Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures (F) were recorded across the state of Hawaii Tuesday…along with the minimums Tuesday:
86 – 76 Lihue, Kauai
91 – 78 Honolulu, Oahu – 91 tied the all time record for Tuesday
87 – 73 Molokai
90 – 71 Kahului, Maui – the all time record for Tuesday was 94…set back in 1984
88 – 79 Kailua Kona
88 – 72 Hilo, Hawaii
Here are the latest 24-hour precipitation totals (inches) for each of the islands, as of Tuesday evening:
4.28 Mount Waialeale, Kauai
3.46 Maunawili, Oahu
0.14 Puu Alii, Molokai
0.00 Lanai
0.00 Kahoolawe
0.98 Kula 1, Maui
0.72 Kapapala Ranch, Big Island
The following numbers represent the strongest wind gusts (mph)…as of Tuesday evening:
17 Poipu, Kauai – NE
24 Honolulu AP, Oahu – NE
24 Molokai – NE
24 Lanai – NE
31 Kahoolawe – NE
29 Kahului AP, Maui – NE
24 Upolu AP, 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 what’s left of former tropical depression Enrique
well to our east, along with former tropical depression
Dolores offshore from Southern California…and a new
tropical system almost ready to form well offshore from
the Mexican coast – more information below
We see the swirl of clouds associated with former
tropical depression Enrique to the east of us…with
thunderstorms south of Hawaii – Looping version
Scattered cloud patches moving across our area…
and forming over the islands locally too
Looping version
Showers falling locally…especially southwest of
Oahu and Maui County – some moderately heavy
looping radar image
High Surf Advisory…east shores of Kauai,
Oahu, Molokai, Maui and the Big Island
~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~
The trade winds will be lighter than normal through Thursday. 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 fairly strong, near 1035 millibar high pressure system to the north of the state…now nearly stationary. Meanwhile, there are tropical disturbances/troughs west and east of the state. The trade winds are expected to continue, although be relatively light through Thursday, resulting in a mix of light to locally moderate trades…and daytime sea breezes. The orientation will be just southeast enough, that some volcanic haze will drift over to Maui County, and perhaps Oahu. The forecast has the trade winds rebounding later Thursday into Friday, faltering again during the weekend…eading to increased humidity.
There will be showers falling locally at times. There’s a chance that a few of the afternoon showers will be enhanced enough, that they could become rather generous…with even a chance of thunder on the Kona slopes of the Big Island. This modified convective weather pattern will last through Wednesday. As we push into the second half of the week, a more typical trade wind weather will return, with windward showers taking over then. There’s the good chance that the remnant moisture associated with former TC Enrique, will get carried into the state on the trade wind flow towards Friday or Saturday, unless it passes by to our north…stay tuned. Finally, a large south swell is expected to arrive in Hawaii Friday, and will be large enough to bring advisory, and possible warning level surf along south facing shores this weekend. I’ll be back with more updates on all of the above and below, I hope you have a great Tuesday night wherever you’re spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.
Here on Maui…It’s 535am Tuesday morning, skies are mostly clear over the island…along with a light amount of haze. The air temperature here in Kula, at my upcountry weather tower was 57.9 degrees, while it was 74 down at the Kahului airport, 73 out in Hana…with a 41 degree reading up at the summit of the Haleakala Crater at near the same time.
– We’re well into the afternoon now, at 350pm, under partly to mostly cloudy skies. There’s still this light hazy for some reason…looks to me like a little vog is trying to sneak up from the Big Island vents. Here in Kula, it’s cloudy and we had a brief, light shower around 1pm, which passed very quickly. / Now at 445pm, a shower just arrived, coming straight down, and is light, almost qualifying as moderately heavy. The air temperature was 73.8 degrees here at my Kula weather tower, while it was 88 down in Kahului at the same time, 84 in Kapalua, 82 in Hana, and a cooler 50 up at the summit of the Haleakala Crater.
World-wide tropical cyclone activity:
>>> Atlantic Ocean: There are no active tropical cyclones
>>> Caribbean Sea: There are no active tropical cyclones
>>> Gulf of Mexico: There are no active tropical cyclones
Here’s a satellite image of the Atlantic Ocean
Here’s a satellite image of the Caribbean Sea…and the Gulf of Mexico
Tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 5 days over the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea or Atlantic Ocean
Here’s the link to the National Hurricane Center (NHC)
>>> Eastern Pacific: There are no active tropical cyclones
1.) An area of low pressure located about 525 miles south-southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula continues to produce disorganized showers and thunderstorms. Upper-level winds are forecast to become a little more conducive for development and this system is still expected to become a tropical depression during the next day or so. The low is forecast to move over cooler waters on Friday and development after that time is not anticipated.
When this system becomes a little more organized, and becomes a tropical depression, it will take on the title TD 07E…and if it strengthens into a tropical storm, it would take on the name TS Felicia. The models show it remaining offshore from the Mexican coast, taking a more or less west-northwesterly track.
Here’s a satellite image, along with the animated version…and what the hurricane models are showing
* Formation chance through 48 hours…high…80 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: There are no active tropical cyclones
>>> Northwest Pacific Ocean:
Typhoon 1C (Halola) remains active…located about 554 NM east-southeast of Kadena AB, Okinawa, Japan
Here’s the JTWC graphical track map, along with a satellite image of this gradually strengthening tropical cyclone. Here’s what the computer 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)
A new study published in Global Change Biology, by researchers at the U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, assesses how global climate change will affect future malaria risk to native Hawaiian bird populations in the coming century.an.
Mosquito-carried diseases such as avian pox and avian malaria have been devastating native Hawaiian forest birds. A single mosquito bite can transfer malaria parasites to a susceptible bird, where the death rate may exceed 90 percent for some species. As a result, many already threatened or endangered native birds now only survive in disease-free refuges found in high-elevation forests where mosquito populations and malaria development are limited by colder temperatures. Unlike continental bird species, island birds cannot move northward in response to climate change or increased disease stressors, but must adapt or move to less hospitable habitats to survive.
“We knew that temperature had significant effects on mosquitoes and malaria, but we were surprised that rainfall also played an important role,” said USGS Wisconsin Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit scientist Michael Samuel. “Additional rainfall will favor mosquitoes as much as the temperature change.”
With warming temperatures, mosquitoes will move farther upslope and increase in number. The authors expect high-elevation areas to remain mosquito-free, but only until mid-century when mosquito-friendly temperatures will begin to appear at higher elevations. Future increases in rainfall will likely benefit the mosquitoes as well.
Scientists know that historically, malaria has caused bird extinctions, but changing climates could affect the bird-mosquito-disease system in unknown ways. “We wanted to figure out how climate change impacts birds in the future,” said Wei Liao, post-doctorate at University of Wisconsin-Madison and lead author of the article.
As more mosquitoes move up the mountainside, disease-free refuges will no longer provide a safe haven for the most vulnerable species. The rate of disease infection is likely to speed up as the numbers of mosquitoes increase and more diseased birds become hosts to the parasites, continuing the cycle of infection to healthy birds.
Researchers conclude that future global climate change will cause substantial decreases in the abundance and diversity of remaining Hawaiian bird communities. Without significant intervention many native Hawaiian species, like the scarlet ‘I‘iwi with its iconic curved bill, will suffer major population declines or extinction due to increasing risk from avian malaria during the 21st century.
There is hope for the birds. Because these effects are unlikely to appear before mid-century, natural resource managers have time to implement conservation strategies to protect these unique species from further decimation. Land managers could work toward preventing forest bird number declines by restoring and improving habitat for the birds, reducing mosquitoes on a large scale and controlling predators of forest birds.
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