Little (big) Changes

Here in the tropics changes in weather are more subtle. We don't get the same dynamic climate changes that we were used to on the mainland. Some people miss this, contract a form of "Island Fever" and have to get outta here! What we have discovered is that there are still just as many changes, they are just far more subtle. As we have acclimated to these micro climates and micro changes they have become, albeit small, increasingly more profound. The subtleties have become magnified! That being said, here is an example:

Here we have a rather spectacular rainbow (click the picture to see it full size and notice the subtle double), aka "AFR" (Another F'ing Rainbow). Maui is famous for rainbows and we see them almost daily, hence the acronym. What we hardly ever see is one like this. The normal weather pattern  here on Maui comes from the trade winds which blow from the northeast and east 90% of the year. That means that our rains come from the east and because the sun sets in the west, we normally see rainbows in the east around sunset. The sun being low in the west and the rain clouds hanging out in the east = rainbows. The exciting thing about this rainbow is that it's in the west! Why you might ask ...  maybe, you're asking that, maybe? Well I'm going to tell you. This time of the year (winter) is usually when the 10% part of our weather patterns happen. The winds reverse at times and blow from the west. This is called a Kona wind here (Kona means west in the Hawaiian/Polynesian languages). So, what's happening here is the "Kona's are blowing" and they are blowing up against the mountains in the west causing rainfall over there. This picture was taken just after sunrise. I'm standing in our front yard and the camera is pointing west with the wind blowing in my face.
A rare, complete reversal of the norm and therefore, very EXCITING for our Maui micro-minds. Aloha!