Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures (F) were recorded across the state of Hawaii Saturday…and the low temperatures Saturday:
83 – 74 Lihue, Kauai
84 – 73 Honolulu, Oahu
83 – 67 Molokai AP
88 – 69 Kahului AP, Maui
83 – 71 Kailua Kona
84 – 71 Hilo AP, Hawaii
Here are the latest 24-hour precipitation totals (inches) for each of the islands…as of Saturday evening:
0.18 Kapahi, Kauai
0.49 Tunnel RG, Oahu
0.11 Puu Alii, Molokai
0.41 Lanai
0.08 Kahoolawe
0.36 Ulupalakua, Maui
1.15 Saddle Quarry, Big Island
The following numbers represent the strongest wind gusts (mph)…as of Saturday evening:
21 Port Allen, Kauai – SE
16 Kii, Oahu – ENE
17 Molokai – ENE
06 Lanai – SW
24 Kahoolawe – ENE
14 Maalaea Bay, Maui – NNE
23 Upolu AP, 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
Low pressure systems over the ocean far to the north and northwest…
along with their frontal cloud bands draping southwest
A large area of high and middle level clouds over the
eastern islands…with thunderstorms far southwest
A mix of multi-level clouds…less so over Kauai and Oahu
Showers falling locally – Looping radar image
~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~
Winds light through most of Sunday…then stronger trade winds Monday onward. Here’s the latest weather map, showing a near 1024 millibar high pressure system to the northeast…with an associated ridge north of the islands. At the same time, there’s low pressure systems far to the northwest and north, with their comma shaped cold fronts. The air flow over the state will remain on the light side…with daytime sea breezes again Sunday. Light trade winds may be able to hold on over the windward coasts and channels. As we move into the new week, the trades will strengthen again, with no distinct end in sight from there.
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
Cloudy periods, although many clear areas too…with clouds increasing over and around the mountains again Sunday afternoon. Sea breezes will carry clouds over the islands, especially over and around the mountains Sunday afternoon. These clouds will begin to drop showers beginning late in the morning locally, lasting into the early evening hours. The trade winds will pick up early in the new week ahead, carrying some passing showers to the windward sides then. The models are now showing a possible uptick in windward showers by mid-week…lasting for several days.
Marine environment details: No small craft advisories are currently posted, but as the trade winds increase beginning late Sunday, one may be needed for the typically windy waters around Maui County and the Big Island. Once posted, the expect advisory level winds to persist through the week for the windier areas.
The current northwest swell will continue to lower through Monday. There will be a series of small south swells through Tuesday with a slightly larger south swell due to arrive Wednesday, which will peak Thursday, and then gradually lower Friday and Saturday. As the trades build next week, expect choppy surf along windward shores.
Here on Maui – Before sunrise on this Saturday morning, we find skies cloudy to partly cloudy. The high clouds over the state will light up a nice pink color this morning. Here at my place in Kula, it’s mostly cloudy and calm, with an air temperature of 55.7F degrees at 530am. At about the same time, at the Kahului AP was reporting 69 degrees under cloudy skies, while Hana was registering 72 degrees…with 41 degrees atop the Haleakala Crater. / Now at 8am, I see that the agriculture business has lit a big sugar cane fire in the central valley. Grrrr…this is not a good day to burn, as the winds will be light, allowing this smoke to hang in over the island! / Now at 1155am, the first raindrops, small and few and far between, began to fall. Yesterday in contrast, they first began at exactly 1130am…and they lasted a good time, through late afternoon in fact. I’m beginning to see what looks like light volcanic haze too.
– Saturday afternoon, under mostly cloudy skies, with showers falling locally. There are no signs of heavy rains, at least not yet. However, as the afternoon drags on, there are some heavy and rather dark cloud bases, indicating that there may end up being some good showers with time.
– Saturday evening, with enough fog over my place here in Kula, that I can’t see out and about…over the rest of the island. It got good and cloudy during the afternoon, although our expected rains never really materialized. I know that Keokea and Ulupalakua got some decent showers. It tried to get a little sunny for a short time, not too long ago, although this fog has closed in over me again now. / Just got back home at 915pm, and it’s pea soup fog with light sprinkles here in Kula. I don’t mean this sarcastically, I love this kind of weather.
Friday Evening Film: As is the case many times this year, there’s a good selection of films playing in Kahului. This time around, I chose the action and adventure filled Captain America: Civil War, starring Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr., Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Renner, Emily VanCamp, Paul Rudd, Elizabeth Olsen…among many others. The synopsis: Marvel’s “Captain America: Civil War” finds Steve Rogers leading the newly formed team of Avengers in their continued efforts to safeguard humanity. But after another incident involving the Avengers results in collateral damage, political pressure mounts to install a system of accountability, headed by a governing body to oversee and direct the team. The new status quo fractures the Avengers, resulting in two camps-one led by Steve Rogers and his desire for the Avengers to remain free to defend humanity without government interference, and the other following Tony Stark’s surprising decision to support government oversight and accountability.
This film was 2 1/2 hours long, and after 10 minutes or more of trailers before the feature began, it was a long time to be sitting in that theater seat. It was a huge film, a royale battle of the sides, with countless numbers of innocent bystanders who died in this major conflict! It was Captain America fighting against Iron Man, with quite a cast of supporting characters on both sides. It was an over the top superhero film, with humor and action vying for the audiences attention. I’m not typically crazy about superhero films, although Captain America turns out to be this wholesome, level headed guy, who is pretty likeable. In sum, it was a good film, not what I’d call a great film, although certainly entertaining, and then some. As far as a grade goes, I guess I come down in the B+ category, not just a B, although not an A minus either. If any of this sounds interesting, and prompts you to take a quick peek…here’s the trailer – the large view is always best.
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: Frequency of extreme heat waves on the increase in Africa: Could occur annually by 2040 – Longer, hotter, more regular heat waves could have a damaging effect on life expectancy and crop production in Africa warn climate scientists in a study published in the journal Environmental Research Letters. Examining temperature data from 1979 to 2015, the researchers caution that heat waves classified as unusual today could become a normal occurrence within 20 years. This scenario could be triggered by an increase in average global temperature of 2 degrees.
Risk all year round
Located between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, Africa experiences high levels of solar radiation all year round and heat waves can occur in any season, not just during summer months. Running climate models through to 2075, the scientists found that so-called unusual heat waves could occur as frequently as four times per year towards the end of the century. In other words, one dangerously hot spell for every season of the year.
“Africa is one of the most vulnerable continents to climate change and even a modest rise in average global temperature could have severe consequences for the people living there,” said Jana Sillmann of the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research (CICERO), one of the institutions taking part in the study. “We need to put considerable effort into climate change adaptation to reduce the risk of extreme events such as heat waves, which are likely to occur much more frequently in the future.”
Analytical approach
To crunch the numbers, the team–which also includes researchers from the Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA) and the University of Catania, both in Italy–uses a metric dubbed the Heat Wave Magnitude Index daily (HWMId). The data format takes into account the severity of the temperature extremes as well as the number of consecutive days of hot weather. Using this approach, the group can compare heat waves occurring in different places and at different times of the year, but there are other details to factor in.
“The severity of the impact on human mortality and crop production depends on the vulnerability of the communities affected and the environmental systems,” added Sillmann. “For example, the heat wave in Finland during 1972–which we have studied previously–was comparable to the period of hot weather occurring in Central Europe during 2003. However, the latter event was responsible for more deaths than the Finnish heat wave.”
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