Air Temperatures The following maximum temperatures (F) were recorded across the state of Hawaii Tuesday:

79 Lihue, Kauai
82 Honolulu, Oahu
80 Molokai
82 Kahului, Maui
83 Kona, Hawaii
81 Hilo, Hawaii


Air Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level – and on the highest mountain tops on Maui and the Big Island…as of 743pm Tuesday evening:

 

Kailua Kona – 78
Hana, Maui – 70


Haleakala Summit –   41
(near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea Summit – 32 (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 working.

 


Aloha Paragraphs



http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/02/31/6d/72/i-love-hawaii.jpg

Light to moderate trade winds…continuing through the work week


A few showers locally, otherwise good weather today…increasing
rain on the windward sides, and elsewhere locally
at times
tonight into Friday – potential flooding
with thunderstorms,
especially over the eastern islands in the chain


Flash Flood Watch…Maui County and the Big Island tonight
through Friday morning 

Winter Storm Watch…Big Island summits tonight
through Thursday night / Heavy snow…6+ inches


 




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

15  Poipu, Kauai – NE
18  Kuaokala, Oahu – NE
20  Molokai – NE
18  Lanai – NE
22  Kahoolawe – NE
14  Lipoa, Maui – NE
22  PTA West, Big Island – NW


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


0.05  N Wailua ditch, Kauai
0.03  Schofield Barracks, Oahu
0.02  Molokai
0.00  Lanai
0.00  Kahoolawe
0.00  Maui
0.30  Pahoa, 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 image… and finally the latest looping radar image for the Hawaiian Islands.


~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~



Trade winds, becoming light to moderately strong through the work week…there’s a question about the weekend wind situation at this point. Here’s the latest weather map, showing the Hawaiian Islands, and the rest of the Pacific Ocean. We find a near 1029 millibar high pressure system far to the northeast of the state. At the same time we see several storm low pressure systems far to our northwest, with their associated cold fronts near the International Dateline. Finally, we see a low pressure system just to our northeast, with its associated front and trough. High pressure will build to our north and northeast today, with moderately strong trade winds continuing through the work week. The computer models are diverging on what will happen with our surface winds by the weekend, the spread varies from continued trade winds…to lighter southeasterlies. I suggest we hold this outlook lightly for the moment, as the situation should become more clear over the next day or two.

We’ll see just a few showers, generally along our windward coasts and slopes
…then a major change on the horizon.
Satellite imagery shows very few clouds over or near the islands. There is a dwindling area of towering cumulus over the ocean to the northeast…although too far away to influence our local weather. Here’s the looping radar image, showing hardly any showers falling anywhere. The trade winds are returning now, along with just a few passing windward biased showers with time. These trades will turn wetter by Wednesday evening…with heavy, potentially flooding rainfall arriving over the windward sides, and elsewhere at times too. It looks as if the primary focus will be over Maui County and the Big Island…although that could change. As we get into the upcoming weekend, those showers will have backed off, perhaps…that’s still a question at the moment. I’ll be back early Wednesday morning with your next new weather narrative, I hope you have a great Tuesday night wherever you’re spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.



World-wide tropical cyclone activity:


Atlantic Ocean:
The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1st through November 30th. 


Here’s a
satellite image of the Atlantic Ocean


Caribbean Sea:


Gulf of Mexico:


Here’s a satellite image of the Caribbean Sea…and the Gulf of Mexico.

Here’s the link to the National Hurricane Center (NHC)

Eastern Pacific:
The Eastern Pacific hurricane season runs from May 15th through November 30th. Here’s the 2013 hurricane season summary


Here’s a wide satellite image that covers the entire area between Mexico, out through the central Pacific…to the International Dateline.


Central Pacific Ocean:
The Central Pacific hurricane season runs from June 1st through November 30th. Here’s the 2013 hurricane season summary


Here’s a link to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC)


Western Pacific Ocean: There are no active tropical cyclones


South Pacific Ocean:
There are no active tropical cyclones


North and South Indian Oceans:
Tropical cyclone 03S (Amara) remains active in the South Indian Ocean. Here’s a JTWC graphical track map…along with a satellite image.

Tropical cyclone 04S (Bruce)
remains active in the South Indian Ocean. Here’s a JTWC graphical track map…along with a satellite image.


Here’s a link to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC)



Interesting:
Rutgers University study looks at climate change and interrelated variables The changing climate is more complicated to model than we assumed. There are interrelated variables that work together to amplify the effects.


For example, as summer sea-ice and snow shrink back in the Arctic, the number of summertime “extreme” weather events in the middle latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere is increasing, according to research published recently in Nature Climate Change by two Chinese scientists and their Rutgers colleague.


“It’s becoming increasingly clear, I think, that the loss of sea ice and snow cover is setting up the conditions that jump-start summer,” said Jennifer Francis, research professor at the Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences in Rutgers’ School of Environmental and Biological Sciences. “The soil dries out earlier and that allows it to get hotter earlier. This phenomenon is also changing circulation patterns in the atmosphere.”


The jet stream — the fast-moving ribbon of air that encircles the Northern Hemisphere — has a profound impact on weather in the middle latitudes, Francis explained. Temperatures in the Arctic warm faster than in the middle latitudes because of the retreating ice and snow. Because the north-south temperature difference is the main driver of the jet stream, a smaller temperature difference means that the west-to-east winds of the jet stream are weakening.


This weakening also causes the jet stream to meander more, north and south. Because these waves in the jet stream control the movement and formation of storms, an increased meandering means that weather conditions — hot or cold — will be longer-lasting. Previous studies by Francis and her colleagues have shown that rapid sea-ice loss in fall and winter affects winter weather patterns and cold extremes in the mid-latitudes, as well.