Air Temperatures The following maximum temperatures were recorded across the state of Hawaii Saturday afternoon:

Lihue, Kauai –                         77  
Honolulu airport, Oahu –          78  

Molokai airport –                     79
Kahului airport, Maui –        84 

Kona airport     –                    80   

Hilo airport, Hawaii –               79

Air Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level – and on the highest mountain tops around the state…as of 530am Sunday morning:

Barking Sands, Kauai – 75
Kahului, Maui – 60

Haleakala Summit    37     (near 10,000 feet on Maui)

Mauna Loa Summit –  39      (13,000+ feet on the Big Island)

Hawaii’s MountainsHere’s a link to the live web cam on the summit of near 13,800 foot Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii. This web cam is available during the daylight hours here in the islands…and when there’s a big moon shining down during the night at times. Plus, during the nights you will be able to see stars, and the sunrise and sunset too…depending upon weather conditions. Here's the Haleakala Crater webcam on Maui…if it's available.

Tropical Cyclone activity in the eastern and central Pacific – Here’s the latest weather information coming out of the National Hurricane Center, covering the eastern north Pacific. You can find the latest tropical cyclone information for the central north Pacific (where Hawaii is located) by clicking on this link to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. A satellite image, which shows the entire ocean area between Hawaii and the Mexican coast…can be found here.  The 2012 hurricane season is over in the eastern and central Pacific…resuming on May 15th and June 1st 2013.

 

Aloha Paragraphs

http://www.taboragallery.com/RTblacksandmagic.gif
Artist Credit…Roy Tabora

Flash Flood Watch for Kauai, Niihau and Oahu…
from Sunday morning through Monday afternoon

As the winds are coming in from the south to southeast now,
they will become lighter in some areas, and at the same time…
will keep volcanic haze (vog) over some of the islands

