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

81 – 74  Lihue, Kauai
85 – 73  Honolulu, Oahu
82 – 69  Molokai AP
85 – 66  Kahului AP, Maui
84 – 73  Kailua Kona
83 – 70  Hilo AP, Hawaii

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

1.66  Mount Waialeale, Kauai
2.59  Nuuanu Upper, Oahu
1.28  Puu Alii, Molokai
2.78  Lanai
0.01  Kahoolawe
3.14  West Wailuaiki, Maui
1.96  Kahua Ranch, Big Island

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

25  Port Allen, Kauai
24  Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu
17   Molokai
11  Lanai
18  Kahoolawe
16  Hana, Maui
23  South Point, 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/trough of low pressure

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

 

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/west/hi/ir4.jpg
Clear to cloudy…with lots of clouds from Oahu to the Big Island –
far fewer clouds over Kauai, finally…there’s streaks of high cirrus
clouds to the south and northeast

 

http://radar.weather.gov/Conus/RadarImg/hawaii.gif
Showers locally, some heavy over the islands from Oahu
down through the Big Island – Looping radar image

 

~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~



We’ll find a combination of light trade winds…and daytime sea breezes into Thursday. 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 surface trough of low pressure is near the state now, although will exit our area Thursday. The winds are expected to arrive from the east to southeast into Friday. The models are showing the winds becoming light and variable by the weekend, keeping rather warm and sultry conditions over the islands during the days. There’s a chance that the light breezes may take on a southeasterly orientation, which would bring volcanic haze over the smaller islands during the weekend.

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 both windward and leeward sides…as the atmosphere remains unstable and shower prone for a bit longer. An area of moisture reached the islands today, prompting an increase in shower coverage. Whatever  precipitation that falls over the next day or two, will focus along the windward sides…and also over the leeward sides during the afternoon hours. As the winds become even lighter during the weekend, we’ll see most of our showers popping-up over the leeward slopes during the afternoon hours. This unusual weather situation should give way to a more normal trade wind weather pattern…likely around Monday or Tuesday of next week. As the trade winds become more established, although they will be quite light, most showers will gravitate towards the windward coasts and slopes next week.

Marine environment details: Gentle winds and moderate swells are expected through next week, so no small craft advisory conditions are expected.

A moderate southwest swell from the Tasman sea is expected to arrive later today, peak late Thursday and Friday, then decline during the weekend. Since there are so many islands along the path of the swell, surf is likely to be inconsistent.

 

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/4e/2b/f6/4e2bf66687badba605137a7b6fde639f.jpg
Honokohau Falls, Maui


Here on Maui – Early Wednesday morning is dawning mostly clear to partly cloudy…although there are lots of rainy clouds hung up along the windward side of east Maui. Here at my place in upcountry Kula, it’s calm and clear…with an air temperature of 52.7F degrees at 540am. 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. / Now at 825am, it’s partly to mostly cloudy, with rain falling locally…there’s been some very light sprinkles here in Kula already too. By the way, there’s some left over sugar cane smoke in the central valley…due to the early morning fire. / Now at 11am, the clouds are gathering forces quickly, and we just began to have another little shower here in Kula. / Just before noon, and lookin’ out the windows of my Kula weather tower, the clouds are getting that darker color to them. They definitely look like they’re getting closer to unloading some water this afternoon…with a little shower just beginning at 1156am.

– Early afternoon, with a ton of rain falling over many parts of Maui, prompting a flood advisory. Here in upcountry Maui, at my place in Kula, I can see all kinds of rain around the edges…although very light showers at best so far. / Now at 250pm, it’s totally foggy and cool…with a steady, moderately heavy rain falling here in Kula. / 315pm, steady rain, it just keeps coming down, flooding off my weather deck and my outdoor ping pong table. The air temperature has plummeted to 65 degrees, which is very cool for the middle of the day in late May. I get excited on days like this!

– Early evening, from here in upcountry Kula, it’s still cloudy with light rain, and 63 degrees at 550pm. I can’t see down the mountain, so I’m unsure if there’s been any clearing before sunset? I do know that there’s still light rain over on the upper west side at Kapalua. It was a wet afternoon here at my weather tower, with fog and times, and a much cooler than normal day in general.

 

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

1.) A low pressure area centered between Bermuda and the Bahamas is gradually becoming better defined while shower activity is increasing. Environmental conditions are expected to become more conducive for tropical or subtropical cyclone formation on Friday while the system moves west-northwestward or northwestward toward the southeastern United States coast. With the Memorial Day weekend approaching, all interests along the southeast coast from Georgia through North Carolina should monitor the progress of this low. An Air Force reconnaissance plane will be scheduled to investigate this low on Friday.

This area of disturbed weather, being referred to as Invest 91L will likely bring heavy flooding rainfall with it…as it gets closer to the southeast coast.

Here’s a satellite image of this area…along with what some of the computer models are showing

* Formation chance through 48 hours…medium…50 percent
* Formation chance through 5 days…high…70 percent

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.