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

81 – 73  Lihue, Kauai
82 – 70  Honolulu, Oahu
81 – 69  Molokai AP
84 68  Kahului, Maui
84 71  Kona Intl AP, Hawaii
82 – 66  Hilo, Hawaii

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


1.15  Mount Waialeale, Kauai
0.39  Punaluu Stream, Oahu
0.17  Puu Alii, Molokai
0.00  Lanai
0.00  Kahoolawe
0.41  Puu Kukui, Maui
0.30  Saddle Quarry, Big Island


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


23  Port Allen, Kauai – SE
37  Kuaokala,
Oahu – NE
28  Molokai – NE
33  Lanai – NE

31  Kahoolawe – NE
32  Maalaea Bay, Maui – NNW

32  Pali 2, 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://www.weather.unisys.com/satellite/sat_ir_enh_west_loop-12.gif
Low pressure system and a cold front far to the north of the islands…
large areas of high cirrus clouds to our southwest and south


http://www.goes.noaa.gov/GIFS/HAIR.JPG
Low clouds being carried our way on the trade winds…along
with icy cirrus moving overhead from the west


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

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


Here’s the looping radar image for the Hawaiian Islands

Small Craft Advisory…locally strong trade winds
over the windiest coastal and channel waters
around Maui County and the Big Island

