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

83 – 68  Lihue, Kauai
81 – 69  Honolulu, Oahu

8164  Molokai AP
8562  Kahului AP, Maui

82 – 70  Kona AP
86 – 64  Hilo, Hawaii 

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

0.01  Lihue, Kauai
0.01  Kawailoa,
Oahu
0.00  Molokai
0.00  Lanai
0.00  Kahoolawe
0.00  Maui
0
.10  Honaunau, Big Island

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

17  Lihue, Kauai – SSW
16  Kuaokala, OahuSE
10  Molokai – ESE
12  Lanai – WSW

12  Kahoolawe – SE
10  Maalaea Bay, Maui – SW

25  Hilo AP, Big Island – NNE

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://weather.unisys.com/satellite/sat_ir_enh_west_loop-12.gif
The Pacific storm track remains well north of Hawaii…
which is very typical of an El Nino winter

Here’s a wind profile…of the offshore waters
around the islands – with a closer view

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/west/cpac/vis.jpg
Impressive cold front north and northwest…it
will be losing steam soon

 

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/west/hi/vis.jpg
Mostly clear to partly cloudy, some cloudy areas…
with the leading edge of the cold front northwest

 

http://radar.weather.gov/Conus/RadarImg/hawaii.gif
Just a few light showers –
looping radar image

High Surf Warning…north and west shores of Kauai, Oahu
and Molokai / north shore of Maui / West shore Big Island

Small Craft Advisory…all coasts and channels statewide

 

~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~



Light and variable winds continue through Friday…keeping volcanic haze around in most areas. Here’s the latest weather map, showing the Hawaiian Islands, and the rest of the North Pacific Ocean. We find a high pressure system well to our east-northeast, offshore from Southern California…with a ridge of high pressure extending southwest over the central islands. Meanwhile, there’s a deep storm low pressure system far north of the islands, in the southern Gulf of Alaska, with an associated, very long cold front extending from its center…far southwest into the western Pacific. At the same time, we find two gale low pressure systems closer to our north and northeast, that connects to this cold front…which is sliding by not too far to our north. Our local winds will be light, as this high pressure ridge remains over us through the work week. We’ll find onshore daytime sea breezes, and offshore flowing land breezes at night. Most days this week will have volcanic haze over us, some of which will be very thick at times. If the trade winds return this weekend, they could finally help to ventilate this voggy reality away…temporarily at least.

A relatively dry and stable atmosphere will remain parked over the state…with just a few showers here and there. The light winds referred to above, in combination with the islands heating up during the days…will prompt late morning through early evening clouds to form locally over the islands. These clouds will develop along the slopes of the mountains for the most part, and then evaporate during the cooler hours of the night. These clouds won’t be dropping many showers, although there will be light precipitation in a few places. Looking ahead, the models show a cold front approaching Kauai Friday, although it’s expected to stall just before arriving. The relatively close proximity of this front just to our north, may present the chance of some modestly increasing showers over the windward sides of the islands…at times through the weekend. The models then suggest that another cold front will approach the state during the Tuesday-Wednesday period of next week…although it’s still too early to know whether it will have a better chance of bringing more widespread precipitation to the state then.

Here in Maui CountyIt’s mostly clear early Wednesday morning before sunrise…although with thick volcanic haze still in the air. Here in upcountry Kula we have an air temperature of 50.7F degrees at 705am. The temperature was 65 degrees down near sea level in Kahului, with 68 over in Kapalua…and 46 atop the Haleakala Crater at the same time. Meanwhile, Kahoolawe’s coolest temperature was 68 degrees, with 65 degrees at Lanai City, and 69 at the Molokai airport.

It’s 255pm Wednesday afternoon, under partly cloudy skies, and yes…tons of volcanic haze! This morning the vog was below 5,500 feet, so I drove up to my favorite skateboarding road, up on the slope of the Haleakala from here, which is about 6,000 feet or so. I found that I was above this haze, and so was able to do some skating, without having to breathe this stuff in, when I walked uphill after each run down. Then, the onshore sea breeze kicked in, and it blew this stuff uphill to where I was, which essentially ended my session. This is the third straight day or skateboard up there, which is great fun. I sometimes talk to visitors when they pull over to watch me skate or to take pictures down the mountain, which is enjoyable. At any rate, did you see how close to Kauai that the leading edge of this cold front is getting? Well, it’s pretty close, and I’m starting to wonder if by chance, it might brush Kauai Thursday…time will tell. 

It’s 6pm under cloudy skies, at least up here in upcountry Kula. It’s tough to see down country, although it looks like there’s some sunshine down there just before sunset. As for the volcanic haze, yep, still thick. The surf is a major issue along our north and west shores, although it will begin lowering in size Thursday…be very careful!  Skies will clear tonight, and as for rainfall, haha, I’m afraid not. It’s not really a joke, as we’re heading straight into a serious drought later this year.

