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

83 – 76  Lihue, Kauai
87 – 78  Honolulu, Oahu
83 – 69  Molokai
88 – 75  Kahului AP, Maui
90 – 77  Kailua Kona AP
86 – 71  Hilo, Hawaii

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

1.29  Kilohana, Kauai
0.94  Manoa Lyon Arboretum, Oahu
0.07  Puu Alii, Molokai
0.00  Lanai
0.00  Kahoolawe
4.20  Puu Kukui, Maui
1.15  Saddle Quarry, Big Island

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

29  Port Allen, Kauai – NE
37  Kuaokala, Oahu – NE
31  Molokai – ENE
31  Lanai – NE
38  Kahoolawe – NE
36  Maalaea Bay, Maui – NW
33  Pali 2, 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
An area of disturbed weather to our south-southwest…
with an early season cold front north

Here’s a wind profile…of the area around the islands –
with a closer view of Hawaii

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/west/cpac/vis.jpg
Thunderstorms well offshore to the south

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/west/hi/vis.jpg
A mix of clear to partly…to mostly cloudy skies


http://radar.weather.gov/Conus/RadarImg/hawaii.gif
There are showers locally, mostly over the ocean…
some are over the windward sides
looping radar image


Small Craft Wind Advisory…all coasts and channels –
through 6am this morning

High Surf Advisory…east shores of Kauai, Oahu,
Molokai, Maui and the Big Island

 

~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~



Strong and gusty trade winds will remain over the islands…easing up a little Wednesday into Friday. Here’s the latest weather map, showing the Hawaiian Islands, and the rest of the North Pacific Ocean, along with a wind profiler of the central Pacific. We find moderately strong high pressure systems to the north through northeast of the state. At the same time, we find tropical low pressure systems stretched out south-southwest through southeast of the state. Our winds are arriving from the trade wind direction, and will continue to do so this week. There’s a chance that stronger winds may arrive this weekend into early next week…stay tuned.

We’ll find showers along our windward sides…extending over into the leeward sides locally. The windward sides will receive most of the incoming showers…increasing some tonight into Wednesday morning. The models show the return to a more normal trade wind weather pattern later Wednesday into Friday. There’s a chance that a couple of tropical weather systems could develop to our southwest this weekend into early next week, and move up towards the islands. Whether this occurs or not, the models are showing a possible rich stream of tropical moisture taking aim on the Aloha State towards the weekend…stay tuned.

Unsettled weather may arrive later this week…with possible heavy rains and gusty winds. The models are pointing out an unusual weather situation that could develop this weekend into early next week. A very wet flow of moisture may arrive over the state from the deeper tropics to our southwest. Some of the models are showing several tropical systems moving up near the islands this weekend into early next week as well. The models have been pointing out this situation for several days now, although the exact details remain a little sketchy at the moment. It would be wise to pay close attention to this rather drastic change in weather…as we move into the weekend.

Here on Maui…It’s 545am Tuesday morning, with partly to mostly cloudy skies. A major portion of the cloudiness this morning is high cirrus clouds, which may light up nicely at sunrise. 

– We’re in the afternoon hours now, and it’s a really nice day, with partial sunshine. It’s sunny enough that my clothes are drying on the line. The way it looks from here, I’d say we have another nice looking sunset on the way.

– There are still multi-layered clouds over the island, and across the state early this evening. The higher variety of these clouds may light up at sunset. There appears to be an area of showery clouds that could increase our showers along the windward sides tonight into Wednesday morning.

I’ll be back with many 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.


World-wide tropical cyclone activity:

>>> Atlantic Ocean:

Hurricane 11L (Joaquin) remains active, located 215 miles east-northeast of the central Bahamas, with sustained winds of 80 mph. Here’s the NHC graphical track map, along with a satellite image of this system…and what the computer models are showing

1.)   A large area of cloudiness and thunderstorms over the central Atlantic several hundred miles northeast of the northern Leeward Islands is associated with a frontal trough and the remnants of Ida. This system has become a little better organized since yesterday, and additional gradual development is possible during the next several days while it moves slowly northwestward.

* Formation chance through 48 hours…medium…40 percent
* Formation chance through 5 days…high…70 percent

Here’s a satellite image of the Atlantic Ocean

>>> Caribbean Sea: There are no active tropical cyclones

>>> Gulf of Mexico: There are no active tropical cyclones

Here’s a satellite image of the Caribbean Sea…and the Gulf of Mexico

Here’s the link to the National Hurricane Center (NHC)

>>> Eastern Pacific:

Tropical Depression 17E (Marty) remains active, located 225 miles south-southeast of Manzanillo, Mexico, with sustained winds of 35 mph. Here’s the NHC graphical track map, along with a satellite image of this system…and what the computer models are showing

1.)   A broad area of low pressure has formed about 1000 miles south-southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula and is producing disorganized showers and thunderstorms. Environmental conditions are expected to be conducive for gradual development, and a tropical depression is likely to form by the weekend while the low drifts northward or northeastward.

* Formation chance through 48 hours…medium 50 percent
* Formation chance through 5 days…high 90 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 stationary area of disorganized thunderstorms remains 620 miles south of Honolulu. Tropical cyclone development is not expected within the next 48 hours due to a hostile wind shear environment.

*formation chance through 48 hours, low…0 percent

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:  Loss of ocean predators has impact on climate change strategies – Continued unsustainable harvesting of large predatory fish, including the culling of sharks, can have far-reaching consequences for the way we tackle climate change.

Professor Rod Connolly, a marine scientist from Griffith University’s Australian Rivers Institute, is the co-author of new research that says keeping populations of larger fish intact is critical to carbon accumulation and long-term storage in vegetated coastal habitats such as saltmarsh, mangroves and seagrass.

A paper, “Predators help protect carbon stocks in blue carbon ecosystems”, is published in the journal Nature Climate Change and identifies the urgent need for further research on the influence of predators on carbon cycling, and improved policy and management with regard to blue carbon reserves.

The research comes as Australia in particular, in response to a recent spate of shark attacks — some fatal — engages in fierce public debate over shark culling.

Professor Connolly warns the loss of top order predators through excessive culling or over-fishing has serious environmental ramifications.

“Altering the numbers of top ocean predators has major consequences for the way we tackle climate change,” says Professor Connolly.

“These predators have a cascading effect on the food web and the ecosystem generally that ultimately changes the amount of carbon captured and locked up in the seabed.”

Coastal wetlands play a crucial role in this process, extracting carbon from the atmosphere and burying it in the mud for hundreds and even thousands of years.

“When we change the abundance of higher order predators, this affects the number of smaller animals living in the mud, and that has flow-on effects for carbon storage in coastal wetlands,” says Professor Connolly.

“We are already aware of the need to manage how many fish we take and from where. But we should also know that our decisions affect climate change.

Professor Connolly says the coastal wetlands that fringe the world’s continents are doing a power of environmental good, taking a quarter of a trillion kilograms of carbon out of the atmosphere every year.

However, that efficiency can be easily compromised.

“Predators play an important and potentially irreplaceable role in carbon cycling. The effect of the disproportionate loss of species high in the food chain cannot be underestimated.”