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

87  Lihue, Kauai
91  Honolulu, Oahu – the record high temperature for Tuesday was 93 degrees back in…1985
86  Molokai
89  Kahului, Maui
87  Kailua Kona
88  Hilo, Hawaii

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

0.10  Kilohana, Kauai
0.23  Ahuimanu Loop, Oahu
0.05  Puu Alii, Molokai
0.00  Lanai
0.00  Kahoolawe
0.47  Pukalani, Maui
0.36  Pahala, Big Island

The following numbers represent the strongest wind gusts (mph)…as of Tuesday evening:

15  Poipu, Kauai
20  Makua Range, Oahu
15  Molokai
22  Lanai
 24  Kahoolawe
25  Kapalua, Maui
27  Kealakomo, Big Island


Hawaii’s Mountains – Here’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.



Aloha Paragraphs




http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/west/tpac/ir4-animated.gif


http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/west/hi/vis.jpg


The satellite imagery above shows a low pressure system far to
the northeast of Hawaii, with its associated weak cold front
draping south to near the Big Island

Light trade winds…with a few localized light showers –
we might see a boost in winds and showers later this
coming weekend into early next week



~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~




Light trade winds will blow across the islands…then fading away Thursday into the weekend Here’s the latest weather map, showing the Hawaiian Islands, and the rest of the North Pacific Ocean, along with a real-time wind profiler of the central Pacific. We find the primary high pressure system far to the northwest of the islands. There’s another weaker high pressure system to the east-northeast. At the same time, there are low pressure systems to the northeast of the islands…with an associated early season cold front/trough of low pressure stretching down near the Big Island. The winds will remain light from the trade direction through the next several days. As we get into the second half of the week, our trades will break down again…keeping muggy conditions over the area.

Satellite imagery shows clear to partly cloudy skies over the islands. Looking at this larger looping satellite image, it shows thunderstorms well offshore to the south-southeast and southwest of Hawaii. The early season frontal cloud band is now stalled over and around the Big Island. The light winds over our region, in conjunction with the daytime heating of the islands, will also prompt afternoon clouds and some showers locally…over the upcountry slopes for the most part. During those times when light trade winds return briefly, we should see a few windward biased showers at time too…mostly during the nights. Here’s the looping radar, showing showers moving locally across our island chain, especially around the Big Island. I’ll be back with many more updates on all of the above and below, I hope you have a great Tuesday wherever you happen to be spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.


World-wide tropical cyclone activity:

 

>>> Atlantic Ocean: Hurricane 06L (Edouard) remains active in the Atlantic, located about 715 miles east-northeast of Bermuda…with sustained winds of near 90 mph. Here’s a graphical track map…along with a satellite image – Category 1 hurricane


Here's what the computer models are showing for hurricane 06L.


1.) Showers and thunderstorms near the west coast of Africa are
associated with a tropical wave that is forecast to move offshore
later today.  Development of this system is not anticipated through
Thursday, and any development through the weekend is expected to be
slow to occur while the system moves westward at 10 to 15 mph over
the eastern Atlantic.





* Formation chance through 48 hours...low...near 0 percent.
* Formation chance through 5 days...low...10 percent.




Here’s a satellite image of the Atlantic Ocean 

>>> Caribbean Sea: There are no active tropical cyclones



>>> Gulf of Mexico: There are no active tropical cyclones



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: Tropical Storm 15E (Odile) remains active about 50 miles south-southeast of Puerto Penasco, Mexico…with sustained winds of near 40 mph. Here’s a graphical track map…along with a satellite image.  Interesting real time video

Here’s what the computer models are showing for tropical storm Odile.



Tropical Storm 17E (Polo) remains active about 260 miles south-southeast


of Manzanillo, Mexico...with sustained winds of near 60 mph. Here’s a graphical


track map...along with a satellite image.  

Here’s what the computer models are showing for tropical storm Polo.



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



>>> Central Pacific: There are no active tropical cyclones



1.)  An area of showers and thunderstorms is centered about 850 miles south-southeast of Hilo Hawaii. There is a low potential for development of this system as it moves west slowly.





*  Formation chance through 48 hours, low…10 percent.





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



>>> Northwest Pacific Ocean: Tropical depression 16W is now active, located about 581 mile east of Manila, Philippines…with sustained winds of near 52 mph. Here’s a graphical track map…along with a satellite image





>>> South Pacific Ocean: There are no active tropical cyclones


>>> North and South Indian Oceans: There are no active tropical cyclones

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


 


Interesting: Japan: ‘solar islands’ replace nuclear power – As Japan seeks to end reliance on nuclear power, one of the answers is floating ‘solar islands’, writes Jon Major. A solar island opened last year, and two additional plants have just been announced.





Two companies in Japan recently announced they are to begin building two large solar power islands that will float on reservoirs.



This follows smartphone maker Kyocera’s Kagoshima Nanatsujima Mega Solar power plant, the country’s largest at 70 megawatts, which opened in late 2013 and is found floating in the sea just off the coast of southern Japan.



The two new solar islands, to be built by Kyocera and commercial partners, will form a network of thirty 2MW stations – adding another 60MW of solar capacity.



The move comes as Japan looks to move on from the Fukushima disaster of 2011 and meet the energy needs of its 127m people without relying on nuclear power.



Shattered confidence in nuclear power



Before the incident around 30% of the country’s power was generated from nuclear, with plans to push this to 40%. But Fukushima destroyed public confidence in nuclear power, and with earthquakes in regions containing reactors highly likely, Japan is now looking for alternatives.



Solar power is an obvious solution for relatively resource-poor nations. It is clean, cost-competitive, has no restrictions on where it can be used and has the capability to make up for the energy shortfall.



A small fact that solar researchers love to trot out is that enough sunlight falls on the earth’s landmass around every 40 minutes to power the planet for a year. To put this another way, if we covered a fraction of the Sahara desert in solar panels we could power the world many times over.



The technology already exists, so producing enough solar power comes primarily down to one thing: space. For countries such as the USA with lots of sparsely populated land this is not an issue, and there have already been a large number of solar farms installed around the country.



For Japan, the answer is offshore



But Japan where space is limited, more inventive solutions are required. This is the principle reason behind the decision to move their solar power generation offshore.



While the land is highly congested, and therefore expensive, the sea is largely unused. It therefore makes a good degree of sense to use this space for floating power plants.