Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures (F) were recorded across the state of Hawaii Wednesday…along with the low temperatures Wednesday:
82 – 71 Lihue, Kauai
84 – 70 Honolulu, Oahu
84 – 70 Molokai AP
86 – 70 Kahului AP, Maui
88 – 75 Kailua Kona
83 – 69 Hilo AP, Hawaii
Here are the latest 24-hour precipitation totals (inches) for each of the islands…as of Wednesday evening:
0.25 Mount Waialeale, Kauai
0.14 Palisades, Oahu
0.04 Puu Alii, Molokai
0.00 Lanai
0.00 Kahoolawe
0.20 West Wailuaiki, Maui
0.68 Honaunau, Big Island
The following numbers represent the strongest wind gusts (mph)…as of Wednesday evening:
28 Port Allen, Kauai
30 Kuaokala, Oahu
28 Molokai
27 Lanai
29 Kahoolawe
27 Maalaea Bay, Maui
27 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
Low pressure systems far north of Hawaii, with
its trailing cold front
Numerous thunderstorms far south of the islands
Generally clear to partly cloudy…a few cirrus clouds south – it
looks like we’ll see an increase in windward showers tonight,
especially from Kauai to Oahu down through Maui
Quite a few showers this morning – Looping radar image
Small Craft Advisory…windiest coasts and channels
around Maui County and the Big Island
~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~
Moderate trade winds will continue through the week…into next week. Here’s the latest weather map, showing high pressure systems north and east-northeast of Hawaii. There’s an area of low pressure well offshore to the northeast of the state, with the tail-end of its associated cold front/trough offshore to our east. The forecast shows the trade winds bringing moderately strong breezes our way through the rest of this week into next 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
We can look for fairly normal trade wind weather through Friday, then increasing showers during the upcoming weekend…into early next week. It looks like a band of clouds will be carried to our windward sides tonight, bringing an increase in showers, as a brief break from the recent dry weather. As we get into the weekend, we’ll find a more substantial increase in showers, mostly over the windward sides…although not exclusively. The atmosphere will become shower prone and unstable, leading to more widespread showers, with localized downpours and then even the remote chance of a thunderstorm Sunday into early next week. You may be wondering, is this unusual…and the answer is absolutely yes!
Marine environment details: Small craft advisory conditions due to strong trade winds will continue across the typical windier marine areas from the Pailolo Channel to the waters south and southeast of the Big Island. This advisory will likely be extended into the weekend as the latest guidance indicates high pressure north of the area strengthening further. Other marine areas will need to be monitored through this time, which will remain near advisory levels each day.
In addition to the winds, advisory level seas will become a possibility over the Alenuihaha Channel, and the waters south and southeast of the Big Island through the weekend. These persistent winds combined with an expanding fetch upstream south of the ridge axis, will translate to building surf along east facing shores through the weekend…and may near advisory levels by early next week.
In response to what has been a very active pattern across the south Pacific over the past few days, a series of southerly swells is expected across the waters today through early next week. This will translate to a long period of advisory level surf event along the south facing shores beginning as early as Thursday night into Friday, and will continue through the weekend and early next week before lowering. The surf will peak sometime between Saturday night and Sunday night near the warning level, especially if the swell comes in slightly higher than anticipated. Regardless, impacts will include life-threatening surf and currents along the exposed south facing shores through this time. Periodically, breaking waves may impact navigation in and around the exposed harbor entrances.
A large southerly swell will translate to rising surf
along south facing shores Thursday thru Saturday,
peaking Saturday night thru Sunday night…then
gradually trending down by the middle portion of
next week
Here on Maui – Early Wednesday morning is dawning clear to partly cloudy. Looking out the windows of my weather tower before sunrise, the only clouds that I see are over the windward areas…stretching over the West Maui Mountains. The air temperature was 50.3F degrees at 540am. Meanwhile, at about the same time, the Kahului AP was reporting clear skies, with an air temperature of 71 degrees, while out in Hana it was 70, with 73 at Maalaea Bay…and finally the summit of the Haleakala Crater was reporting 46 degrees.
