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

80 – 70  Lihue, Kauai
80 – 70  Honolulu, Oahu
79 – 70  Molokai AP
82 – 71  Kahului AP, Maui
86 – 72  Kailua Kona
83 – 68  Hilo AP, Hawaii

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

1.55  Mount Waialeale, Kauai
2.99  Poamoho RG 1, Oahu
2.61  Puu Alii, Molokai
0.03  Lanai
0.00  Kahoolawe
3.13  West Wailuaiki, Maui
0.53  Pahala, Big Island

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

20  Poipu, Kauai
33  Kuaokala, Oahu
24   Molokai
28  Lanai
24  Kahoolawe
31  Maalaea Bay, Maui
25  Kealakomo, 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 low pressure systems far north of the state, with trailing
cold fronts

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/west/cpac/ir4.jpg
Scattered low clouds in the area of the islands…with a dissipating
cold front moving very slowly southeast, thunderstorms southwest

 

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/west/hi/ir4.jpg
Partly to mostly cloudy…with the weak cold front over the Big Island,
although extending back over the other islands

 

http://radar.weather.gov/Conus/RadarImg/hawaii.gif
Showers falling in the wake of this unusual cold front
Looping radar image


Small Craft Advisory…Maalaea Bay, Pailolo and Alenuihaha Channels

~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~

 

Moderate trades will prevail…continuing tonight into Friday. Here’s the latest weather map, showing moderately strong high pressure systems north-northwest and far northeast of Hawaii. At the same time, there’s the tail-end of a weak cold front near the Big Island…moving slowly southeastward. Look for the return of trade winds statewide now, which will become locally quite gusty. The trades will then turn light and variable by Saturday and Sunday, as a surface trough moves over our windward waters from the northeast. The models show the trade winds returning early next week…and continuing at least through the middle of the week.

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

A fairly wet trade wind pattern will continue for another day or so…associated with a cold front that’s near the Big Island. Moisture left behind by the front will enhance showers, especially across windward sections of the state. Showers in the wake of this cold front continue across the central islands for the  most part. We will see numerous passing showers crossing the windward coasts and slopes for another day or so. In contrast, the leeward sides will be drier, although showers will move over into those areas here and there on the smaller islands too. As the winds ease up again by the weekend, we may slip into a convective weather pattern, with clear mornings giving way to afternoon clouds…and interior showers.

Marine environment details: A weak slow-moving front currently over northern Big Island will drift southward over the next couple of days, allowing fresh northeast winds to the north of the front to spread over the entire island chain. High resolution models continue to show winds along the frontal boundary touching small craft advisory strength at times, though coastal wind observations have not been supporting winds this strong.  Expect a decrease in winds on Friday and the weekend as high pressure weakens to the north of the state…and a surface trough develops to the northeast.

Surf will remain below advisory levels on all shores this week. A fading south-southeast swell will be reinforced by another pulse from a similar direction. This will maintain moderate surf along south facing shores, with larger sets on southeast facing coasts, during the next couple of days…then drop a notch heading into the weekend. Small surf will prevail on north and east facing shores.

 

  https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/b3/5c/a8/b35ca8c497e48c987d5991664e54cb56.jpg


Here on Maui – Early Tuesday morning is dawning mostly clear to partly cloudy, with a majority of the low clouds strung out along the windward coasts and channels. Here at my place in upcountry Kula, it’s calm and clear…with an air temperature of 53F degrees at 535am. Meanwhile, at about the same time, the Kahului AP was reporting cloudy skies, with an air temperature of 73 degrees, as was Maalaea Bay and out in Hana…while the summit of the Haleakala Crater was 43 degrees.

– Early afternoon, and the island is mostly cloudy, with rain falling locally. My visiting friends and I just got back from Kahului and Wailuku…and up into the Iao Valley. We had showers falling along most of our trip, with the wettest place in the Iao Valley of course. I got out to look down to the Iao River, and got a pretty dose of wet in the process. This is what I would call very unusual, having this very late season cold front, bringing us this rainfall…it’s great! I just got an email from John Decker, a friend who lives in Wailuku Heights, and he said that in his area, he has measured 9.80″ of rain this month, and used three exclamation marks! In other words, that’s a lot of rain, in a month that is often the driest month of the year (May) here in the state of Hawaii. / 320pm, cloudy and showering here in Kula, looks similar all around…raining in many areas.

– Early evening here in Kula, it’s cloudy, foggy, breezy, cool (66 degrees)…with moderately heavy rain. At the same time, the Kahului AP, and Hana were both reporting a relatively cool 72 degrees, with light rain falling. The Haleakala summit was reporting 48 degrees.

