Hawaiian Islands Weather details & Aloha Paragraphs / March 19-20, 2015

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

78 – 67  Lihue, Kauai
80 – 68  Honolulu, Oahu
78 – 62  Molokai AP
82 – 60  Kahului, Maui
82 – 67  Kailua Kona
82 – 63  Hilo, Hawaii

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

4.92  Wainiha, Kauai
0.53  Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu
0.00  Molokai
0.00  Lanai
0.21  Kahoolawe
0.30  Hana airport, Maui
0.01  Keaumo, Big Island

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

28  Port Allen, Kauai – E
25  Waianae Valley – NNW
22  Molokai – NNE
38  Lanai – NE
18  Kahoolawe – NNW
25  Kapalua, Maui – NNE
30  Kealakomo, Big Island – NE

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



A cold front has reached Kauai and Oahu


Clouds associated with a cold front…are falling apart 

Showers falling over and around Kauai and Oahu, a
few elsewhere…more coming along our windward
sides of the islands

Here’s the looping radar image for the
Hawaiian Islands

~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~

The Mauna Kea Summit…on the Big Island of Hawaii

Small Craft Wind Advisory…windiest coasts and channels
around Maui County and the Big Island

Locally strong and gusty trade winds through the rest of this week…then becoming lighter early 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 to the northeast and west-northwest…with an associated ridge over the ocean to the north of the islands. At the same time, we have numerous low pressure systems well to the northeast, north and northwest of the islands…with the tail-end of a quickly dissipating cold front stretching southwest over Kauai and Oahu. As a result of this pressure pattern, we’ll find trade winds picking up in strength, lasting through the weekend…and then lighter early next week.

Clear to partly cloudy skies many areas, although cloudy periods and some residual showers over Kauai and Oahu…and elsewhere. Late season storms are active far to the north of the state, with an associated cold front now falling apart over Kauai and Oahu. This weakening frontal boundary brought some generous showers to Kauai in a few places, although much fewer on Oahu. A second source of moisture will be carried our way on the strengthening trades, bringing an increase in windward showers to the state, at times through the weekend. I’ll be back with more updates on all of the above, I hope you have a great Thursday night wherever you’re spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.

Here on Maui: The skies are generally clear over Maui early this morning, and the volcanic haze has thinned considerably overnight. The low temperature was 49 degrees here at my Kula weather tower at 540am, while it was a warmer 62 degrees down at the Kahului airport, 59 at the Hana airport, and 43 degrees atop the Haleakala Crater at the same time. The warmest low temperature around the state was 70 degrees at Lihue, Kauai. / Now at 850am, it’s clear, the winds have eased some, and the main thing is that the volcanic haze is now gone.

~~~ We’re into the early afternoon now at 1255pm, under partly cloudy skies, locally gusty trade winds. Here in upcountry Kula, it’s feeling a lot like summer, or should I say spring…since that’s the upcoming season. The air temperature is a warm 78 degrees, with only light winds, and no rain of course. The winds are stronger and gusty in those down country locations, for instance a 40 mph gust of wind on the small island of Lanai a few minutes ago. / It’s now 240pm, still under partly cloudy skies, although there are a few very light drops of water falling from the sky, the first I’ve seen in a long time. The air temperature has fallen back to 70.9 degrees, with the same light breezes.

~~~ It’s now 620pm Thursday evening, under mostly clear skies, with a few clouds around the edges. Here at my place in upcountry Kula, there was actually a short period of light showers, or more accurately…a brief shower. It’s totally gone now, and conditions are very nice, as they are over most of Maui. The air temperature here at my weather tower was 66 degrees, while at about the same time, it was 80 at the Kahului airport, 77 at Kapalua, and 73 out in Hana. The summit of the Haleakala Crater was checking in with a cooler 57 degrees.

>>> 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 18P (Nathan) remains active in the Coral Sea, near Queensland, Australia, here’s the JTWC graphical track map…along with the NOAA satellite image

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

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

Interesting: Bill Proposed to Ban Wild Animals from Circus Performing – Circus elephants just scored a victory with an announcement that Ringling Bros. will be retiring its performers, but big cats and other wild animals left behind may get their own victory in Pennsylvania if a state senator can get them banned.

The emotional and physical toll life on the road as performers takes on elephants has taken center stage, but for other species like big cats, life in the entertainment industry is just as bad.

As Care2?s Abigail Geer pointed out, substituting other wild animals for elephants, which is what Ringling Bros. plans to do, isn’t a total victory. Lions, tigers and other wild animals might be popular attractions, but we should be just as concerned with their continued use and exploitation for our amusement, especially considering some of these species are endangered and their future in the wild is in jeopardy.

While life in traveling shows is one of deprivation for wild animals where their needs as a species and as individuals are ignored, problems also come when they’re no longer useful as performers. Animal advocates have long raised concerns about the life of big cats after circuses decide not to use them anymore, which can include ending up in zoos, canned hunting facilities or the illegal wildlife trade.

As the public continues to turn against using wild and exotic animals as performers, a growing number of local and state regulations that ban or restrict their use, or cruel training tools, keeps growing, but a statewide ban would send a strong message to Ringling Bros. and other companies that continue the practice that it’s time to stop.

Pennsylvania Senator Daylin Leach has promised to act on behalf of these animals by introducing legislation that will ban their use in traveling exhibitions. In an announcement regarding his intention to introduce the bill, he stated:

Elephants are not the only circus animals that are suffering. To maximize profit, traveling exhibitions use grueling itineraries that force all of their animals to endure cramped living quarters, limited social interaction, and perpetual stress. Circuses hide this suffering from audiences, who witness only the power and grace of these magnificent animals. The secret is out. The public will not tolerate this unconscionable cruelty any longer.

Even though Ringling Bros. made the right move for elephants, in theory at least, the circus’ parent company Feld Entertainment is apparently not ready to let go of its other wild animal performers just yet.