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

83 – 70  Lihue, Kauai
83 – 74  Honolulu, Oahu
83 – 70  Molokai AP
87 – 65  Kahului AP, Maui
85 – 73  Kailua Kona
83 – 69  Hilo AP, Hawaii

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

3.20  Hanalei, Kauai
0.37  Moanalua, Oahu
0.03  Puu Alii, Molokai
0.00  Lanai
0.00  Kahoolawe
2.00  Ulupalakua, Maui
1.14  Piihonua, Big Island

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

22  Port Allen, Kauai
25  Kuaokala, Oahu
25   Molokai
27  Lanai
32  Kahoolawe
23  Kahului AP, Maui 
29  Puu Mali, Big Island

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
There’s a low pressure system far north of the state…
with a trailing cold front

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/west/cpac/ir4.jpg
Scattered low clouds in the area of the islands, with thunderstorms
far southwest and southeast

 

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/west/hi/ir4.jpg
Clear to cloudy…with high clouds near the Big Island
and Kauai

 

http://radar.weather.gov/Conus/RadarImg/hawaii.gif
Showers locally…some quite generous offshore,
and over the islands in places too
Looping radar image



Flood Advisory…east Maui – Kaupo, Kipahulu, Nahiku, Haiku,
Nuu and Huelo


~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~



The trade winds easing up…bringing muggy weather our way through the rest of the week. Here’s the latest weather map, showing moderately strong high pressure systems far to the northeast and northwest. At the same time, there’s the tail-end of a stationary cold front/trough to the north of Kauai. A trough of low pressure is expected to edge closer to our area Wednesday, which will trim back on the trade wind speeds. The winds are expected to arrive from the east to southeast then into Friday. The models are showing the winds coming all the way around to the southeast to south by the weekend into early next week, keeping rather hot and sultry conditions over the islands…along with carrying volcanic haze over the smaller islands locally at times. This interruption to the trade wind flow is unusual for so late in the spring season, as typically the trade winds have the upper hand by now.

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

Showers will favor the leeward slopes going forward, as a convective weather pattern develops…bringing afternoon showers and humid conditions for the second half of the week. Satellite imagery shows clear to partly cloudy skies in most places across the state, with cloudy areas locally. We also see a good amount of high cirrus clouds just south of the state, along with a patch near Kauai. The models continue to point out the chance of an increase in showers now, and going into the middle of the week, some of which will become locally heavy. As the winds become lighter during the second half of this week, we’ll see convective showers popping-up over the leeward slopes during the afternoon hours. If a trough of low pressure edges over the island chain during the weekend as expected, into early next week…we would see more afternoon upcountry showers continuing.

Marine environment details: This will likely be the last day with the trades blow, through the holiday weekend. There are no marine advisories in effect, and Small Craft Advisory (SCA) aren’t expected through the week. Trade winds shift easterly later tonight, and they are expected to remain out of the east to east-southeast through Thursday. During that time, winds could be accelerated to near SCA strength over waters north and east of Maui County and the Big Island. Lighter winds are due heading into the weekend.

Small surf will dominate on most shores this week. The one exception is a potentially moderate southwest swell that will build Thursday, peaking Friday, then lower during the weekend. This swell will originate from the Tasman Sea, and given the large degree of south Pacific island blocking on swells from this direction…surf locally tends to be inconsistent.

 

   https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/03/e5/88/03e588e5ae141485729e1ee9ac738356.jpg
Waimea Bay…Oahu


Here on Maui – Tuesday morning is dawning mostly clear to partly cloudy…with most of the cloudy areas located along the windward sides. Here at my place in upcountry Kula, it’s calm and clear…with an air temperature of 49.8F degrees at 550am. Meanwhile, at about the same time, the Kahului AP was reporting clear skies, with an air temperature of 66 degrees…with a 72 degree reading out in Hana, and the summit of the Haleakala Crater was 41 degrees.

– Early afternoon, with clear to partly cloudy skies, and the trade winds are blowing. Looking out over the island from here in Kula, I can see some very well developed cumulus clouds in the area, which are getting darker over the last hour or so. It wouldn’t surprise me to see some locally generous showers falling over the slopes of the Haleakala Crater with time. Interesting to see that the north shore, which is often cloudy…having mostly sunny skies instead. / Now at 250pm, it’s cloudy and raining, moderately heavy and rather steady…at least here in Kula. There’s a flood advisory over near Keokea and Ulupalakua, in other words…productive upcountry showers. It’s rather breezy too, which is a little unusual, at least coming from the south.

– Early evening, we had lots of good rain in many areas here on the island during the afternoon hours. The highest total was not too far from me here in Kula, which was 1.99″ at Ulupalakua. The rains here at my place took a nice break, although now at just before 6pm, it’s begun to rain again. The largest amount anywhere in the state, at least at the most recent recording, was 3.20″ up on Kauai, at Hanalei.

 

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: No active tropical cyclones

Tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 5 days.

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: No active tropical cyclones

>>> 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: Squid populations on the rise – Unlike the declining populations of many fish species, the number of cephalopods (octopus, cuttlefish and squid) has increased in the world’s oceans over the past 60 years, a University of Adelaide study has found.

The international team, led by researchers from the University’s Environment Institute, compiled a global database of cephalopod catch rates to investigate long-term trends in abundance, published in Cell Press journal Current Biology.

“Our analyses showed that cephalopod abundance has increased since the 1950s, a result that was remarkably consistent across three distinct groups,” says lead author Dr Zoë Doubleday, Research Fellow in the Environment Institute and School of Biological Sciences.

“Cephalopods are often called ‘weeds of the sea’ as they have a unique set of biological traits, including rapid growth, short lifespans and flexible development. These allow them to adapt to changing environmental conditions (such as temperature) more quickly than many other marine species, which suggests that they may be benefiting from a changing ocean environment.”

Dr Doubleday says the research stemmed from an investigation of declining numbers of the iconic Giant Australian cuttlefish.

“There has been a lot of concern over declining numbers of the iconic Giant Australian cuttlefish at the world-renowned breeding ground in South Australia’s Spencer Gulf,” Dr Doubleday says. “To determine if similar patterns were occurring elsewhere, we compiled this global-scale database. Surprisingly, analyses revealed that cephalopods, as a whole, are in fact increasing; and since this study, cuttlefish numbers from this iconic population near Whyalla are luckily bouncing back.”

Project leader Professor Bronwyn Gillanders says large-scale changes to the marine environment, brought about by human activities, may be driving the global increase in cephalopods.

“Cephalopods are an ecologically and commercially important group of invertebrates that are highly sensitive to changes in the environment,” Professor Gillanders says. “We’re currently investigating what may be causing them to proliferate – global warming and overfishing of fish species are two theories. It is a difficult, but important question to answer, as it may tell us an even bigger story about how human activities are changing the ocean.”

Cephalopods are found in all marine habitats and, as well as being voracious predators, they are also an important source of food for many marine species, as well as humans.

“As such, the increase in abundance has significant and complex implications for both the marine food web and us,” says Dr Doubleday.