Hawaiian Islands Weather details & Aloha Paragraphs / May 29-30, 2015

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

82 – 67  Lihue, Kauai
86 – 69  Honolulu, Oahu
82 – 69  Molokai AP
84 – 71  Kahului, Maui
87 – 72  Kailua Kona
83 – 68  Hilo, Hawaii

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

0.13  Kilohana, Kauai
0.05  Poamoho RG 1, Oahu
0.46  Puu Alii, Molokai
0.00  Lanai
0.00  Kahoolawe
0.47  Kahakuloa, Maui
0.68  Pali 2, Big Island

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

18  Mana, Kauai – NW
29  Kuaokala, Oahu – NNE
24  Molokai – N
22  Lanai – NE
24  Kahoolawe – NNE
25  Kapalua, Maui – NNE
24  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

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

Clear to partly cloudy…some locally cloudy areas –
looping version of this image

Showers are falling over the nearby ocean…with some
spreading over the windward sides locally

Here’s the looping radar image for the Hawaiian Islands

Rising large surf…along our south shores Sunday into Monday

~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~

Recent lighter than normal northeasterly winds picking up this weekend, easing up again for a few days during the first half of next week…and then back to normal late spring wind flow through the rest of the 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 well to the northwest, north and northeast of the state. At the same time, there’s low pressure cells north and northeast of Hawaii, along with a trough of low pressure near the Big Island.  As a result of these rather complex weather features, we’ll find generally light to locally moderate northeast breezes over the western islands, with daytime sea breezes, and overnight down slope land breezes over the eastern side of the state. 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 slightly lighter trade winds for a couple of days, which should pick up into more normal realms later in the week…more closely matching climatology than we’ve seen recently.

We’ll see localized afternoon showers over the mountains…and some passing windward showers at times too. As we move through the rest of this week, we’ll find better established trade wind flow across the state.  This should put us back into a more normal trade wind weather pattern going forward. The windward sides will receive most of the showers, although there may be more than the normal amount over the next several days. At the same time, there will continue to be a few interior showers during the afternoon hours too. Looking ahead, as the trade winds ease-up a touch for a day or two starting Monday, we could see more of those upcountry afternoon showers falling locally. The trades will rebound during the second half of next week, with the usual windward biased showers. I’ll be back with more updates on all of the above, I hope you have a great Friday night wherever you’re spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.

Here on Maui...early Friday morning near sunrise, skies are clear to partly cloudy. The air temperature here in Kula at 6am was 53.6 degrees, 72 at the Kahului AP, 66 in Hana, and a cooler 43 degrees atop the Haleakala Crater. / Now at just before 9am, skies are mostly sunny, and it’s a very beautiful day here on Maui!

– It’s late afternoon, with clouds having moved over much of the island, although I can see some sunshine down at the beaches too. Here in upcountry Kula, its cloudy with a fairly heavy mist or drizzle falling. The air temperature at 440pm was 69.8 degrees here at my weather tower, while it was a warmer 82 degrees at the Kahului airport, with 81 in Kapalua, and 72 degrees out at the Hana airport with light rain falling.

– We’re into the early evening, with clear to cloudy weather, depending upon where you are. Here in Kula, it is mostly cloudy, and the recent mist and drizzle has stopped for the moment.

~~~ I was in Honolulu earlier this week, attending the NWS Outlook Briefing for the 2015 hurricane season here in the Central Pacific. 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 me 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: Hurricane 01E (Andres)

The National Hurricane Center continues issuing advisories on 
Hurricane 01E (Andres), located about 700 miles southwest of
of the southern tip of Baja California. Here's the NHC graphical track map.

Maximum sustained winds are near 105 mph with higher gusts. Some slight strengthening

is forecast today 

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

hurricane models are showing for Hurricane Andres

1.)  A small area of showers and thunderstorms located several hundred
miles south of Acapulco, Mexico is associated with a weak area of
low pressure. Currently, strong upper-level winds associated with
Hurricane Andres are inhibiting the development of this low.
However, these winds are forecast to weaken by Monday and the
formation of a tropical cyclone is highly likely by the middle of
next week as the system drifts west-northwestward.

* Formation chance through 48 hours...low...10 percent 
* Formation chance through 5 days...high...80 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.