Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures (F) were recorded across the state of Hawaii Tuesday…along with the low temperatures Tuesday:
82 – 73 Lihue, Kauai
85 – 76 Honolulu, Oahu
84 – 75 Molokai AP
86 – 75 Kahului AP, Maui
87 – 77 Kailua Kona
79 – 69 Hilo AP, Hawaii
Here are the latest 24-hour precipitation totals (inches) for each of the islands…as of Tuesday evening:
3.05 Mount Waialeale, Kauai
1.36 Poamoho RG 1, Oahu
0.43 Puu Alii, Molokai
0.00 Lanai
0.00 Kahoolawe
3.87 Puu Kukui, Maui
4.93 Saddle Quarry, Big Island
The following numbers represent the strongest wind gusts (mph)…as of Tuesday evening:
32 Port Allen, Kauai
50 Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu
32 Molokai
28 Lanai
42 Kahoolawe
36 Maalaea Bay, Maui
29 Upolu AP, 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
The north Pacific storm track is far north and northwest of Hawaii
Thunderstorms far south of the islands…with more scattered closer to the islands – the models don’t have that large complex of thunderstorms, to our south, moving towards the Hawaiian Islands as any sort of tropical system
There are thunderstorms over the ocean northwest of Kauai…and some locally heavy showers over Maui and the Big Island
Showers over the nearby waters, extending over the islands in places too…some are heavy from Oahu to Maui and the Big Island – Looping radar image
High Surf Advisory…south and east facing shores
Small Craft Advisory…all Hawaiian coasts and channels
Special Weather Statement…AN AREA OF THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO AFFECT THE COASTAL WATERS FROM 10 TO 40 MILES SOUTH AND SOUTHWEST OF KAUAI THROUGH THE EARLY MORNING HOURS. THESE STORMS WILL PRODUCE VERY HEAVY RAIN WITH VISIBILITIES REDUCED TO 1 NAUTICAL MILE OR LESS… DANGEROUS CLOUD TO WATER LIGHTNING STRIKES…AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 30 KNOTS. THE STORMS ARE MOVING TO THE WEST NORTHWEST AT 15 KNOTS.
~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~
The gusty trade winds remain in place…continuing through Saturday. Here’s the latest weather map, showing a very large and strong near 1037 millibar high pressure system, located well offshore to the north of Hawaii. Our local trade winds will remain blustery through the work week. This strong area of high pressure over the Pacific will begin to lose some of its influence during the weekend, as low pressure at the surface and aloft…begins to approach from the east. This will knock down our trade wind speeds a notch or two on a temporary basis. This time of year it’s unusual to see our trade winds slack-off, and once they move past these few late spring speed bumps, they will get down to their usual business…as we move into the upcoming summer season.
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
An off and on wet pattern is expected through Wednesday across windward and mountain areas, and elsewhere at times…as bands of moisture move through the islands. The atmosphere will remain rather unstable tonight, which will enhance localized shower activity at times. As the trade winds remain elevated in strength…some of these showers will spread over into the leeward sides locally as well. We should see these unusual showers backing-off later Wednesday through Saturday. As we get into Sunday into early next week, we could see another trough of low pressure edging closer, triggering an increase in showers then. Typically, the middle of June is one of our driest periods of the year, in most areas at least…so this is an unusually moist late spring period.
Marine environment details: The high surf advisory has been extended through tonight for south facing shores of the islands, due wave face heights meeting criteria. South shore surf will then steadily lower through the rest of the week and into the weekend. A small to moderate south swell will become a possibility early next week.
An easterly swell caused by a long fetch of trade winds will mix in with the locally generated wind waves through Wednesday. With breezy conditions expected to continue, a high surf advisory for the east facing shores of exposed islands is now active too.
Strong winds around across Hawaii will keep small craft advisory conditions across all coastal waters through at least Wednesday. The Small Craft Advisory may continue further for some or all of the zones now in effect.
A few thunderstorms may be possible near the Big Island coast through this evening, due to instability caused by a departing upper trough of low pressure.
Showers remain active across parts of the state…some locally heavy
Here on Maui – Early Tuesday morning is dawning mostly clear to partly cloudy, with the usual windward clouds dropping some showers. Looking out the windows of my weather tower before sunrise, these low clouds are stretching from the windward sides over the West Maui Mountains. The leeward sides are mostly clear, with just a few exceptions. The air temperature was 56.1F degrees at 535am. Meanwhile, at about the same time, the Kahului airport was reporting partly cloudy skies, with a temperature of 76 degrees, while Hana was at 75 as was Maalaea Bay…with the summit of the Haleakala Crater registering 43 degree. / Now at 1120am, it’s gotten quite cloudy everywhere that I can see. Here in upper Kula, at my place, it’s just begun to sprinkle.
