Hawaiian Islands Weather details & Aloha Paragraphs / May 31 – June 1, 2015

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

83 – 73  Lihue, Kauai
85 – 72  Honolulu, Oahu
78 – 69  Molokai AP
85 – 68  Kahului, Maui
86 – 75  Kailua Kona
83 – 70  Hilo, Hawaii

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

0.65  Mount Waialeale, Kauai
3.19  Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu
1.40  Puu Alii, Molokai
0.00  Lanai
0.14  Kahoolawe
0.18  Hana AP, Maui
1.04  Honokaa, Big Island

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

20  Poipu, Kauai – NE
25  Kuaokala, Oahu – NE
20  Molokai – NE
16  Lanai – NE
20  Kahoolawe – E
12  Maalaea Bay, Maui – NNE
25  Kealakomo, Big Island – ESE

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

High cirrus clouds to our southwest…while the eastern Pacific has
category 4 Hurricane 01E (Andres) spinning, and
Tropical Storm 02E (Blanca) churning the waters closer to
Mexico…there is  no threat to the Hawaiian Islands –
more information below

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

Showers are falling over the nearby ocean…spreading
over parts of the islands – locally quite generous

Here’s the looping radar image for the Hawaiian Islands

High Surf Advisory…south shores of all the islands –
through 6pm

~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~

The trade winds will remain active in varying strengths…on through the new week ahead. 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 a large high pressure system located well to the northwest and north of the state, with a smaller and weaker high pressure cell far to the east-northeast. At the same time, there’s a low pressure cell northeast of Hawaii, along with the tail-end of a weak cold front offshore well to the east of the state. As a result of these weather features, we’ll find generally light to locally moderate northeast breezes over the islands. The rather complex late spring weather pattern that we find ourselves in now, will finally end…as we get into the second half of the new week. 

We’ll have localized showers over the mountains…and passing windward showers too. The windward sides will receive most of the showers that get carried our way, and there should be more than the normal amount…at times over the next several days. At the same time, there will continue to be some interior showers locally in places too. The latest thought is that both these windward showers, and the leeward upcountry showers will be enhanced to some degree…by overlying and surrounding areas of low pressure. I’ll be back with more updates on all of the above, I hope you have a great Sunday night wherever you’re spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.

Here on Maui...early Sunday morning near sunrise, skies are clear over much of the island, although with lots of clouds along the windward sides…stretching into the central valley some too. The air temperature here in Kula at 555am was 54.5 degrees, 72 down at the Kahului AP and the Hana AP, 59 at Kaupo Gap, and a cooler 43 degrees atop the Haleakala Crater.

– It’s now mid-afternoon, under partly to mostly cloudy skies on Maui. My Kula weather tower just came attack from a moderately heavy, quick little shower, which was lovely! It looks as though the leeward beaches are all sunny, with that larger than normal surf action. I can see some clouds, with what looks like showers over on the windward sides.

– We’ve just moved into the early evening hours, and at the same time, a new shower has just arrived here in upcountry Kula. Looking over towards the windward sides, there are lots of showers falling there…with no end in sight over the short term.

>>> 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)

1.) The National Hurricane Center continues issuing advisories on 
Hurricane 01E (Andres), located about 840 miles southwest of
of the southern tip of Baja California. Here's the NHC graphical track map.

Maximum sustained winds are near 140 mph with higher gusts...with a

gradual weakening expected going forward
 

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

hurricane models are showing for Hurricane Andres

2.) The National Hurricane Center now is issuing advisories on 
Tropical Storm 02E (Blanca), located about 540 miles south-southwest of
of Zihuatanejo, Mexico. Here's the NHC graphical track map.

Maximum sustained winds are near 40 mph with higher gusts...with a

gradual strengthening expected going forward

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

hurricane models are showing for Tropical Storm Blanca

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.