Afternoon showers will break out in a few places tonight…
then a cold front will bring heavier rains into Monday
with localized flooding  

~~~Air temperature at 645am HST Sunday morning,
  clear and with voggy skies, calm winds…at my upcountry
Kula, Maui weather tower: 52F
degrees~~~

Full moon!

The following numbers represent the most recent top wind gusts (mph), along with directions as of Saturday evening:

25       Lihue, Kauai – SSW 
36       Kuaokala, Oahu – SE    

13 
      Molokai – NE        
15       Kahoolawe – SE
16       Hana, Maui – ENE
 

27       South Point, Big Island – ENE

Here are the latest 24-hour precipitation totals (inches) for each of the islands as of Saturday evening:

 

0.19          Mount Waialeale, Kauai

0.21          Lualualei, Oahu

0.00          Molokai

0.00          Kahoolawe
0.00          Lanai

0.03          Kihei, Maui
0.14          Pali 2, Big Island  


We can use the following links to see what’s going on in our area of the north central Pacific Ocean
.  Here's the latest NOAA satellite picture – the latest looping satellite imageand finally the latest looping radar image for the Hawaiian Islands.


                   ~~~ Hawaii Weather Commentary ~~~
 


South to southeast breezes will prevail…ahead of a cold front approaching Kauai from the northwest and west. Here's a weather chart showing a large high pressure system located to the northeast of Hawaii. At the same time, we see a deep storm low pressure system far to our northwest…with an associated cold front to our west and northwest.  As the winds continue to blow from the southeast locally, look for continued volcanic haze (vog) over some parts of the island chain, locally thick in density…like here in Maui County. 

Showers will fall in places, especially along south and southeast sides…and over the mountains during the afternoon hours. Satellite imagery continues to show a cold front to our northwest, which will reach the Kauai end of the state Sunday. This front's approach is helping to keep our winds southeast and south as it gets closer. We find ourselves in a less stable environment now, with the increased chance of heavy showers falling locally by Sunday morning…at which point the flash flood watch begins over the Kauai end of the chain. 

Here's a closer satellite image, showing lots of clouds around, both at high and low altitudes over the islands…and offshore. We see those high cirrus moving into the state, which are those brighter white ones on the satellite photos. Clouds will become more shower prone, especially over Kauai and Oahu…as we push through this weekend. As the cold front, mentioned above, approaches the state Sunday, we'll see showery clouds being pulled up over the island chain ahead of it…called prefrontal showers. Our winds are shifting to the south now, and even southwesterly breezes near Kauai and Oahu.  These winds from the deeper tropics, will help set the stage for flooding rainfall, at least in places, especially as the cold front draws closer…and actually arrives over the state.

The NWS forecast office in Honolulu continues the flash flood watch for Kauai, Niihau, and Oahu…starting Sunday morning. This is a product that highlights the chance of heavy rains, and flash flooding potential. This strongly suggests that the chances continue to increase, for a very wet period here in the islands later Sunday into Monday night. Here's how its looking: moisture laden winds from our southeast through southwest will carry rainy/showery clouds into the state by Sunday morning. An area of heavy rains will arrive ahead of the cold front itself, especially from Kauai down to Oahu. The front will trail this heavy rain producing area, as it slows its forward motion into the state. The cold front, and this prefrontal area will eventually merge, providing the good chance of flooding precipitation…and possible thunderstorms.

The bulk of this rainfall activity will begin early Sunday on Kauai, reaching Oahu during the afternoon hours, Maui County Sunday night into Monday, and reaching down to the Big Island by Monday evening into Tuesday morning…hopefully. The combination of the prefrontal area of rain, and the slow moving cold front lagging behind, will bring the chance of substantial rainfall totals, and intense rainfall rates. We will get past this wet weather event by later Monday or Tuesday, as the front clears the state. It appears that the trade winds will fill in behind the front, lasting for several days, carrying leftover moisture from the cold front, to our windward sides for a time. As is always the case in situations like these, there will be many adjustments to the outlook, with daily fine tuning necessary…stay tuned please. I'll be back later this evening with the latest news on this upcoming heavy rainfall situation, I hope you have a great Saturday wherever you're spending it! One more thing, we'd better have this looping radar image here, so we can easily keep track of showers and rain, as it arrives over the next couple of days. Aloha for now…Glenn.

Friday evening film: there are still several good films showing at the theaters in Kahului, so rather than break my habit, I took in another one Friday evening. I decided to see one that I'd been really looking forward to seeing, but wanted the crowds to thin out before going. It was Gangster Squad, starring Josh Brolin, Sean Penn, Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, Nick Nolte, Mireille Enos…among many others. The synopsis: Los Angeles, 1949. Ruthless, Brooklyn-born mob king Mickey Cohen runs the show in this town, reaping the ill-gotten gains from the drugs, the guns, the prostitutes and — if he has his way — every wire bet placed west of Chicago. And he does it all with the protection of not only his own paid goons, but also the police and the politicians who are under his control. It's enough to intimidate even the bravest, street-hardened cop…except, perhaps, for the small, secret crew of LAPD outsiders led by Sgt. John O'Mara and Jerry Wooters, who come together to try to tear Cohen's world apart. ~~~ We'll, what can I say? It was a violent portrayal of the LA crime scene in the 1940's. The acting, and overall look and feel of the film, made it a very entertaining piece of work. I haven't seen Sean Penn in a long while, and I think he gave a great performance. As for my grade, I'm going to give it a solid B+, although it's certainly not for the faint of heart. Here's the trailer if you'd like to take a sneak peek.

Saturday night dancing: Well, here it is again, my little party night of the week, and given my habit lately, I'll be taking the 40 minute drive down to Kihei soon. I'll make myself a cup of espresso, and take it on the road with me. I'll be going to my two favorite dive bars, and should get out on the dance floor around 10pm or so. This will make the fourth Saturday night in a row, so obviously, I've taken a liking to these two places. There's no cover charge, not that I'm worried about that, but it keeps a pretty wide array of folks coming back it seems. I can attribute my fondness for dancing to my Mom and Dad, as they were both avid dancers, and I'm sure my Mom would love to be out on some dance floor there in Long Beach, or on some cruise ship, still. ~~~ It turned out to be lots of fun again, I met a several new people, and got home at a fairly reasonable hour. Perhaps one of the high points of the night was when a young woman came over to me, and said I was a good dancer. I'll go again soon, it's one of my favorite things to do, that…and of course keep you informed about our weather conditions here in the great Hawaiian Islands.

World-wide tropical cyclone activity:

Atlantic Ocean/Caribbean Sea:
  There are no active tropical cyclones

Gulf of Mexico: There are no active tropical cyclones

Eastern Pacific Ocean: There are no active tropical cyclones

Central Pacific Ocean:  There are no active tropical cyclones

Western Pacific Ocean:  There are no active tropical cyclones

South Pacific Ocean:  Tropical cyclone 10P (Garry) remains active in the southwest Pacific, located approximately 550 NM southwest of Bora Bora, Society Islands. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) shows this cyclone with 35 knot sustained winds, with gusts to 45 knots. TC 10P will weaken quickly from this point on.  Here's the graphical track map, along with a satellite image. Final Warning

North and South Indian Oceans:  Tropical cyclone 13S remains active in the South Indian Ocean, located approximately 590 NM northeast of La Reunion Island. The Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) shows this cyclone with 35 knot sustained winds, with gusts to 45 knots. 13S will maintain its current strength, and then slowly intensify through the next 120 hours…heading towards Madagascar. Here's the graphical track map, along with a satellite image.

Interesting:
 
Dogs and wolves are actually from the same species: Canis lupis. Physically and genetically, these two canines are similar, but behaviorally, it has been difficult for biologists to understand why wolves remain fiercely wild, while dogs are content on being man's companion.

While domestication of the dog plays a huge role in the differences between the two, according to new research, evolutionary biologist Kathryn Lord at the University of Massachusetts Amherst suggests the different behaviors are related to the animals' earliest sensory experiences and the critical period of socialization.

After observing responses of seven wolf pups and 43 dog pups to familiar and novel smells, sounds, and sights from 2-7 weeks old, researchers confirmed that both wolf pups and dogs develop senses at the same time: smell at two weeks, hearing at four weeks and vision by six weeks on average. However, what varies between these pups is the four-week developmental window called the "critical period of socialization."

Socialization is the process in which animals learn to recognize and interact with other species in their environment. Wild wolf pups will begin to explore at two weeks old, when they are still blind and deaf, and must rely primarily on their sense of smell, whereas dogs begin this period at four weeks.

When the socialization window is open, wolf and dog pups begin walking and exploring without fear and will retain familiarity throughout their lives with those things they contact. But as the period advances, fear will increase and after the socialization window closes, new sights, sounds and smells will elicit a fear response.

Because each subspecies experiences the world with different senses, this period is extremely different, and likely leads to different developmental paths, says Lord. Lord is the first to report that wolf pups are still blind and deaf when they begin to walk and explore their environment.

She also notes: "When wolf pups first start to hear, they are frightened of the new sounds initially, and when they first start to see they are also initially afraid of new visual stimuli. As each sense engages, wolf pups experience a new round of sensory shocks that dog puppies do not."

These findings lead to an alternative explanation for the difference in dogs' and wolves' abilities to form interspecies social attachments, such as those with humans, Lord says. This new information has implications for managing wild and captive wolf populations, she says.