Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures (F) were recorded across the state of Hawaii Thursday…along with the minimums Thursday:
80 – 65 Lihue, Kauai
82 – 67 Honolulu, Oahu
82 – 60 Molokai
84 – 61 Kahului AP, Maui
83 – 69 Kona Int’l AP
82 – 64 Hilo, Hawaii
Here are the latest 24-hour precipitation totals (inches) for each of the islands, as of Thursday evening:
0.31 Mount Waialeale Kauai
1.95 Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu
0.10 Puu Alii, Molokai
0.26 Lanai
0.00 Kahoolawe
0.04 Kaupo Gap, Maui
0.14 Lower Kahuku, Big Island
The following numbers represent the strongest wind gusts (mph)…as of Thursday evening:
13 Mana, Kauai – NW
21 Kuaokala, Oahu – NE
12 Molokai – E
14 Lanai – SE
15 Kahoolawe – NW
12 Kaupo Gap, Maui – SE
21 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
We see the next weak cold front approaching to the northwest / along
with tropical storm 01C (Pali) far southwest of the state
Here’s a wind profile…of the offshore waters
around the islands – with a closer view
Tropical storm 01C (Pali) not a threat to Hawaii /
yet another cold front approaching Kauai…and
finally an east-west band of high cirrus south
Mostly clear, with clouds generally over the ocean…we see
a fragmenting cold front to our northwest, although it will
likely stall before reaching Kauai tonight into Friday
Just a few showers…mostly offshore – looping radar image
High Surf Advisory…rising surf along the north and
west shores of Kauai, Oahu, Molokai and north shore
of Maui – starting at noon
Small Craft Advisory…coastal and channel waters around
Kauai and Oahu
~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~
Light breezes prevailing into the weekend…volcanic haze locally. Here’s the latest weather map, showing the Hawaiian Islands, and the rest of the North Pacific Ocean. We find a high pressure system to our east-northeast, and another west-northwest. At the same time, we find storm and gale low pressure systems well to our north. We see a cold front not far to our northwest, which will continue to approach the Hawaiian Islands, although very likely stall before reaching Kauai. Our winds will be light into Friday. Generally light to moderate trade winds are expected over the first couple days of next week. Yet another cold front will approach the state around the middle of next week, knocking down our local trade winds again then.
We see scattered clouds over the islands locally…although mostly over the offshore waters. The leeward sides will find just a few showers, mostly over the upcountry slopes during the afternoons through Friday. A new cold front is approaching the state now, although won’t reach our islands. We’ll see yet another cold front dip towards the islands this weekend, and should have a better chance of bringing some showers our way. In sum: these periodic cold fronts moving by to our north, or sliding down through the state with showers. Finally, it looks like another cold front will approach the state around the middle of next week…although its too early to know if it will have enough push to enter the state with its associated showers.
Here in Maui County…It’s mostly clear this morning before sunrise, with just a light amount of volcanic haze. Here in upcountry Kula we have an air temperature of 50.9 F degrees at 555am. The temperature was 62 degrees down near sea level in Kahului, with 66 out in Hana, 63 at Maalaea Bay…and 46 atop the Haleakala Crater at the same time. Meanwhile, Kahoolawe’s highest elevation was reporting 66 degrees, with 63 degrees at Lanai City, and 62 at the Molokai airport. / Now at 1120am, skies are mostly cloud free, although the volcanic haze, albeit rather light, is sticking around.
– We’re into the early afternoon now, with generally clear skies, the only difference from earlier this morning, is that the volcanic haze is now gone.
– As we now push into the sunset hour, I see more volcanic haze (vog) starting to overspread the islands of Maui County. Otherwise, it’s mostly clear to partly cloudy…and was a terrific winter day! / At 825pm here in Kula, the air temperature has already dropped to 52 degrees. Unless clouds move overhead, or a breeze starts up, this means that we’ll be heading well down into the 40’s by early Friday morning. Sea level locations will be 20+ degrees warmer in most cases.
I’ll be back with many more updates on all of the above and below, I hope you have a great Thursday 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
Out of season Tropical Storm 01C (Pali) remains active, located about 1350 miles southwest of Honolulu, Hawaii. Here’s the CPHC graphical track map, along with a satellite image…and finally what the computer models are showing.
Here’s a link to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC)
>>> South Pacific Ocean:
Tropical Cyclone 06P (Ula) remains active well to the southwest of Fiji…in the southwest Pacific. Here’s the JTWC graphical track map, along with a satellite image of this system…and finally what the computer models are showing.
>>> 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: Will Styrofoam Get the Plastic Bag Treatment? – Say farewell to Styrofoam take-out containers in the nation’s capital. It’s been a few years in the making, but Washington, D.C. has finally enacted a firm ban on polystyrene food and beverage containers. Henceforth, all restaurants will have to provide biodegradable alternatives if they want to send their patrons home with leftovers.
The ordinance is a big score for the environment since Styrofoam is a harmful material that takes hundreds of years to decompose. Although it was recently discovered that meal worms can safely digest polystyrene, that’s not currently a practical approach to handling the world’s massive foam waste problem. As it stands, Styrofoam products account for about 30 percent of all space in landfills in the U.S. Altogether, Americans toss approximately 25 billion Styrofoam cups each year.
Styrofoam may be a nationwide problem, but lawmakers also factored in local concerns when deciding to enact the ban. The city has undergone a serious effort to clean the highly polluted Anacostia River, and the Department of Energy & Environment (DOEE) notes that foam containers are some of the most common types of litter fished out of the river. By eliminating Styrofoam boxes and cups, the river should become that much cleaner.
The D.C. law pertains specifically to food and drink containers obtained at restaurants. Styrofoam will still be allowed for a number of other uses, including to pack and ship food products. The DOEE says it will conduct regular inspections to determine that food industry businesses are complying with the law, and it invites citizens to call in tips to report restaurants that continue to serve Styrofoam.
While D.C. may be the current largest populated city in the United States to ban foam, it’s certainly not the first. The Surfrider Foundation compiles a list of places across America that have similarly kicked out polystyrene containers, including Seattle, Wash., Portland, Ore., and over 60 communities scattered throughout California. Though most municipalities are recent adopters, a handful of places have laws dating back to the late 1980s/early 1990s.
New York City was the biggest city to get rid of foam containers until a few months ago. A judge in New York state undid the ban on polystyrene containers throughout New York City, saying that the city had the responsibility to find better ways to recycle the material before outright banning it.\Despite NYC backtracking thanks to an outside judge, the overall shift toward eliminating foam is a reassuring trend. For years, it seemed like banning plastic bags was too far fetched to succeed, but for every city that takes the plunge, more and more follow suit. If a couple other major cities join D.C., Seattle and Portland in requiring biodegradable container options, other vaguely eco-conscious cities will probably follow their example once they see how feasible it is.
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