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

86 – 75  Lihue, Kauai
91 – 75  Honolulu, Oahu – 92 was the record for Saturday…set back in 1987
87 – 74  Molokai
89 – 77  Kahului, Maui
87 – 77  Kailua Kona
89 – 71  Hilo, Hawaii

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

0.24  Mount Waialeale, Kauai
0.12  Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu
0.01  Puu Alii, Molokai
0.00  Lanai
0.00  Kahoolawe
2.04  Ulupalakua, Maui
0.84  Puuanahulu, Big Island

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

16  Poipu, Kauai – NE
27  Kuaokala, Oahu – NNE
18  Molokai – NE
18  Lanai – NE
22  Kahoolawe – NE
15  Kaupo Gap, Maui – SE
32  Puu Mali, 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

http://weather.unisys.com/satellite/sat_ir_enh_west_loop-12.gif
We see an upper level low pressure system well to our northwest,
former tropical depression Enrique to our northeast…and
former tropical depression Felicia well offshore from the
Baja California coast – more information below

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/west/cpac/vis.jpg
We see thunderstorms well offshore to the
west and south of the islands
Looping version


http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/west/hi/vis.jpg
Clouds moving westward…with fewer to the east
Looping version


http://radar.weather.gov/Conus/RadarImg/hawaii.gif
Showers offshore, will be coming ashore at times
looping radar image

High Surf Advisory…Large surf along our south
and west shores – through Monday morning


~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~



The trade winds will soften up into Monday. 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 very large, near 1034 millibar high pressure system to the north of the state. The trade winds are expected to remain weaker than normal into the first day or two of the new week ahead, leading to increased mugginess…especially near sea level. The trades should return to more normal levels around the middle of the week onwards.

As the winds have relaxed some, we’ve shifted into a modified convective weather pattern, with afternoon clouds collecting over and around the mountains with localized showers…some will be quite generous. The lighter winds and higher humidity levels, will keep a sultry reality in place. A large south swell has arrived along our leeward beaches, keeping advisory level surf breaking…be careful. Finally, it’s interesting to note that both the GFS and NAVGEM models want to bring a slug of tropical moisture up into the area northeast of the Hawaiian Islands around next Saturday…I’ll keep an eye on this situation. I’ll be back with more updates on all of the above and below, I hope you have a great Saturday night wherever you’re spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.

Here on Maui…It’s 550am Saturday morning, skies are clear to partly cloudy. The air temperature here in Kula, at my upcountry weather tower was 58.9 degrees, while it was 78 down at the Kahului airport, 75 out in Hana, and 46 degrees up at the summit of the Haleakala Crater at about the same time.

– We’re into the middle of the afternoon now, under partly to mostly cloudy skies. Here in Kula, at my place, it’s relatively cool, cloudy, with a light shower falling. I just heard from friends down near Kahului, and they said it feels like 95 degrees down there, even right my the ocean. / 340pm…full on raining / 420pm still steady rain

– It’s now early evening, and the rains that fell through a good portion of the afternoon hours in the upcountry areas…has now ended. It’s still very cloudy however, although I can finally see down country, and I spot a few little sunny spots down in the central valley. I would imagine that clouds will clear soon after sunset, making way for mostly clear skies tonight into Sunday morning. I strongly suspect that clouds will form again Sunday afternoon, leading to more upcountry rainfall…with a repeat performance on Monday again too.

Friday Evening Film: We’ll, as has been the case for a few weeks now, there are several good looking films playing in our local theaters here in Maui. My friend Jeff and I were looking at three that would have been good enough to see, and we came up with one that has been getting good reviews. It’s called Trainwreck, starring Amy Schumer, Bill Harder, Colin Quinn, Brie Larson, Mike Birbiglia, Devin Fabry, Marisa Tomei, Daniel Radcliffe, Vanessa Bayer…among many others.

The synopsis: since she was a little girl, it’s been drilled into Amy’s (Schumer) head by her rascal of a dad (Colin Quinn) that monogamy isn’t realistic. Now a magazine writer, Amy lives by that credo-enjoying what she feels is an uninhibited life free from stifling, boring romantic commitment-but in actuality, she’s kind of in a rut. When she finds herself starting to fall for the subject of the new article she’s writing, a charming and successful sports doctor named Aaron Conners (Bill Hader), Amy starts to wonder if other grown-ups, including this guy who really seems to like her, might be on to something.

