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

74 – 56  Lihue, Kauai
80 – 59  Honolulu, Oahu
75 – 59  Molokai AP
78 – 56  Kahului AP, Maui
81 – 61  Hilo, Hawaii

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

0.01  Waialae, Kauai
0.00  Oahu
0.00  Molokai
0.00  Lanai
0.00  Kahoolawe
0.06  Kaupo Gap, Maui
0.05  Kawainui Stream, Big Island

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

20  Mana, Kauai – NW
24  Kuaokala, Oahu – NNE
17  Molokai – NE
18  Lanai – NE
27  Kahoolawe – SW
27  Kapalua, Maui – N
30  Kealakomo, Big Island – E

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 next cold front seen approaching to the northwest of the state

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/west/cpac/vis.jpg
Mostly clear skies over the state…with high cirrus
clouds well to our south in the deeper tropics

 

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/west/hi/vis.jpg
Clear…with partly to mostly cloudy areas locally

 

http://radar.weather.gov/Conus/RadarImg/hawaii.gif
A distinct lack of showers – looping radar image


Small Craft Wind Advisory…windiest coasts and channels
across the state

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

 

~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~



Our winds will be cool from the north to northeast…through mid-week. Here’s the latest weather map, showing the Hawaiian Islands, and the rest of the North Pacific Ocean. We find a high pressure system near the islands, with an associated ridge of high pressure now over the state. In addition, there’s a deep storm low pressure system far to the north-northwest of Hawaii. This low sent a cold front through the state yesterday, and is now well offshore to the southeast of the Big Island. In the wake of this frontal passage, we’re finding chilly north to northeasterly winds flowing over the state. These chilly winds will blow into Wednesday, although become lighter and variable in direction as we go forward. The forecast then shows light to moderately strong winds through the second half of the week…generally from the trade wind direction.

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

Here’s the Hawaiian Islands Sulfate Aerosol…animated graphic – showing vog

A cool air mass remains over the state, with clear to partly cloudy conditions…and mostly dry. Dry air is flooding into the state in the wake of the recent cold front, so showers have ended everywhere. Skies are clearing, especially over the leeward areas, while a few clouds and hardly any showers hang on locally along the north and northeast facing coasts and slopes. Rainfall should remain limited during the first half of this new week, so it was very refreshing to finally get some moisture deposited over the island chain this past weekend!  As the trade winds return during the second half of the week, a couple of cold fronts moving by to our north, may contribute a few showers along our windward sides…carried our way by the trade wind flow then. The next best chance of a cold front arriving into the state would be around Valentines Day next week.

Here in Maui County…It’s mostly clear, with low clouds along the windward sides early this Monday morning. Here in upcountry Kula we have an air temperature of 43.3F degrees. The temperature at near the same time was 58 degrees down in Kahului, 59 out in Hana, 60 at Maalaea Bay…and 36 atop the Haleakala Crater. Meanwhile, Kahoolawe was 59 degrees, 59 at Lanai City, with 63 at the Molokai airport.

– It’s early afternoon, and I just got back from walking around and skateboarding up at the 7,000 foot level on the slopes of the Haleakala Crater. Looking around the County now, both visibly off my weather deck, and on satellite imagery…it’s totally clear, with not even a cloud over the West Maui Mountains! The air temperature now at 145pm, here in Kula, is a cool 63.8 degrees…although the sun feels so warm. It’s a little hazy around the edges, although it sure isn’t vog, or at least I don’t see how it could be.

– Early evening, with mostly clear skies, and still that low level haze over the island. It was almost, if not totally dry across the entire state today…which should remain the case through the next few days. The temperatures will plummet tonight into early Tuesday morning, so pull those covers up tight tonight, and perhaps even wear a pair of socks to bed…as temperatures will drop into the upper 50’s even at sea level in many areas. Tonight and Tuesday night will be our coolest weather of this new year. / The temperature here in Upcountry Kula at 620pm was already down to 53.9 degrees…heading down into the lower 40’s again tonight! / 640pm it’s now 51 at my Kula weather tower, I’m glad I have a great down comforter to crawl under tonight. Tomorrow morning at 430am, when I rise, I’ll be putting on down pants over silk long underwear, cotton turtleneck under a wonderfully warm (850+ fill) down jacket…and of course with wool socks under my trusty shearling wool slippers. As many of you already know, I keep my windows open in this weather tower (where I sleep and work), no matter how cold it gets! / Oops, 645pm and it’s dropped to 50 degrees / 46.5 degrees at 835pm – will we get into the upper 30’s Tuesday morning here at my place???!!!

I’ll be back with many more updates on all of the above and below, I hope you have a great Monday 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: A new study by University of Queensland and WCS shows a dramatic global mismatch between nations producing the most greenhouse gases…and the ones most vulnerable to the effects of climate change – The study shows that the highest emitting countries are ironically the least vulnerable to climate change effects such as increased frequency of natural disasters, changing habitats, human health impacts, and industry stress.

Those countries emitting the least amount of greenhouse gases are most vulnerable.

The majority of the most vulnerable countries are African and Small Island States. These countries are exposed to serious environmental change such as oceanic inundation or desertification. They are also generally the least developed nations, having few resources available to cope with these issues.

“There is an enormous global inequality in which those countries most responsible for causing climate change are the least vulnerable to its effects,” said lead author Glenn Althor of University of Queensland. “It is time that this persistent and worsening climate inequity is resolved, and for the largest emitting countries to act.”

“This is like a non-smoker getting cancer from second-hand smoke, while the heavy smokers continue to puff away. Essentially we are calling for the smokers to pay for the health care of the non-smokers they are directly harming,” said co-author James Watson of University of Queensland and WCS.

The study found that 20 of the 36 highest emitting countries — including the U.S. Canada, Australia, China, and much of Western Europe — were least vulnerable. Eleven of the 17 countries with low to moderate emissions were most vulnerable to climate change. Most were found in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. The authors say the finding acts as a disincentive for high-emitting “free-rider” countries to mitigate their emissions.

The number of acutely vulnerable countries will worsen by 2030 say the authors as climate change related pressures such as droughts, floods, biodiversity loss and disease mount.

“The recent Paris agreement was a significant step forward in global climate negotiations” said study co-author Richard Fuller. “There now needs to be meaningful mobilization of these policies, to achieve national emissions reductions while helping the most vulnerable countries adapt to climate change.”

The study appears today in the journal Scientific Reports.