High Surf Advisory…all south facing shores


~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative
~~~



Gusty trade winds will continue…picking up a notch Friday into the weekend
. 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 large high pressure systems located to the northeast and northwest of the state, with an associated ridge extending to our north. As a result of these high pressure features, and low pressure well to the south, our winds will come in from the trade wind direction. These trade winds will remain strong and gusty in our most exposed locations, especially around Maui County and the Big Island. The outlook shows no definite end to this long lasting trade wind episode, continuing more or less in the moderately strong realms through Thursday…then increasing a notch during the weekend into early next week.

Showers will continue in an off and on manner…mostly along the windward coasts and slopes. The windward sides will see the most notable shower activity. Most of the incoming showers will arrive during the cooler night and early morning hours. As the trade winds continue, we’ll find off and on windward showers well into the future. The overlying atmosphere is now relatively dry and stable, which will keep our showers in the light to moderately heavy range. There may be a couple of showers carried over into the leeward sides at times, and a few falling in the upcountry area during the afternoon hours on the Big Island and perhaps Maui. As the trade winds become stronger during the weekend, we’ll see a corresponding increase in windward showers Sunday into early next week. I’ll be back with more updates on all of the above, I hope you have a great Wednesday night wherever you’re spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.

Here on Maui...early Wednesday morning before sunrise, there are the classic low clouds banked up against the windward sides, while the leeward beaches are mostly cloud free. Here in Kula, it’s clear and calm, with a cool 47.8F degrees. In contrast, down at the Kahului AP at the same time, the temperature was a warmer 71 degrees. The recently passed full moon is still up there in a big way…although is beginning to lose some of its prior size now.

We’ve now pushed into the early afternoon, with the usual increase in clouds over the island locally…with the beaches still basking in warm sunshine. Since I was comparing the temperatures between here in Kula and down in Kahului earlier, let’s do that again now. Kula is 68 at noon, while the Kahului AP was 81 at the same time. There’s a few streaks of high cirrus, which will be increasing during the day…likely leading to a colorful sunset. Finally, there’s a few light drops falling from above, not enough to qualify as a bona fide shower though, at least not yet.

We’re into the early evening hours, with partly cloudy skies just about everywhere. I felt a couple of the softest little drops falling at one point, although those are long gone. Looking up the mountain, towards the summit of the Haleakala Crater, there’s dark clouds. The air temperature here at my weather tower in Kula was 70.3 degrees, with Kahului AP at 78, and the Haleakala Crater 55…all at the same general time.


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 06W (Noul) remains active, and expected to strengthen further as it swings by offshore the northern Philippine Islands later in the week. Here’s the JTWC graphical track map…along with a satellite image. Here’s what the global models are showing for this developing tropical cyclone

Tropical Depression 07W
is now active, and expected to gradually strengthen further…becoming a typhoon as it heads towards Phnpei and then Guam. Here’s the JTWC graphical track map…along with a satellite image. Here’s what the global models are showing for this developing tropical cyclone


>>>
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:
How forests can end global hunger  Forests and forestry are essential to achieve global food security as the limits of boosting agricultural production are becoming increasingly clear, a new study published today reveals.


The findings are included in the most comprehensive scientific analysis to date on the relationship among forests, food and nutrition launched today in New York at a side event of the United Nations Forum on Forests.


The new report released by the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO), the world’s largest network of forest scientists, also underlines the need for the most vulnerable groups of society to have secure access to forest foods.


More than 60 renowned scientists from around the world collaborated on the peer-reviewed publication “Forests, Trees and Landscapes for Food Security and Nutrition. A Global Assessment Report”, which was coordinated by IUFRO on behalf of the Collaborative Partnership on Forests (CPF).


“This report reminds us of the vital role of forests in building food security. It makes a convincing case for multi-functional and integrated landscape approaches and calls for community level engagement to re-imagine forestry and agriculture systems”, says Thomas Gass, Assistant Secretary-General for Policy of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs.


“Large-scale crop production is highly vulnerable to extreme weather events, which may occur more frequently under climate change. Science shows that tree-based farming can adapt far better to such calamities.” says Christoph Wildburger, the coordinator of IUFRO’s Global Forest Expert Panels (GFEP) initiative. “We know that forests already play a key role in mitigating the effects of climate change. This report makes it very clear that they also play a key role in alleviating hunger and improving nutrition.”


“Forest foods often provide a safety net during periods of food shortages,” says Bhaskar Vira, University of Cambridge, and the chair of the Global Forest Expert Panel on Forests and Food Security, which compiled the report. “In the study, we reveal impressive examples which show how forests and trees can complement agricultural production and contribute to the income of local people, especially in the most vulnerable regions of the world.”


The benefits of forests and trees to nutrition are manifold:


* Tree foods are often rich in vitamins, proteins, and other nutrients and are associated with more diverse diets. For example, the iron content of dried seeds of the African locust bean and raw cashew nut are comparable with, or even higher than, that of chicken meat.


* Wild meat, fish, and insects are also important forest food sources. Insects are an especially cheap, abundant source of protein, fat, vitamins and minerals. Particularly in Southeast Asia, many forests and agroforests (tree-based farms) are managed by local communities specifically to enhance edible insect supply.


* Forests are also essential for firewood and charcoal. In developing countries, 2.4 billion households use these renewable biofuels for cooking and heating. In India and Nepal, for example, even better-off rural households depend on woodfuels.


* Trees offer a multitude of ecological services. For instance, they support bees and other pollinators, which are essential for crop production including on farmland. They also provide animal fodder that enables communities to produce meat and milk, and protect streams and watersheds as habitat for fish.


According to the report, close to one out of six persons directly depend on forests for their food and income. In the Sahel region, for example, trees contribute 80% on average to household incomes, especially through shea nut production. Evidence also shows that worldwide the lower the level of prosperity, the higher the share of forests in household incomes.


The report documents efforts currently underway in Africa and elsewhere to develop new tree commodities to supply the poor with sustainable incomes. For example, poor producers in Tanzania are engaged in a global effort to produce the seeds of the Allanblackia crop, which yield an edible oil with potential for the global food market. A private-public partnership known as Novella Africa is developing a sustainable Allanblackia oil business that they believe could be worth USD hundreds of millions annually for local farmers.


“What keeps people hungry is often not the lack of food, but the lack of access to that food and control over its production. We need to recognize claims over food sovereignty which give local people greater control over their food,” notes Bhaskar Vira. “Improved tenure rights and stronger rights for women who are becoming more and more responsible for food production from agricultural and forest lands are key to ensure the success of sustainable poverty reduction efforts.”


Although forests are not a panacea for global hunger, the report emphasizes that they play a vital role in complementing crops produced on farms. This is especially important when the staple food supply is impaired by droughts, volatile prices, armed conflicts, or other crises. This forest-farm link also means that the loss and degradation of forests exacerbate the problem of food insecurity. Indeed, the report points out that the expansion of agricultural land accounts for 73 per cent of forest loss worldwide.


The study comes in the lead up to the United Nations’ finalization of the Sustainable Development Goals, designed to address, among other global challenges, poverty and hunger. The report also provides useful insight into how the UN can respond to the “Zero Hunger Challenge,” which aims to eliminate global hunger by 2025.