Jeff and I both thought it was a good film, a cute and often funny film. Much of the comedy was of a rather crude nature, which surprised me, and didn’t necessarily come out by watching the trailer. There were some touching scenes, and even some sophistication around the edges, although that certainly wasn’t what carried the film by any means. It was a romantic comedy, and the truth was spoken throughout, which was what gave the film its funny edge in my opinion. This isn’t the last we’ll be hearing about up and coming…Amy Schumer! As for a grade, Jeff gave it a B+, while I gave it a toned down strong B rating. If you’re interested, here’s the trailer.


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 centered about 1050 miles southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula is producing a large area of cloudiness and showers. Environmental conditions are conducive for development, and a tropical depression is likely to form during the next few days while the low moves west-northwestward at around 15 mph.

* Formation chance through 48 hours…low…near 20 percent
* Formation chance through 5 days…high…90 percent

2.)   Another area of low pressure could form early next week well to the south-southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula. Environmental conditions appear to be conducive for slow development of this system.

* 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: There are no active tropical cyclones

1.)  A broad area of showers and thunderstorms associated with a weak surface low is about 1450 miles west-southwest of Honolulu, Hawaii. Upper-level winds are not expected to be conducive for significant development of this system as it moves toward the west over the next couple of days. Here’s a satellite image of this area

* Formation chance through 48 hours, low…near 0 percent

2.)  A broad area of low pressure centered about 1000 miles south of Hilo, Hawaii is producing poorly organized thunderstorms. Strong upper-level winds will likely inhibit development of this system as it moves toward the west over the next couple of days. Here’s a satellite image of this area

* Formation chance through 48 hours, low…near 0 percent

Here’s a link to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC)

>>> Northwest Pacific Ocean:

Typhoon 1C (Halola) is now dissipating…located about 19 NM northeast of Sasebo, Japan. Here’s the JTWC graphical track map, along with a satellite image of this tropical cyclone. Here’s what the computer models are showing – Final Warning


>>> 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:  Lake Tahoe’s deep blue color explained – Lake Tahoe’s iconic blueness is more strongly related to the lake’s algal concentration than to its clarity, according to research in “Tahoe: State of the Lake Report 2015,” released today by the Tahoe Environmental Research Center (TERC) of the University of California, Davis. The lower the algal concentration, the bluer the lake.

Data from a research buoy in the lake, owned and operated by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, enabled Shohei Watanabe, a postdoctoral researcher at TERC, to create a Blueness Index that quantified Lake Tahoe’s color for the first time.

The assumption that lake clarity is tied to blueness has driven advocacy and management efforts in the Lake Tahoe Basin for decades. But Watanabe’s research showed that at times of the year when the lake’s clarity increases, its blueness decreases, and vice versa.

Watanabe combined the blueness measurements with data on clarity. Clarity is measured by observing the depth at which a dinner-plate-sized white disk remains visible when lowered into the water. He was surprised to find that blueness and clarity did not correspond. In fact, they varied in opposite directions.

This is due to seasonal interplay among sediment, algae and nutrients in the lake. Clarity is controlled by sediment. Blueness is controlled by algal concentration, which in turn is controlled by the level of nutrients available to the algae.

The JPL buoy used in the study is one of four buoys established by NASA with support from TERC to calibrate and validate measurements taken by satellites flying overhead. “This particular buoy has instruments beneath the water looking up and an instrument on the buoy looking down,” said JPL’s Simon Hook, who collaborated with Watanabe during his research. “The combination of instruments in and above the water was used in this study to look at how light is being scattered and attenuated. That tells you something about both the color and the clarity of the lake.”

The finding is good news, according to Geoffrey Schladow, director of TERC and a civil engineering professor at UC Davis. “It shows that we better understand how Lake Tahoe works, and it reinforces the importance of controlling nutrient inputs to the lake, whether from the forest, the surrounding lawns or even from the air. It’s particularly encouraging that blueness has been increasing over the last three years.”