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

79 – 67  Lihue, Kauai
85 – 69  Honolulu, Oahu
82 – 65  Molokai AP
85 – 63  Kahului AP, Maui
81 – 69  Kona AP
84 – 65  Hilo, Hawaii

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

1.71  Kilohana, Kauai
0.51  Kahuku, Oahu
0.23  Puu Alii, Molokai
0.00  Lanai
0.00  Kahoolawe
0.04  Hana AP, Maui
0.19  Kawainui Stream, Big Island

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

15  Port Allen, Kauai – ENE
22  Kii, Oahu – ENE
24  Molokai – E
17  Lanai – NE
32  Kahoolawe – ENE
21  Kahului AP, Maui – NNE
25  South Point, Big Island – ENE

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
The primary winter storm track remains well north of Hawaii

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
High cirrus clouds remain southeast and north of the islands

 

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/west/hi/vis.jpg
Clouds banked-up against the windward sides of the islands locally

 

http://radar.weather.gov/Conus/RadarImg/hawaii.gif
Some showers…mostly over the nearby ocean, and along
the windward sides locally – looping radar image


Small Craft Advisory…windiest coasts and channels around
the state

High Surf Advisory…north and west shores of Kauai, Oahu,
Molokai, and north shores of Maui

 

~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~



Trade winds backing off briefly Monday. 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 northeast…with a ridge of high pressure extending southwestward, to the north of the state…running to another high pressure cell far west-northwest of Hawaii. At the same time, there’s a developing storm low pressure system northwest, that has the next cold front…which will be passing by north of the state over the next few days. The recent long bout of volcanic haze has now been swept away over the ocean to our south…and remains well offshore. The current gusty trade winds will continue into Monday morning. The current forecast has lighter winds returning briefly thereafter, with alternating periods of trade winds and light and variable winds prevailing through the upcoming work week. As we push into next weekend, we will likely encounter stronger winds, ushering in a cold blast of northerly winds, tropically speaking that is, in the wake of a strong cold front passing down through the entire state then.

A cold front brought some showers locally to Kauai yesterday…and to the central islands locally in places as well. The leftover clouds from this dissipating cold front will keep some clouds and showers along the windward coasts and slopes into Monday morning. The leeward sides of the islands should have decent weather, although with the arriving lighter wind flow, we’ll some some increase in upcountry clouds during the afternoon Monday perhaps. The models suggest that yet another weak cold front will approach the state Tuesday, although it will remain north of the islands, keeping its showers away from us. At about the same time however, an upper level low pressure system will be in our area, which could enhance any showers that are falling around the islands then. Otherwise, the models portray another quiet week of weather, at least until we get into next Saturday and Sunday…when things could become much more interesting. A strong cold front could influence the state next weekend, potentially bringing a period of cool winter weather, as well as rain showers – stay tuned.

Here in Maui County…It’s mostly clear early Sunday morning…along with a little bit of high cirrus clouds coming into view to our north. Here in upcountry Kula we have an air temperature of 46.5F degrees. The temperature at near the same time was 66 degrees near sea level in Kahului and out in Hana, 68 over in Kapalua…and 45 atop the Haleakala Crater. Meanwhile, Kahoolawe’s coolest temperature was 72 degrees, with 61 degrees at Lanai City, and 70 at the Molokai airport.

– Sunday afternoon, and it’s an incredibly nice day here in Maui County…and across the entire state! There’s not a sign of vog, although I can’t speak for some parts of the Big Island. The cirrus clouds are so beautiful against the bright blue background…one of our best days in a long time here in the islands.

– Sunday evening, skies are clear to partly cloudy, with very few showers that I can see visually from here in Kula. Actually, those windward clouds look a bit more showery now, which should remain active tonight…and on the windward side of the Big Island too.

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

Friday Evening Film: There are still a couple of films that I’ve been hankering to see the last several weeks, there are so many in fact, that I had to see two last week…just to try and keep up. Tonight, my film viewing friend Jeff and I have decided to see one that looks pretty darn gnarly, called The Revenant. This dramatic action and adventure film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleason, Will Poulter, Forrest Goodluck, Paul Anderson, and Melaw Nakehk’o…among many others. The synopsis: Inspired by true events, The Revenant is an immersive and visceral cinematic experience, capturing one man’s epic adventure of survival and the extraordinary power of the human spirit. In an expedition of the uncharted American wilderness, legendary explorer Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio) is brutally attacked by a bear and left for dead by members of his own hunting team. In a quest to survive, Glass endures unimaginable grief as well as the betrayal of his confidant John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy). Guided by sheer will and the love of his family, Glass must navigate a vicious winter in a relentless pursuit to live and find redemption. This film is directed and co-written by renowned filmmaker, Academy Award (R) winner Alejandro G. Iñárritu (Birdman, Babel).

