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

81 – 73  Lihue, Kauai
78 – 67  Honolulu, Oahu
8166  Molokai AP
8561  Kahului, Maui
85 – 73  Kailua Kona
81 – 65  Hilo, Hawaii

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


0.01  Kilohana, Kauai
1.81  Maunawili, Oahu
0.09  Puu Alii, Molokai
0.20  Lanai
0.00  Kahoolawe
0.08  Hana AP, Maui
0.45  Pahoa, Big Island


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


13  Waimea Heights, Kauai – SW
16  Kii – ENE
21  Molokai – ESE
13  Lanai – NW
35  Kahoolawe – NE
27  Kapalua, Maui – NE

25  Kealakomo, Big Island – NE


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.



Aloha Paragraphs


http://weather.unisys.com/satellite/sat_ir_enh_west_loop-12.gif
The next cold front is approaching the state to our northwest

http://www.goes.noaa.gov/GIFS/HAIR.JPG
Patchy low clouds mixed with clear skies across the state


http://radar.weather.gov/Conus/RadarImg/hawaii.gif

Showers are falling locally over the central islands…some
have been generous on Oahu


Here’s the looping radar image for the
Hawaiian Islands

 


~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative
~~~


The
Mauna Kea Summit…on the Big Island of Hawaii



The trade winds remain active, although lighter…continuing into the new 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 northwest, with an associated ridge of high pressure to the north and northwest of Hawaii. At the same time, we have a low pressure system far to the north of the islands, with an associated cold front well offshore to the northwest of the islands.
The trade winds are still blowing…which should falter some by Tuesday briefly. It appears that a trade wind weather pattern will continue by the middle of next week onwards.

A relatively dry and stable atmosphere remains over the state, will limit our shower activity…with a few exceptions. As the trade winds remain active however, there’s always the chance of windward showers and over the mountains, with dry conditions along our leeward sides on most of the islands. The models continue to show another cold front approaching the islands later Sunday into Monday, although have it stalling before arriving over Kauai. Nonetheless, we may see some increase in showers near Kauai and perhaps Oahu as it gets closer. The longer range outlook suggests that an area of showers may move into the state around Tuesday…stay tuned. I’ll be back with more updates on all of the above, I hope you have a great Saturday night wherever you’re spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.

Here on Maui: The skies are mostly clear over Maui early this Saturday morning, with still a few clouds and light showers banked-up against the windward slopes. The low temperature was 48.9 degrees here at my Kula weather tower at 555am, while it was 63 degrees down at the Kahului airport, 70 at the Hana airport, and 46 degrees atop the Haleakala Crater at the same time. The warmest low temperature around the state was 74 degrees at Kailua Kona on the Big Island.

~~~ We’re into the afternoon hours now at 220pm, under mostly cloudy skies, and even some showers falling locally. Here in Kula, there’s a light mist, with an air temperature of 69.8 degrees, and totally calm winds. As noted above, there were a few exceptions to the otherwise rather dry conditions, and one of those was definitely localized areas on Oahu…where a temporary flood advisory was active.

~~~ It’s early evening now at 6pm, under partly cloudy skies, and a bit of haze in the central valley. It’s been a dry day up here in Kula, although there was a brief period of very light mist during the early afternoon hours. I expect most of these clouds to evaporate tonight, leaving a mostly clear start to our day Sunday.

Friday Evening Film: There are several pretty good looking films out now, although one in particular, actually there are several, that are rather enticing. Jeff and I will see one called The Gunman, while Svetlana will see Cinderella. Actually, as it turned out, Svetlana came with us to see this film. This piece of work garnered low to very low grades according to the critics, although you can’t always believe what the reviews have to say. At any rate, The Gunman stars Sean Penn, Jasmine Trinca, Idris Elba, Javier Bardem, Mark Rylance, and Ray Winstone…among others. The synopsis: a former Special Forces soldier (Sean Penn), who has PTSD tries to reconnect with his longtime lover, but must first go on the run across Europe to clear his name. 