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


World-wide tropical cyclone activity:

>>> Atlantic Ocean: The last regularly scheduled Tropical Weather Outlook of the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season…has occurred. Routine issuance of the Tropical Weather Outlook will resume on June 1, 2016. During the off-season, Special Tropical Weather Outlooks will be issued if conditions warrant. Here’s the 2015 hurricane season summary

Here’s a satellite image of the Atlantic Ocean

>>> Caribbean Sea: The last regularly scheduled Tropical Weather Outlook of the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season…has occurred. Routine issuance of the Tropical Weather Outlook will resume on June 1, 2016. During the off-season, Special Tropical Weather Outlooks will be issued if conditions warrant.

>>> Gulf of Mexico: The last regularly scheduled Tropical Weather Outlook of the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season…has occurred. Routine issuance of the Tropical Weather Outlook will resume on June 1, 2016. During the off-season, Special Tropical Weather Outlooks will be issued if conditions warrant.

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: The last regularly scheduled Tropical Weather Outlook of the 2015 North Pacific hurricane season…has occurred. Routine issuance of the Tropical Weather Outlook will resume on May 15, 2016. During the off-season, Special Tropical Weather Outlooks will be issued if conditions warrant. Here’s the 2015 hurricane season summary

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, 2016. During the off-season, special tropical weather outlooks will be issued if conditions warrant. Here’s the 2015 hurricane season summary

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 / Arabian Sea: There are no active tropical cyclones

Here’s a link to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC)


Interesting: 
Flint’s water crisis ‘infuriating’ given knowledge about lead poisoning
– January 26, 2016 — Harvard Chan School’s Philippe Grandjean, an expert in how environmental pollution impairs brain development, says that Flint, Michigan’s water crisis could have been prevented, given the United States’ long experience with lead contamination—and how to prevent it.

Flint, Michigan temporarily switched its water supply from Lake Huron to the Flint River in April 2014 to cut costs. Should officials have known that lead contamination would result?

Yes. We are dealing an ancient problem. Lead, a malleable and inexpensive metal, has been used for water pipes since the Roman period. It’s been known since then that toxic amounts of lead from these pipes could be released into soft water. This can occur because lead can be dissolved by weak acids found in many water supplies.

The solution was well known, either the lead pipes had to be removed or water quality had to be changed. Replacing the pipes can be very costly, especially if their locations are no longer known, so adding lime and other corrosion inhibitors to community water has often been used as a remedy.

Even with these known problems, it was only a few decades ago that plumbing codes were changed to require water pipes be made of materials other than lead. So today, a substantial number of service lines, distribution lines, and household water pipes in American communities are made of lead.

Flint is by far not the first community where lead poisoning has emerged as a “new” problem. Fifteen years ago, Washington, D.C. changed the disinfection chemical for the municipal water supply from chlorine to chloramine, which caused lead to leach from the water pipes, and the problem was not corrected until three years later. More recently, similar problems have occurred both in North Carolina and in Maine. In all of these cases, the problems could have been foreseen, but decisions on water treatment were primarily made based on considerations of cost and feasibility. Last week it was reported that tap water in Sebring, Ohio had elevated levels of lead. It’s just another example that ancient water pipes made from lead will continue to cause problems.

Can you characterize the extent of the lead-poisoning problem in Flint?

Some water analyses conducted in Flint have revealed lead amounts huge enough to cause clinical poisoning, and severe elevations of lead concentrations in blood have been found in large numbers of residents. High lead levels can cause serious health issues, particularly in children.

Last October, the water supply was switched back to the Detroit system, with water from Lake Huron, and a corrosion inhibitor, orthophosphate, was added to the water. By now, it seems that the immediate problem has been resolved. However, as long as water pipes made of lead remain in place, the problem may re-emerge if the water again becomes more corrosive.

What are the long-term health ramifications of the crisis?

The problem in Flint is sad and also infuriating, because lead is perhaps the most extensively studied pollutant. Thousands of investigations have shown that lead is particularly toxic to the brain, especially in children. Much of that evidence was collated in connection with the immense pollution from lead additives in motor fuels. Increased exposure to this metal is known to cause an increased risk of mental retardation, ADHD [Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder] and other serious ailments. In a more general sense, lead exposure causes mental deficits that result in poor school performance and decreased educational achievements. When calculated from the loss of lifetime income, the societal costs from increased lead exposure reach billion dollar amounts.

In Flint, the costs will not be apparent in the short term. But the brains of the Flint children have suffered from the lead exposure, and they will carry the burden the rest of their lives. We should not allow this to happen again.