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

83 – 72  Lihue, Kauai
86 – 72  Honolulu, Oahu
79 – 68  Molokai AP
83 – 70  Kahului, Maui
84 – 70  Kailua Kona
79 – 66  Hilo, Hawaii

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

1.18  Kilohana, Kauai
0.75  Nuuanu Upper, Oahu
2.97  Molokai
0.00  Lanai
0.00  Kahoolawe
0.89  Puu Kukui, Maui
3.81  Kawainui Stream, Big Island


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


15  Port Allen, Kauai – NE
20  Waianae Valley – NW
17  Molokai – ENE
23  Lanai – NE
12  Kahoolawe – N
21  Kahului AP, Maui – NE
22  South Point, 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

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/west/cpac/ir4.jpg
Lots of clouds surrounding the islands, with an upper level low
to our north, showery clouds clipping the south side of the
Big Island…and an area of high clouds migrating over the state
from the west – which will make for nice sunrise colors

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/west/hi/ir4.jpg
Partly cloudy over most of the islands tonight


http://radar.weather.gov/Conus/RadarImg/hawaii.gif
Showers are mostly over the ocean…inpacting
the windward sides locally



~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~



Trade winds lasting through the week, turning cooler from a more northerly wind direction Thursday into the weekend…strong and gusty at times locally. 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 north and northeast of the islands. At the same time, we have a gale low pressure system far to the north, with the tail-end of an associated frontal boundary/trough over the Big Island. The trades will prevail through the rest of this week, turning more northerly later in the week…with a subtle tropical cool down.

Diminishing showers in many areas…which may increase locally again later Tuesday and Wednesday. Here’s the looping radar image for the Hawaiian Islands. The overlying atmosphere remains shower prone, at least in some areas…while drier weather is settling over most parts of the state. The trade winds will continue to bring some showers to our windward sides at times. A new outlook now has the smaller islands from Kauai to Maui drying out some Thursday into the weekend. Whatever showers that do fall however, may be briefly heavy.  I’ll be back with more updates on all of the above, I hope you have a great Monday night wherever you’re spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.

Here on Maui: The skies are mostly clear here on Maui before sunrise, although I can make out some cumulus clouds towards the West Maui Mountains, and over the north shore waters from here in Kula.  The winds are generally quite light early this morning, with a low temperature of 51 degrees here at my weather tower in Kula. It was 72 degrees down at the Kahului airport near the ocean, with 66 degrees at the Hana airport, and 37 degrees atop the Haleakala Crater. The warmest temperatures around the state were 73 degrees at Kailua Kona on the Big Island…and at Lihue AP on Kauai. / Now at 945am its a beautiful day, with mostly clear skies, a light breezes here in Kula, with a pleasant 64 degrees. At about the same time, it was a warmer 77 degrees in Kahului, 75 in Kapalua, and 75 in Hana also. The Haleakala Crater was showing 45 degrees.

~~~ We’re into the early afternoon hours now at 1250pm, under clear to partly cloudy skies. The trade winds are blowing here on Maui, as they are statewide today. Rainfall has backed off here, although the NWS has recently issued a flood advisory for some parts of the Big Island. The air temperature here at my weather tower in Kula is 75.6 degrees, with a warmer 81 degrees down near sea level in Kahului and Kapalua. The Haleakala summit was a cooler 50 degrees at the same time.

~~~ It’s now early evening at 615pm, under quickly clearing skies, at least here on the western slopes of the Haleakala Crater in Kula. Looking out across the rest of the island as we head towards sunset, there’s a mix of high and lower level clouds. Those high cirrus arriving from the west, should take on some color as the sun sets soon. As the sun set, I found a growing moon in the eastern sky, which is heading towards Full over the next several days.


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: 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: An Organic Future – The words ‘organic’ and ‘sustainability’ are bandied around quite a bit. While some won’t eat anything but organic, others deny that there’s any future in organic farming. After all, with a population that’s seven billion-strong and growing, how can we possibly expect organics to feed the world? Or so the critics ask. In their view, feeding the masses simply can’t be done without strong chemicals and genetic modification.


However, organic farming has far more capacity than many people imagine. It goes way, way beyond growing a few tomato plants on your back verandah. Besides, if we want to live on a clean, healthy planet, going organic is the only way forward – not only for gardeners and farmers, but also for all businesses related to agriculture, from your local café to your nearest supermarket, from your preferred beautician to your favorite clothing boutique. In fact, when you think about just how many industries depend on agriculture, it’s clear that a shift towards sustainable, chemical-free practices is essential.


Worker and consumer health


The first and most pressing argument for organics is human health. Current intensive agricultural practices expose people — especially farmworkers — to toxic pesticides. In 2002, a Californian study revealed that, between 1997 and 2000, an average of 475 farmworkers suffered pesticide poisoning annually. As the study suggests, the total figure was probably much higher, given that many cases go unreported each year. What’s more? Increasingly, studies are demonstrating links between pesticides and cancer, as well as disruption of the endocrine system.


Meanwhile, those at the other end of organic farming – consumers – also face health risks. Food grown using intensive techniques can contain pesticide residues, which consumers ingest when they eat. Plus, some studies show that organic products are more nutritious than their conventionally farmed counterparts. For example, a study (PDF) conducted by the (admittedly biased) Organic Center showed that organic food performs much better when it comes to antioxidant power, polyphenol levels and flavonoid levels. And the same goes for animal products. Dairy products from animals raised on organic farms, which haven’t been fed antibiotics, tend to be higher in antioxidants and omega-3.


Environmental health


If we’re serious about keeping our planet healthy, and make it available for future generations, there’s no way that we can continue to support intensive agriculture. When pesticides and other strong chemicals are sprayed on our crops, they end up not only in our soil, but also in our waterways. Over time, this causes our soil to become severely depleted of nutrients, and eventually completely unable to support life. For our waterways, it can mean extreme pollution. Given that we rely on our rivers for our very survival, there’s no question that our future depends on us turning to organic farming.


But can organic farming produce enough food and materials?


Some people believe that organic strategies are only suitable for private or small-scale farming. But numerous studies have illustrated that organic strategies can produce just as much output – if not more – than regular methods. For example, back in 1989, the U.S. National Research Council studied eight organic farms across the United States – from an Ohio-based farm of 400 acres specializing in grain and livestock, to a California-based farm where 1,400 acres of grapes were growing. When compared with nearby farms, where intensive practices were being exercised, the organic farms yielded just as much, if not more, produce on average.


Economics


Finally, one argument often put forward in favor of conventional methods is economics. Supporters of the status quo believe that intensive farming is superior because it means we can produce plenty of food at much cheaper rates than organics can. But this is an exceptionally short-sighted view. For a start, the amount of disease being caused by the chemicals in the environment is already weighing on our health system – and this is only going to become a more and more expensive problem.


Secondly, the more organics are used, the cheaper they’ll become. Running an organic farm actually requires less expensive equipment and chemicals than a conventional one does – plus, once organics become more widespread, operating costs will decrease significantly.


The future


So, if we want to assure ourselves of a happy, healthy, safe future, the only way forward is organics. By reducing the number and intensity of toxic chemicals in our world, we can look forward to living in a planet where disease is reduced and our environment stays pristine for generations to come.