~~~ This film checked in as a heavy weight, with all the violence that one would expect…and then a bit more than that! I only had to close my eyes once however, and it was when I thought a bull fighter was going to kill a bull in the ring. Fortunately, as both Jeff and Svetlana let me know afterwards, the bull survived…or at least they didn’t show that particular killing scene. Let’s face it, if we see Sean Penn in a film, we know it’s going to be edgy. On the other hand, you also somehow know that it will have a humanitarian bent, which this film had as well. It’s tempting to give too much as a viewer, just because Sean Penn is in the starring role somehow. And by the way, I felt that the leading role as Sean’s love interest in the film, perhaps wasn’t quite the right actress…as she left me feeling slightly let down. As a side note, there were more than enough shootouts as one would expect, and all those big guns were somehow made very loud…making lots of noise throughout.

As for grades, I wasn’t as impressed as Jeff, who gave it an A rating, while Svetlana came in with a B+…as I saw it as just a strong B film. In sum, I’m glad I had this experience, as I always like going out to dinner and seeing a film with my two good friends, although it wasn’t one of my favorite films of the year. If you’re so inclined after reading the above, and knowing full well the name of this film…here’s the trailer.


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:
Typhoon 04W (Maysak) remains active in the northwest Pacific, here’s the JTWC graphical track map, along with a satellite image…and what the computer weather models are showing.


>>> 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:
Shifting temperatures will affect flavors, quality of food Love scrumptious vegan pizza? You’d better enjoy it while you can, because climate change is moving in to hog a slice. According to an Australian report, Appetite for Change, climate change isn’t just going to decimate existing crops — it’s also going to change the way the survivors taste. And not in a good way. The researchers say that we’re going to be eating increasingly bland, tasteless, mushy food because of the way shifting temperatures are affecting farming, and in fact, it’s already started happening.


We’re already aware that climate change is forcing agriculture to adjust. The amount of arable land on Earth is decreasing, and the types of food we can grow are also shifting — some regions are getting too hot and dry for traditional crops, for example. Changes in the climate may eventually wipe out some crops altogether, while others may become extremely rare and expensive. Coffee and cocoa, two extremely popular luxury crops, are particularly unhappy examples of this situation, as the plants are fussy and require very particular conditions to grow. Once those conditions are disrupted, they find it extremely difficult to recover.


The most stark illustration of the problem with climate change and produce may actually come from a Japanese study conducted in 2013. The researchers evaluated nearly 40 years of data on apples, looking at a number of quality metrics like texture, flavor and firmness. Over time, they discovered that apples were mushy, grainy, bland and less tart than before — in other words, our apples were really starting to get pretty terrible. Importantly, they found that trees were blooming earlier than before, and that even when harvest times were adjusted to account for the earlier blooming period, the apples collected were still of poor quality. This reflected a problem not just with the growing season, but also with how the fruit matured — bad news for apple fans.


Poor root vegetables took a particular beating in this study. They rely on rich, loose soil with excellent drainage and good moisture, otherwise they can’t grow to full size and they can become wooden and flavorless. They also need lush, healthy greens to photosynthesize and draw energy into the root — that’s what gives roots their size and flavor. Moreover, it’s important that the plants not “bolt” — go to seed too early — because the roots won’t fully develop if that’s the case. That means thin, woody, straggly carrots and beets without much flavor. Blech. Meanwhile, potatoes will be more prone to blight.


Fruit and nut trees may also get into trouble if the weather doesn’t get cool enough in the winter months to trigger important seasonal changes, while wheat and other grains will suffer too. These could amount to massive expenses for farmers on wasted and failed crops as well as conversions — if, for example, a farmer decides to stop growing almonds, she needs to invest in tearing out the orchard and planting new crops. If she’s planning on replacing her almonds with other fruit or nut trees, she’ll have to wait for years for them to mature.


One small consolation: if you’re vegan or vegetarian, you won’t be facing the crisis for animal products predicted in this study. Changes to the environment are likely to cause a radical decline in the quality of meat, eggs and dairy — all issues you won’t have to deal with. Moreover, that quality decline could lead to a drop in consumption, which would be good for both animals and the planet.