– Mid afternoon under a mix of clouds around the mountains, and abundant sunshine down at the beaches.
– Early evening, with still abundant late spring sunshine beaming down. It was another day of very warm temperatures, not only at our sea level locations, but also at higher elevations too. I expect a band of clouds to arrive along our windward sides tonight, bringing an increase in showers…likely into early Thursday morning. These windward biased showers will give way to more pleasant weather during the day Thursday.
World-wide tropical cyclone activity:
>>> Atlantic Ocean: No active tropical cyclones
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
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: 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: Renewable Energy Hit Record Levels in 2015 – A new report confirms that 2015 was a record-breaking year for renewable energy in which 147 Gigawatts of renewable electricity came online.
That figure represents the largest annual increase ever recorded, and is due in part to the $286 billion invested in renewables. In fact, in 2015 almost twice as much money was spent on renewable energy, like solar and wind power, than fossil fuels like gas-fired power stations — only $130 billion.
This information comes as part of the Renewables Global Status Report authored by the global renewable energy policy network known as REN21.
“The fact that we had 147GW of capacity, mainly of wind and solar is a clear indication that these technologies are cost competitive (with fossil fuels),” explained Christine Lins, executive secretary of REN21. ”They are the preference for many countries and more and more utilities and investors and that is a very positive signal.”
The report highlights another factor that may have made a difference in 2015: the level of interest and cooperation in the banking sector.
Investment vehicles, like green bonds and crowdfunding, meant that renewables could flourish. In addition, the report says that mainstream financing has invested for higher yield even in the face of higher risks. For campaigners this is a significant win. In effect, it shows any fears that investors won’t back renewables to be unfounded.
Furthermore, the report highlights how the renewable energy sector has helped both directly and indirectly increase employment rates. In total, the report estimates that 8.1 million jobs were generated by renewable energy in 2015. Large-scale hydropower also contributed 1.3 million jobs. These figures will likely increase as investment continues to pour in.
However, critics have pointed out that the biggest investors in clean energy are not the most economically prosperous nations — far from it. The biggest spenders when GDP is taken into account are countries like Mauritania, Honduras and Jamaica.
Even when accounting for differences in economy size and other factors, developing countries like China are far outspending countries like the United States and the European Union. China, for example, accounted for a third of the total global spending on renewables in 2015.
As a result, while Europe to emerge from last year’s review relatively well, it can’t afford to become complacent –particularly in the case of the U.K., where government subsidies for solar energy have been slashed and could impact renewables growth in 2016.
The Guardian quotes Jean-François Fauconnier of the group Climate Action Network Europe: “The EU is at risk of missing the ongoing energy revolution and lagging behind other leading economies for decades.” Fauconnier insists that the E.U. must use the report in its own review later this year.
Obviously the future of U.S. renewable growth will hinge on the results of the presidential elections. For instance, Republican nominee Donald Trump pledged to slash the COP21 agreement and appears likely to invest heavily in fossil fuel use.
Certainly, the report isn’t all positive, either.
Despite the continued rise in total capacity of renewable heating and cooling technologies, the global growth rate actually declined in 2015. This was due in part to low oil prices. And while interest appears to be rising in renewable cooling systems, the actual rate of implementation remains low.
Renewable energy continues to offer exciting prospects for greener transport initiatives, but overall policy support in the form of government legislation and subsidy remains low, which will, in turn, inhibit outside investment and growth. The report specifically notes that while most world governments are looking at biofuels, they aren’t giving enough attention to second generation or new fuels.
Despite this, the report finds a hopeful sign that renewables are on the up: fossil fuel prices are at a historic low but clean energy still thrived in 2015.
While there is certainly much more to do in terms of fulfilling the promises made at the Paris climate talks last December, 2015?s figures show that clean energy is gaining traction.
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