Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures (F) were recorded across the state of Hawaii Friday…along with the minimum temperatures Friday:

77 – 62  Lihue, Kauai
80 – 65  Honolulu, Oahu
78 – 62  Molokai AP
81 – 66  Kahului, Maui
82 – 70  Kailua Kona
82 – 64  Hilo, Hawaii

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

0.91  Hanalei, Kauai
0.08  Waianae Valley, Oahu
0.16  Molokai
0.00  Lanai
0.00  Kahoolawe
0.04  Hana AP, Maui
0.15  Lower Kahuku, Big Island


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


13  Mana, Kauai – NW
14  Wheeler AAF, Oahu – NW
10  Molokai – NW
12  Lanai – NE
12  Kahoolawe – WSW
14  Kaupo Gap, Maui – SW
16  Kohala Ranch, Big Island – SW


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/cpac/ir4.jpg
A fragmenting cold front over Maui County…is
falling apart

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/west/hi/ir4.jpg
Clear to partly cloudy…some cloudy areas


http://radar.weather.gov/Conus/RadarImg/hawaii.gif
A dissipating shower band across Maui County…with a few
showers offshore to the southeast of the Big Island



~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~



High Surf Advisory…north and west shores of Kauai, and north
shores of Oahu, Molokai, and Maui

Small Craft Advisory…Maui County through Oahu to Kauai


Light trade winds this weekend…veering to the west to southwest off and on through most of next week. 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 high pressure systems far to the northeast of the state, with a ridge of high pressure over the ocean to the east of the Big Island. At the same time, we have low pressure systems to the north, with a weak cold front pushing down through the state. The winds will remain from the south to southwest ahead of this front, which is bringing volcanic haze (vog) over some areas. Light trade winds will fill back into the state over the weekend, before our winds veer and strengthen some from the southwest and west…as we see a series of cold fronts moving towards and through the state next week.

A dissipating cold front will bring isolated and light showers to the eastern islands into the night. Here’s the looping radar image showing a cold front bringing a few light showers, mostly over the eastern islands. This front will pass over Maui County, and will end up over the Big Island by tonight…if it holds together that long. As the trade winds return this weekend, whatever showers that are still around, will end up along our windward sides. A series of potentially stronger cold fronts will likely spread more widespread showers across the state next week at times. There will be changes in next week’s weather outlook, as the computer models settle into a more uniform outlook…stay tuned for additional updates. I’ll be back with more information on all of the above, I hope you have a great Friday night wherever you’re spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.

Here in Kula, Maui: It looks like there are partly cloudy skies overhead, and its still too dark to know how much volcanic haze may still be around on this Friday morning. The air temperature near its minimal reading this morning was 53 degrees, while at the same time down near the ocean in Kahului…it was a warmer 69 degrees. Meanwhile, it was 63 degrees out at the Hana airport, and 37 degrees up at the summit of the Haleakala Crater. ~~~ It’s now light at 705am, and I can see clouds dropping showers over the West Maui Mountains into the central valley…while its still clear and dry here on the east side of Maui. There’s still some light-moderately thick volcanic haze around too, with an air temperature of 53.1 degrees. ~~~ It’s now close to 1pm Friday afternoon, under cloudy and at times foggy skies. There have been a few very light showers, although they have ended now. The air temperature is 68.4 degrees, with light breezes, and still a touch of volcanic haze. I just came down the mountain, where I was on another skateboarding expedition. I was able to get in a couple of good runs, before the fog closed in on me…along with some light sprinkles. They were just enough to make the road slightly slick, cutting off my runs effectively. I stayed up there though, and just enjoyed being warm and cozy in my car, while outside it was cool and foggy, and a little wet. I had some reading material while I sipped my warm tea…and did a bit of texting to friends as well. ~~~ It’s late afternoon or very early Friday evening, as I post this final update, since I’m heading downtown to see a film. There clouds around the mountains, while sunshine is still evident down in the lowlands. I can still see volcanic haze down there too, although that should be diminishing with the returning trade winds on Saturday. The air temperature around 5pm was 66.6 degrees, with calm winds, and no rain.

