Hawaiian Islands Weather Details & Aloha Paragraphs / September 4-5, 2015

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

86 – 75  Lihue, Kauai
86 – 72  Honolulu, Oahu
87 – 73  Molokai
91 – 72  Kahului AP, Maui – the record for Friday was 92…set back in 1951
90 – 79  Kailua Kona
88 – 71  Hilo, Hawaii

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

1.29  N Wailua Ditch, Kauai
2.79  Lualualie, Oahu
0.56  Puu Alii, Molokai
0.20  Lanai
0.03  Kahoolawe
0.46  Ulupalakua, Maui
1.16  Ahumoa, Big Island

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

16  Mana, Kauai – SE
18  Bellow, Oahu – SE
24  Molokai – ENE
12  Lanai – SE
27  Kahoolawe – NE
24  Maalaea Bay, Maui – N 
23  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

  Hurricane Jimena to the east of the islands

Hurricane Jimena is still an impressive swirl!

Still quite a few thunderstorms in our area

Here’s a wind profile…so we can keep an eye on
these tropical cyclones

There are showers around…heavy over the ocean
looping radar image

 

High Surf Warning…east shores of all the islands – until
6pm Monday / High Surf Advisory all south shores
through Monday evening

Small Craft Advisory…all Hawaiian Islands except Maalaea Bay, Maui

Flash Flood Watch…for Kauai and Oahu – through 6pm  Saturday

 

~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~

Light trade winds into the weekend. 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 a large, moderately strong high pressure system far to the northeast of the state. At the same time we see tropical cyclones far to our west, to our north-northwest, to the east…and finally offshore from Mexico. Our winds are finally beginning to grade back into a trade flow, which will last through the weekend…perhaps even giving us a little relief from the hot and humid conditions. As we move into early next week, we’ll see the trade winds faltering again, as Jimena’s presence over the ocean to the northeast interrupts this brief wind flow then. This in turn will bring back very muggy conditions for many days.

Spotty heavy showers will continue, along with a possible thunderstorm.  Tropical moisture and unstable conditions linger over our island vicinity for the time being. As the winds remained quite light, we’ve seen heavy downpours over the interior sections of the islands again today…triggered by daytime heating of the islands. This long lasting unsettled weather pattern, may finally lose its grip on us a touch, as we move into the weekend. As the trade winds try to resume, we may see the return of a few windward showers…and actually some signs of a more normal late summer weather pattern, at least over the eastern islands. As the trades falter again early next week, thanks to hurricane Jimena moving by to our northeast and then north, we’ll get right back into a convective weather pattern, with locally heavy afternoon showers in the upcountry areas.

Post-Tropical Cyclone 12E (Ignacio) continues to move away from Hawaii…and is now out of our weather picture. Here’s a satellite image, and the CPHC graphical track map. Based on the most recent advisory, Ignacio has 65 mph winds near the center. The forecast has this former storm gradually weakening far to the north of Hawaii. As it migrates further north, it will pass over the progressively colder waters of the north Pacific Ocean. The Final Advisory has been issued by the Central Pacific Hurricane Center.

Incoming east swell from hurricane Jimena continued to require a high surf warning for east-facing shores of most islands. East-shore surf will remain near warning levels through the weekend, and likely into early next week. A long-period swell from the south-southwest will produce advisory-level surf along south-facing shores this weekend. A small craft advisory also remained in effect for hazardous seas produced by the swells from Ignacio and Jimena. Winds are expected to remain below the advisory threshold this week.

Hurricane 13E (Jimena) remains active well to our east…although poses to threat to our islands at this time. This hurricane is maintaining sustained winds of near 75 mph as of the latest advisory. Here’s a satellite image, and the CPHC graphical track map, and what the computer models are showing. This is still a hurricane, although will be steadily losing power as it heads northwestward. There continues to be a good chance that hurricane Jemina will stay away from our area, well to the east, northeast and then north of the state. Looking at the latest track map, it looks like this system will take a turn westward right after the weekend, and hopefully remain well away from our islands…as it moves by to our north. 

Here on Maui…It’s 545am Friday morning, and it’s mostly clear as far as I can see…with just a few clouds now being carried along the windward sides on the returning trade winds. I see a bit of high cirrus clouds well above, and still a bit of volcanic haze in our skies too.

– It’s now mid-afternoon, under partly to mostly cloudy skies, with still lots of volcanic haze showing up. The big rain of today seems to be focusing on Kauai, Oahu and parts of the Big Island. Here on Maui we have a few showers, although nothing like the other islands for the time being. Did I just hear thunder? Yes, lots of thunder this afternoon, although too far away from here in Kula to see lightning. The thunderstorms rains are staying away as well, although the day isn’t over yet. First big rain drops just arrived at 440pm, as the thunder edges closer.