– Early afternoon, partly to mostly cloudy skies from my vantage point here in Kula. The radar image just up this page certainly shows lots of scattered rain from Oahu down through Maui County to the Big Island. Lots of it’s over the nearby ocean, although the daytime heating seems to be supporting showers over parts of the islands too. The gusty trade winds are also carrying these clouds over the windward coasts and slopes as well. / Now at 1235pm, here in Kula we just had a light shower start to fall. / Now at 205pm, at least here in Kula, it’s lightly raining, and from the looks of things…other areas are getting wet too.
– Early evening, mostly cloudy with showers falling locally…some are quite generous. Here in Kula, I can see fog just up the mountain from here, and we have some light off and on showers falling. Looking down the mountain, I can see showers falling in places too. / 610pm here in Kula, I’m fogged in, with light to moderately heavy rain falling…and a cool 67.8 degree temperature. / 815pm, dark here in Kula, partly cloudy…with still a very light sprinkle coming down.
World-wide tropical cyclone activity:
>>> Atlantic Ocean: No active tropical cyclones
Environmental conditions could favor the formation of a broad area of low pressure in the Bay of Campeche when a westward moving tropical wave reaches the area later this weekend. Some slight development of this low is possible on Sunday or Monday.
* Formation chance through 48 hours…low…near 0 percent
* Formation chance through 5 days…low…20 percent
Here’s the 5-day Graphical Tropical Weather Outlook
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 several hundred miles south of Manzanillo, Mexico, remain disorganized. Environmental conditions appear to be conducive for some slow development of this system, and a tropical depression could form later this week while the disturbance moves west-northwestward at around 10 mph.
* Formation chance through 48 hours…low…20 percent
* Formation chance through 5 days…medium…50 percent
Here’s the 5-day graphical Outlook
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 the next two days…
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: Fish use tools! – Fish: charming, but not terribly bright, right? That’s been the party line for years, but it turns out that it’s not quite accurate.
Some fish actually use tools, and as researcher Culum Brown points out, the lack of studies on fish populations means that we don’t actually know the extent of this skill. Opening our eyes a little might reveal some fascinating new information about creatures we’ve traditionally identified as sitting at the lowest rung of animal life — even some vegetarians don’t see a conflict with including fish in their diets!
The first documented instance of tool use by a fish occurred in 2011, when a diver noticed a blackspot tuskfish doing something odd as he drifted along the Great Barrier Reef. When the diver investigated, he found that the fish was using a rock to crack open clam shells in order to access the meat inside. It showed a degree of resourcefulness that researchers hadn’t expected to see in fish — and it wasn’t the only intelligent tuskfish behavior.
Clams burrow into the ocean floor, which means that a fish can’t spot them with a superficial glance. Another tuskfish elsewhere in the Pacific uses its gills to generate a miniature wave that pushes sand away, uncovering what lies beneath. Both tactics reflect an understanding of the basics of physics, and the ability to identify a challenge in the natural environment and figure out how to address it.
Meanwhile, archerfish use another creative tactic while hunting: They turn their mouths into weapons, creating jets of water that knock insects off low-hanging branches and marshy banks. This isn’t just about good aim — it also requires the acquisition of a skill that involves using the environment around the fish to achieve a goal. They can even bring down flying insects, which also requires a certain amount of physics know-how.
A laboratory study with stingrays showed them using a similar tactic to get food out of tubes — again illustrating that at least some fish are capable of critical thinking to solve a problem.
Cod exhibit another interesting example of tool use. In a study exploring whether the fish could learn to use a string to activate a feeder — pulling on the string released food, creating a positive association with the desired behavior — the researchers found something unexpected.
Most of the fish did indeed figure out how to operate the feeder — and quite quickly — but then, they took it to the next level. After accidentally snagging their tags on the end of the string a few times, the fish started activating it with their tags alone, rather than using their mouths. They’d reasoned how the feeder worked and developed a tool, of sorts, for making it function.
These instances show that there’s a lot more to learn about fish. While it’s unlikely that every fish species uses tools and exhibits complex problem solving, we still might be underestimating their abilities.
When people draw distinctions between species, critical thought is often an important qualifier. What would it mean if fish turn out to be smarter than we think?
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