 

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

Post-Tropical Cyclone Bonnie is producing a threat of heavy rainfall over eastern North Carolina. It was located about 90 miles southeast of Wilmington/New Hanover, North Carolina

Here’s a satellite image of this Post-tropical cyclone

HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND

RAINFALL: POST-TROPICAL CYCLONE BONNIE IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE ADDITIONAL RAINFALL TOTALS OF 1 TO 2 INCHES WITH ISOLATED AMOUNTS OF 4 INCHES POSSIBLE ACROSS EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA THROUGH THURSDAY. THESE RAINS WILL CONTINUE TO ENHANCE THE THREAT FOR LOCAL FLASH FLOODING…PARTICULARLY IN REGIONS WHICH ARE ALREADY SATURATED FROM PREVIOUS HEAVY RAINFALL.

Here’s a satellite image of the Atlantic Ocean

>>> Caribbean Sea: No active tropical cyclones

>>> Gulf of Mexico: No active tropical cyclones

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

Showers and thunderstorms associated with a broad area of low pressure located about 1000 miles south of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula have become more concentrated during the past 24 hours. Environmental conditions are expected to be conducive for additional development of this system during the next several days, and a tropical depression is likely to form later this week as the disturbance moves west-northwestward at about 15 mph.

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

* Formation chance through 48 hours…medium…50 percent
* Formation chance through 5 days…high…90 percent

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: No active tropical cyclones

No tropical cyclones expected through late Thursday night

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: What Are Nile Crocodiles Doing in Florida? – At up to 20 feet long and weighing a ton and a half, with the strongest bite in the animal kingdom, Nile crocodiles can pretty much devour anything they want to — including humans.

As you can guess from their name, these carnivorous crocs are native to sub-Saharan Africa, where they subsist on small hippos, zebras and other animals they catch and, in some cases, swallow whole.

“In many parts of Africa, humans are commonly preyed upon by Nile crocodiles; therefore, fatal attacks and consumption by these large predators are well-documented,” notes the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

Scary, right? And now Nile crocodiles are living in the wilds of Florida.

In a new study, using DNA analysis, University of Florida scientists discovered several Nile crocodiles in the wild between 2000 and 2014.

“The odds that the few of us who study Florida reptiles have found all of the Nile crocs out there is probably unlikely,” Kenneth L. Krysko, one of the study’s authors, said in a statement. “We know they can survive in the Florida wilderness for numerous years, we know they grow quickly here and we know their behavior in their native range, and there is no reason to suggest that would change here in Florida.”

How did Nile crocodiles end up in Florida, more than 7,800 miles away?

Some were imported legally and are on display in tourist attractions like Disney’s Animal Kingdom. But the ones found in the wild had likely been brought here as hatchlings by smugglers in the exotic pet trade. The DNA analysis found that three of the Nile crocodiles were related.

“This is a very big predator, and now we’ve introduced it into Florida,” Krysko told the New York Times. “This is not a good thing.”

Nile crocodiles have previously been found elsewhere in the United States. Five of them escaped from a Mississippi alligator farm when it was flooded during Hurricane George in 1989, according to the USGS. But the DNA of the Nile crocs in the Florida wilds did not match that of those in any U.S. zoos.

Because of the exotic pet trade and the state’s subtropical climate, Florida is home to the world’s largest number of invasive species, including the Burmese python and Cuban tree frog, which have wreaked havoc on the ecosystem.

To prevent the Nile crocodiles from causing similar destruction, the University of Florida researchers urged state and federal wildlife agencies to capture and transport protected species out of their native range in order to quickly remove the Nile crocodiles.

This seems like quite a challenging task. Another challenge is being able to distinguish Nile crocodiles from native species. Along with being larger and more aggressive than the American crocodiles in Florida, Nile crocodiles are dark green or black rather than a lighter olive green. The tops of their heads are smooth instead of having a ridge down the middle. But to the untrained eye, these differences may be difficult to spot.

“We recommend the USFWS require a clearly identifiable photograph of a nonnative crocodilian before authorization for lethal take is granted,” the study advised. Good idea.

If these predators aren’t removed, it could be disastrous for Florida’s ecosystem. Fortunately, there have been no signs that the Nile crocodiles are reproducing – yet.

“My hope as a biologist is that the introduction of Nile crocodiles in Florida opens everyone’s eyes to the problem of invasive species that we have here in our state,” Krysko stated. “Now here’s another one, but this time it isn’t just a tiny house gecko from Africa.”