Hawaiian Islands Weather details & Aloha Paragraphs / May 28-29, 2015

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

81 – 68  Lihue, Kauai
84 – 72  Honolulu, Oahu
83 – 66  Molokai AP
84 – 71  Kahului, Maui
84 – 71  Kailua Kona
79 – 69  Hilo, Hawaii

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

2.17  Kilohana, Kauai
1.51  Waiahole, Oahu
0.02  Kamalo, Molokai
0.01  Lanai
0.03  Kahoolawe
0.19  Kahului AP, Maui
0.77  Saddle Quarry, Big Island

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

20  Mana, Kauai – NW
25  Kuaokala, Oahu – NNE
18  Molokai – NNE
13  Lanai – NE
14  Kahoolawe – NE
17  Maalaea Bay, Maui – NNE
17  Puuanahulu, Big Island – NW

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

We see an unusual low pressure system far to the northeast…while the
eastern Pacific has Tropical Storm 01E (Andres) now spinning –
more information below on this strengthening storm

Patchy clouds…some mostly cloudy areas – looping version of this image

A few showers are falling over the nearby ocean…
spreading over some parts of the islands at times

Here’s the looping radar image for the Hawaiian Islands

Wind Advisory…summits on the Big Island –
35 to 45 mph with gusts to over 60 mph

~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~

Unseasonably light northeasterly winds…picking up some this weekend into 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 located far to the west-northwest and east-northeast of the state…and just to our north…along with a low pressure system to the north. There’s a trough of low pressure over the eastern side of the state as well. As a result of these weather features, we’ll find generally light to locally moderate northeast breezes with daytime sea breezes, and overnight down slope land breezes through Friday. It’s looking likely that a more normal trade wind weather pattern will become established this weekend. As we get into early next week, it appears that we’ll have our trade winds drop off for several days once again, which is very unusual for this time of year.

We’ll see localized afternoon showers over the mountains…and along the coasts at times too. As we move through the rest of this week, with generally lighter than normal winds, we’ve shifted into a modified convective weather pattern. We’ll find more than the ordinary amount of clouds, particularly during the afternoons, with showers over the interior upcountry areas…some may become quite generous in a few locations.  The windward sides too will receive a few showers, especially in those areas exposed to the gradually strengthening trade winds…first on Kauai and Oahu. Looking ahead, as the trade winds slack-off next Monday through Wednesday, we could see more of those upcountry afternoon showers flaring up, some of which could become quite generous. 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...early Thursday morning near sunrise, skies are partly cloudy, with a few light showers falling locally. The air temperature here in Kula at 550am was 61.7 degrees, 72 at the Kahului AP, 68 in Hana, and a cooler 41 degrees atop the Haleakala Crater.

– We’re into the early afternoon hours now, under partly to mostly cloudy weather, with light breezes for the most part. Here in Kula at my weather tower at 1225pm, it was 68.5 degrees, with  off and on light drizzle over the fast few hours.

– It’s now into the evening hours, with partly to mostly cloudy skies across Maui. Here in Kula, it has lightly showered since 10am this morning, in an off and on manner…mixed in with periods of light drizzle at times too. The weather has not been normal, with a large low pressure system far to our north, up in the area where we usually have a trade wind producing high pressure system. It has been much more cloudy than normal lately, although there were times today with lots of sunshine beaming down over our local beaches.

~~~ I was in Honolulu a couple of days ago, attending the NWS Outlook Briefing for the 2015 hurricane season. I was sitting there in the audience, when there was an announcement for this years Dr. Arthur N.L. Chiu Award for Hurricane Preparedness. I was very surprised to hear my name called out in regards to this honor! Nonetheless, I walked up to the front of the room, and was presented this rather prestigious Award. The presenters included the Vice Director of the State Civil Defense Agency (Doug Mayne), Hawaii’s Adjunct General (Brigadier General Arthur Logan), and the Governor of Hawaii (David Ige). Many of the major players in Hawaii’s weather world were in attendance, along with most of Hawaii’s TV weathermen and women, and of course the press. Here’s a picture of my receiving this award, I was very proud to say the least…one of the definite milestones in my career thus far.

~~~ The Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC) is predicting a busy storm season this year, which runs from June through the end of November in our area. In their pre-season press conference they predicted 5 to 8 tropical cyclones could form in the Central Pacific basin this year.  The normal number is 4-5 tropical systems. The busiest months for hurricanes are July thorough October, and models point to a 70% chance for an above normal season…because of the strengthening El Nino conditions.

>>> 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: Tropical Storm 01E (Andres)

TROPICAL WEATHER OUTLOOK
NWS NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL

For the eastern North Pacific…east of 140 degrees west longitude:

The National Hurricane Center is issuing advisories on 
Tropical Storm 01E (Andres), located about 780 miles south-southwest of
of the southern tip of Baja California. Here's the NHC graphical track map.

Maximum sustained winds are near 70 mph with higher
gusts.  Some strengthening is forecast during the next 48 hours,
and Andres is expected to become a hurricane later today.

Here's a looping satellite image of this system - and what the

hurricane models are showing for Tropical Storm Andres

1.)  A small area of disorganized cloudiness and showers associated with
a tropical wave is located several hundred miles south of Acapulco,
Mexico.  Upper-level winds are not expected to be favorable during
the next few days while the system moves slowly west-northwestward,
but they could become more conducive for development early next
week.

* Formation chance through 48 hours...low...near 0 percent 
* Formation chance through 5 days...low...30 percent

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: Greening the Airline Industry – The airline sector is trying to lessen its carbon footprint. In mid-June, the Paris Air Show will host the COP21 seen from the sky conference. Boeing and Airbus are concentrating their commercial efforts on the environment, which is now a selling point.

“CO2 affects our ability to grow,” said Jonathon Counsell, Head of Environment for British Airways, during a day dedicated to the environment organised by Airbus at its Toulouse site.

Airlines make up 2% of worldwide CO2 emissions. But the doubling of passengers every 15 years has made it a growing source of greenhouse gases. Due to the strong link between the sector and fossil fuels, reducing its CO2 emission is a challenge. The problem of electricity storage rules out its use in the air, which thus leaves airline manufacturers, which have promised to stabilise their CO2 emissions by 2020, with few options.

A need for liquid energy

“We are forced to use liquid energy, whether it be petrol or biofuel. But biofuels must be a priority for the aviation industry,” believes Eileen Van Den Tweel, Head of Innovation at KLM.

In comparison with pure kerosene (jet fuel), using biofuels would represent a 50 – 80% reduction in CO2 emissions, depending on the composition of the biofuel.

Following long discussions over the merits of using land as a source of energy, the European Parliament recently decided to limit the use of biofuels to 7% of energy to be used in the transport sector, in comparison with the current figure of 10%. The policy is designed to avoid deforestation.

For the aviation industry, biofuels represent the only feasible alternative to petrol. The industry has resorted to using recycled cooking oils, as well as sugarcane, and other plant-based fuels.

But the price is exorbitant: 2.5 to 6 times more expensive than the price of a conventional fuel. The industry is also considering research on other liquid fuels, such as biomass or domestic waste, which have not moved beyond the research stage.

Energy efficiency

Facing such intrinsic fuel-related problems, the aeronautics industry has looked at other more promising possibilities, beginning with that of energy efficiency.

There is no lack of ideas on how to enhance performance, in particular with regards to improving the aircraft. The use of metallic elements has been in decline in favour of utilising lighter composites. As such, the most recent Airbus, the A350, is made up of more composites (53%) than metal. Manufacturers are also looking at the interior design of the aircraft in order to minimise CO2 emissions per passenger.