Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures (F) were recorded across the state of Hawaii Saturday…along with the minimums Saturday:
79 – 64 Lihue, Kauai
81 – 65 Honolulu, Oahu
82 – 63 Molokai AP
82 – 65 Kahului AP, Maui
82 – 70 Kailua Kona
82 – 66 Hilo AP, Hawaii
Here are the latest 24-hour precipitation totals (inches) for each of the islands, as of Saturday evening:
0.23 Moloaa Dairy, Kauai
0.30 Waihee Pump, Oahu
0.05 Molokai
0.13 Lanai
0.46 Kahoolawe
0.76 Kula 1, Maui
1.85 Upolu AP, Big Island
The following numbers represent the strongest wind gusts (mph)…as of Saturday evening:
17 Mana, Kauai – NW
23 Kuaokala, Oahu – NNE
12 Molokai – NNE
17 Lanai – NNW
17 Kahaloowe – SW
16 Maalaea Bay, Maui – NE
22 PTA West, Big Island – SE
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
The early spring storm track remains well north of Hawaii
An area of low pressure is moving slowly away towards the
northeast…with a large swath of high clouds to the
south and southeast of the state
Lots of rainy clouds offshore to the northeast…leaving
fair weather in its wake
Showers have diminished greatly…with a few leftover
looping radar image
Wind Advisory…Big Island summits / 35-45 with 55 mph gusts
~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~
Light and variable to southeast breezes, through Sunday…with volcanic haze locally. Here’s the latest weather map, showing the Hawaiian Islands, and the rest of the North Pacific Ocean. We find high pressure systems to the northeast of Hawaii. At the same time, we see troughs of low pressure over the ocean to the west, and another near the Big Island. Our local winds are generally light and variable, trending southeast. The latest forecast has light winds continuing through Sunday, and then turning breezier from the southwest ahead of a cold front later Monday into Tuesday. We’ll likely see another short period of light winds…in the wake of the cold front. It looks as though we may return to light to moderately strong trade winds during the later part of the new week ahead.
The heavy showers from yesterday, moved away today…nice weather for Easter. This recent unsettled weather was due to nearby areas of low pressure, which were keeping our local atmosphere very shower prone. These low pressure troughs are losing their influence and moving away now…bringing back more typical early spring weather now. Sunday should turn out to be an even better day than what we experienced today…which is good news for the holiday. As we move into Monday, we’ll find the next cold front approaching. This frontal boundary will bring a period of showers to the island chain later Monday into early Wednesday morning. The longer range outlook then shows relatively drier weather returning during the middle to later part of the week, with fairly routine windward showers at times by Friday into next weekend.
Sleek Dolphin offshore from Kauai
Marine environment details: An upper trough of low pressure, centered just east of the Big Island, will continue to bring the potential for locally heavy showers and a slight chance of thunderstorms over the far eastern waters this evening. Drier weather is expected later tonight and Sunday.
A small northwest swell will linger into Monday. A large high surf warning level northwest swell will arrive on Tuesday, peak Tuesday night and early Wednesday, then gradually lower through the rest of the week. There will also be a series of small south swells throughout the forecast period.
Winds will remain below small craft advisory levels throughout the forecast period. However the above mentioned large northwest swell will cause seas to exceed to 5 feet (10 foot faces) advisory threshold over exposed waters.
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 forecast
Here in Maui County…We’re seeing variable clouds over Maui County, although they will be increasing as we move through the day, thanks to the ample moisture, the unstable environment, and the upcoming daytime heating of the islands. It’s still dark at the time of this writing, although it looks like all that rain yesterday has helped to wash out most of the long lasting volcanic haze we’d had in our atmosphere for the last week….thank goodness! It’s clear to partly cloudy early this Saturday day morning. Here in upcountry Kula, it was clear to partly cloudy and calm, with the air temperature 56.1F degrees. The temperature at near the same time was 66 degrees down in Kahului under partly cloudy skies, 68 out in Hana, 66 at Maalaea Bay, and 37 atop the Haleakala summit. Meanwhile, Kahoolawe was 66 degrees, 64 at Lanai City, with 65 at the Molokai airport…with partly cloudy skies.
