95 feet.

In the future, I believe my country's temperature and climate will have very little to no change at all. The temperature may rise slightly per decade because of the pattern of global warming. It will continue to rise in the future, as well as the sea surface temperature because of the sea level rising warms and expands it. With hotter days, the Solomon Islands will then see a decrease in cooler weather. It's also predicted that the Solomon Islands will have more extreme rainfall days, and tropical cyclones will be more intense but happen less frequently (Pacific Climate Change).        

Welcome to the Beautiful Solomon Islands

"You used to call me on my conchshell, late night when you need my love."