This film was elemental…a real force of nature! It was such a raw film, an epic tale of human survival out in the cold snowy world. This film swept me up, carried me along roughly for a couple of hours, and then plunked me back in my seat, sitting in that theater half dazed. It was a fabulous story, filled with vengeance, incredible beauty…and of course the requisite horror. A punishing drama, in which Leonardo DiCaprio is totally mauled by a mother bear, and then left for dead by members of his own team. There was subtle beauty filled with magnificence, and yet otherworldly grittiness was waiting around every corner. In sum, revenge has never been more brutally depicted, as it is in this epic tale! Jeff gave the film a B+, while I went a tad bit higher, with a strong B+…almost reaching A minus. Here’s the trailer – full screen is always best, although as I mentioned above…this film is not a light weight piece of work.

Saturday Evening Film: My friend Jeff invited me over to his place for a film, one that I’d read the novel…it was based on many years ago. The novel was written by one of my favorite authors, whose name is Cormac McCarthy. This film was called The Road, which is a searing post-apocalyptic tale, of a journey of a father and his young son over a period of time…walking alone across a burned America. This film stars Viggo Mortensen, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Charlize Theron, Molly Parker, Guy Pearce, and Robert Duvall…among many others. The synopsis: nothing moves in the ravaged landscape, save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it’s gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don’t know what, if anything, awaits them there. They have nothing, just a pistol with two bullets, to defend themselves against the lawless bands that stalk the road, the clothes they are wearing, a cart of scavenged food…and each other.

This was an unpleasant film, although well worth the watching in my opinion…haunting to say the least. Despite the depressing subject matter, it was an unexpectedly uplifting story about faith, kindness and family, at the world’s end. It’s a very emotional piece of work, very tense without a doubt, and almost a bit exhausting to watch at times. The desolate landscape and the drab, scarred sky pervade every scene. As I recalled the novel while watching the film, the screen version was toned down, if that was possible, both of which left me a wreck I must say. In sum, grim, straight ahead, although hope peers occasionally through the cracks. However, this highway makes no allusions about where it’s headed…it’s a tough road to follow!  In the end, neither Jeff nor I gave it a grade, as we were both a little shell shocked as we walked down the stairs, and I drove home through the dark. Here’s the trailer, if after all the above leaves you interested enough to watch it.


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: Study finds toxic pollutants in fish across the world’s oceans – A new global analysis of seafood found that fish populations throughout the world’s oceans are contaminated with industrial and agricultural pollutants, collectively known as persistent organic pollutants (POPs). The study from researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego also uncovered some good news…concentrations of these pollutants have been consistently dropping over the last 30 years.

The findings, reported in the Jan. 28, 2016 issue of the journal PeerJ, were based on an analysis by Scripps researchers Lindsay Bonito, Amro Hamdoun, and Stuart Sandin of hundreds of peer-reviewed articles from 1969-2012. The pollutants studied included older ‘legacy’ chemicals, such as DDT and mercury, as well as newer industrial chemicals, such as flame retardants and coolants.

“Based on the best data collected from across the globe, we can say that POPs can be anywhere and in any species of marine fish,” said Scripps biologist Sandin, a co-author of the study.

Although POPs were found in fish in all of the world’s oceans, the researchers say that concentrations in the consumable meat of marine fish are highly variable, where one region or group of fish may find concentrations of POPs that vary by 1,000-fold. The analysis revealed that average concentrations of each class of POP were significantly higher in the 1980s than is found today, with a drop in concentration of 15-30 percent per decade.

“This means that the typical fish that you consume today can have approximately 50 percent of the concentration of most POPs when compared to the same fish eaten by your parents at your age,” said Bonito, the lead author of the study. “But there still remains a chance of getting a fillet as contaminated as what your parents ate.”

The researchers also compared the results to federal safety guidelines for seafood consumption and found that the average levels of contaminants were at or below the health standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Mercury and PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyl) concentrations were at the EPA threshold for occasional human consumption, while concentrations of DDT were consistently much lower than the established threshold.

According to the authors, these results suggest that the global community has responded to the calls-to-action, such as in the Stockholm Convention, to limit the release of potentially harmful chemicals into the environment.

The authors caution that although pollutant concentrations in marine fish are steadily declining, they still remain quite high, and that understanding the cumulative effects of numerous exposures to pollutants in seafood is necessary to determine the specific risk to consumers.