– Now at 2pm Saturday afternoon, the clouds are gathering quickly over and around the mountains…at least over the slopes of the Haleakala Crater. Looking down into the central valley just now, I was surprised to see the return of rather thick looking volcanic haze! This was after what started out as our clearest morning in a long time, when I didn’t see any vog. I can see still of sunshine beaming down at the lower elevations, although it seems as if we might be heading towards another showery afternoon here in the upcountry area.
– Early Easter Eve, under partly cloudy skies, and a voggy atmosphere…with just a few showers out along the southeast slopes. I’m expecting all of the state to have good weather for the holiday, which of course is good news for outdoor activities…like Easter egg hunts!
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)
>>> South Pacific Ocean: No active tropical cyclones
>>> North and South Indian Oceans / Arabian Sea: No active tropical cyclones
Here’s a link to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC)
Interesting: Human impact on Earth’s global energy – The impact humans have made on Earth in terms of how we produce and consume resources has formed a ‘striking new pattern’ in the planet’s global energy flow, according to researchers from the University of Leicester.
The research suggests that Earth is now characterized by a geologically unprecedented pattern of global energy flow that is pervasively influenced by humans — and which is necessary for maintaining the complexity of modern human societies.
The new study, published in the journal Earth’s Future, is led by Professors Mark Williams and Jan Zalasiewicz of the University of Leicester’s Department of Geology working with an international team of scholars.
While analyzing the Anthropocene phenomenon — an epoch where humans dominate Earth’s surface geology — the team identified that human patterns of production and consumption are a key factor characterizing the epoch, and when measured against the billion-year old patterns of planet Earth, they form a striking new pattern.
Professor Zalasiewicz said: “Very big changes in our planet’s pattern of biological production and consumption do not happen very often. The appearance of photosynthesis was one, about two and a half billion years ago. Then, a little over half a billion years ago, animals like trilobites appeared, to add scavengers and predators into a food web of increasing complexity.
“Other major events have happened since, such as five major mass extinctions, but even measured against these events, human-driven changes to production and consumption are distinctly new.”
Dr Carys Bennett, co-author on the study from the University of Leicester’s Department of Geology, added: “It is without precedent to have a single species appropriating something like one quarter of the net primary biological production of the planet and to become effectively the top predator both on land and at sea.”
In addition, by digging phosphorus out of the ground and by fixing nitrogen out of the air to make fertilizers; and by exploiting hundreds of millions of years-worth of stored carbon-based energy in a still-accelerating trend, humans are increasing productivity well above natural levels — and directing much of it towards animals that have been re-engineered to suit our purposes.
Professor Zalasiewicz added: “This refashioning of the relationship between Earth’s production and consumption is leaving signals in strata now forming, and this helps characterize the Anthropocene as a geological time unit.
“It also has wider and more fundamental importance in signaling a new biological stage in this planet’s evolution.”
Archaeologist Dr Matthew Edgeworth, Honorary Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Leicester’s School of Archaeology and Ancient History, added: “Recent changes in Earth’s biosphere, caused in part by human activity, are starting to become evident in rock and soil strata. Unprecedented stratigraphic signals are challenging disciplines like geology and archaeology to assess such changes and put them in temporal context, relative to other major transitions in Earth’s history.”
Dr Colin Waters of the British Geological Survey said: “Modern human society is structured around economic production and consumption and our recent perturbation of the balance between the two, notably since the mid-20th century, will leave a signal that will provide a lasting legacy of our existence on this planet.”
In 2016 the Anthropocene Working Group led by Professor Zalasiewicz will gather more evidence on the Anthropocene, which will help inform recommendations on whether this new time unit should be formalized and, if so, how it might be defined and characterized.
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