Friday Evening Film: My neighbor Jeff and I will see a film that we’ve been looking forward to for quite a while. We figured that after its been out for three weeks, that perhaps the crowds will have thinned out by now. This film is called American Sniper, starring Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Luke Grimes, Kyle Gallner, Elise Robertson, and Ben Reed…among many others. The synopsis: From director Clint Eastwood comes “American Sniper,” starring Bradley Cooper as Chris Kyle, the most lethal sniper in U.S. military history. But there was much more to this true American hero than his skill with a rifle. U.S. Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle is sent to Iraq with only one mission: to protect his brothers-in-arms. His pinpoint accuracy saves countless lives on the battlefield and, as stories of his courageous exploits spread, he earns the nickname “Legend.” However, his reputation is also growing behind enemy lines, putting a price on his head and making him a prime target of insurgents. Despite the danger, as well as the toll on his family at home, Chris serves through four harrowing tours of duty in Iraq, becoming emblematic of the SEAL creed to “leave no man behind.” But upon returning home, Chris finds that it is the war he can’t leave behind. ~~~ I’ll let you know what we thought Saturday morning, until then, here’s the trailer…it’s intense.


World-wide tropical cyclone activity:


>>> Atlantic Ocean: The last regularly scheduled Tropical Weather Outlook of the 2014 Atlantic hurricane season…has occurred. Routine issuance of the Tropical Weather Outlook will resume on June 1, 2015. During the off-season, Special Tropical Weather Outlooks will be issued as conditions warrant.


Here’s a satellite image of the Atlantic Ocean

>>> Caribbean Sea: The last regularly scheduled Tropical Weather Outlook of the 2014 Atlantic hurricane season…has occurred. Routine issuance of the Tropical Weather Outlook will resume on June 1, 2015. During the off-season, Special Tropical Weather Outlooks will be issued as conditions warrant.


>>> Gulf of Mexico: The last regularly scheduled Tropical Weather Outlook of the 2014 Atlantic hurricane season…has occurred. Routine issuance of the Tropical Weather Outlook will resume on June 1, 2015. During the off-season, Special Tropical Weather Outlooks will be issued as conditions warrant.


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

>>> Eastern Pacific: The last regularly scheduled Tropical Weather Outlook of the 2014 North Pacific hurricane season…has occurred. Routine issuance of the Tropical Weather Outlook will resume on May 15, 2015. During the off-season, Special Tropical Weather Outlooks will be issued as conditions warrant.


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


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


>>> Central Pacific: The central north Pacific hurricane season has officially ended. Routine issuance of the tropical weather outlook will resume on June 1, 2015. During the off-season, special tropical weather outlooks will be issued as conditions warrant.


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


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


 >>> South Pacific Ocean: Tropical cyclone 10P remains active, here’s the JTWC graphical track map for this strengthening tropical cyclone. Here’s the NOAA satellite image of this system…to the northwest of New Caledonia.

>>> North and South Indian Oceans: Tropical cyclone 09S (Eunice) remains active, here’s the JTWC graphical track map for this very strong tropical cyclone. Here’s the NOAA satellite image of this system…to the south-southwest of Diego Garcia in the South Indian Ocean. (equivalent to a category 4 hurricane!)

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

 

Interesting:  How did the Zebra get its stripes? – One of nature’s fascinating questions is how zebras got their stripes.


Larison has found at least part of the answer: The amount and intensity of striping can be best predicted by the temperature of the environment in which zebras live.


In the January cover story of the Royal Society’s online journal, Open Science, the researchers make the case that the association between striping and temperature likely points to multiple benefits — including controlling zebras’ body temperature and protecting them from diseases carried by biting flies.


“While past studies have typically focused their search for single mechanisms, we illustrate in this study how the cause of this extraordinary phenomenon is actually likely much more complex than previously appreciated, with temperature playing an important role,” said Thomas B. Smith, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology in the UCLA College and senior author of the research.


Larison, a researcher in UCLA’s department of ecology and evolutionary biology and the study’s lead author, and her colleagues examined the plains zebra, which is the most common of three zebra species and has a wide variety of stripe patterns. On zebras in warmer climes, the stripes are bold and cover the entire body. On others — particularly those in regions with colder winters such as South Africa and Namibia — the stripes are fewer in number and are lighter and narrower. In some cases, the legs or other body parts have virtually no striping.


Zebras evolved from horses more than 2 million years ago, biologists have found. Scientists have previously hypothesized that zebras’ stripes evolved for one, or a combination of, four main reasons: confusing predators, protecting against disease-carrying insects, controlling body temperature and social cohesion. And while numerous previous studies of the phenomenon focused on a single hypothesis, the Larison-led study was the first to fully test a large set of hypotheses against one another.