– It’s early Friday evening, and I’ve been hearing thunder all afternoon, although just recently it stopped. We got a couple of large drops, and then they stopped as fast they started. I’m about ready to head down to Kahului for dinner at Whole Foods, then to see this film described below. This doesn’t look like a high grade film, although I’m going to see it anyway…I like the two leading actors. / It’s now 940pm, and when I got home here in Kula, I could see lightning flickering in several directions, this weather is so unusual!

I’ll be back with many more updates on all of the above and below, I hope you have a great Friday night wherever you’re spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.

Friday Evening Film: There are lots of films, although few that really were pulling me. My friend Jeff and I couldn’t decide on which to see, so we just took a flying leap into one called American Ultra, starring Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Topher Grace, Connie Britton, and Monique Ganderton…among many others. The synopsis,  American Ultra is a fast-paced action comedy about Mike (Eisenberg), a seemingly hapless and unmotivated stoner whose small-town life with his live-in girlfriend, Phoebe (Stewart), is suddenly turned upside down. Unbeknownst to him, Mike is actually a highly trained, lethal sleeper agent. In the blink of an eye, as his secret past comes back to haunt him, Mike is thrust into the middle of a deadly government operation and is forced to summon his inner action-hero in order to survive. 

Hmmm, is what both Jeff and I were saying, although we were willing to give it a shot. Well once again, we were surprised, and more than that delighted. One of the things that Jeff said was “This was a film that took after the old Pulp Fiction film.”  American Ultra was another of those bloody works, although with enough of a comic slant…that it took the edge off all the violence. It was a fast paced, action comedy…and the word bizarre seems to be fitting descriptor throughout. In the end, I’m very happy to have taken a chance on this one, although I was nervous that Jeff wasn’t going to like it, as it was on my recommendation that we saw it. One of the first things he said after leaving the theater, was A-. That was encouraging, as that was just the grade that I was thinking of giving it too. Fortunately the trailer isn’t too much like the film itself…at least in the gritty level of violence.

World-wide tropical cyclone activity:

>>> Atlantic Ocean:

Tropical Storm 06L (Fred) remains active over the Atlantic Ocean, with sustained winds of 40 mph…and is located about 1335 miles southwest of the Azores. Here’s the NHC graphical track map, and a satellite image…and what the computer models are showing

Tropical Depression 07L is now active over the Atlantic Ocean, with sustained winds of 35 mph…and is located about 270 miles south-southwest of the Cape Verde Islands. Here’s the NHC graphical track map, and a satellite image…and what the computer models are showing

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:

Post-Tropical Cyclone 14E (Kevin) is now dissipating in the northeast Pacific, with sustained winds of 35 mph…and is located about 300 miles west of the southern tip of Baja California. Here’s the NHC graphical track map, and a satellite image. – Final Advisory

1.)   Showers and thunderstorms associated with a low pressure area located about 550 miles south-southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico, are showing signs of organization. Environmental conditions are conducive for development, and a tropical depression is expected to form later today or Sunday while the low moves northwestward at 5 to 10 mph, well offshore of the coast of Mexico.

* Formation chance through 48 hours…high…90 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:

Hurricane 13E (Jimena) remains active now in the central Pacific, with sustained winds of 80 mph…and is located about 620 miles east of Hana, Hawaii. Here’s the NHC graphical track map, and a satellite image. Here’s what the computer models are showing.

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

With research in this area tending to look at these forces in isolation, Dr Eli Lazarus from Cardiff University and his colleagues explain the need to bring them together in order to advance our understanding of coastal management in the context of future climate change.

Dr Lazarus, lead researcher from Cardiff University’s School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, said: “Understanding the dynamics of developed coastlines is essential for improved assessment of risk, for better integrated coastal management, and for effective adaptation to environmental changes driven by climate change.

“Through this work we are laying out a framework for how to convert information about decision-making processes into new models of developed coastline dynamics.”

Lazarus’s coauthors include researchers from the British Geological Survey, Duke University, and the Center for Sustainability at Saint Louis University. The team makes a series of recommendations for future research on developed coastlines:

* Gain insight into the social processes of coastal decision-makers (which extends into the disciplines of decision scientists, psychologists, and economists);

* Quantify how human modifications to coastal shape and natural sediment budgets affect coastal physical change over large spatial scales and long time scales

* Improve knowledge exchange and co-production between scientists and practitioners.