Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures (F) were recorded across the state of Hawaii Wednesday…along with the low temperatures Wednesday:
86 – 77 Lihue, Kauai
85 – 75 Honolulu, Oahu
87 – 77 Molokai AP
90 – 76 Kahului AP, Maui – record high Wednesday 92…1992
89 – 78 Kona AP
87 – 72 Hilo AP, Hawaii
Here are the latest 24-hour precipitation totals (inches) for each of the islands…Wednesday evening:
0.27 Mount Waialeale, Kauai
0.04 Tunnel RG, Oahu
0.01 Molokai
0.00 Lanai
0.00 Kahoolawe
0.27 West Wailuaiki, Maui
0.60 Kawainui Stream, Big Island
The following numbers represent the strongest wind gusts (mph)…Wednesday evening:
30 Port Allen, Kauai
32 Kuaokala, Oahu
27 Molokai
29 Lanai
35 Kahoolawe
30 Kapalua, Maui
35 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
Lots of heavy clouds and high cirrus to our west
Thunderstorms well offshore southwest and west, with the cloud swirl of former Ivette to the south
Clouds being carried to the islands on the trades…with former tropical cyclone Ivette getting within 200-300 or so miles south of the islands
A few fading thunderstorms associated with the tropical low…moving by south of us
Showers increasing locally over the eastern islands into Thursday morning – Looping radar image
Small Craft Advisory…for the windiest coasts and channels around Maui County and the Big Island
~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~
Trade winds picking up in strength into Friday…then slightly lighter during the weekend. Here’s the latest weather map, showing a moderately strong high pressure system well north-northeast of Hawaii. Former Ivette, now just a weak area of low pressure to our south-southeast, will move by to the south of the state. The presence of this low will cause our local winds to become a bit stronger. There’s no real end in sight for these gusty trade winds, although they should ease up a touch during the weekend for a couple of days…although continue right on 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
Clouds and showers will favor windward areas…with a few to the leeward sides here and there. We’ll see the low cloud swirl from retired Ivette moving by to the south of the state. The northern fringe of this swirl will clip the Big Island and perhaps Maui, bringing an increase in showers to parts of those islands briefly. Then, as we push into later Friday into Sunday morning time frame, an upper level trough of low pressure will edge closer…resulting in more active showers. These showers will generally fall along the windward sides, with a few over the leeward sides too. We’ll push back into a fairly normal summertime trade wind weather pattern during the first half of next week.
Marine environment details: A Small Craft Advisory (SCA) remains in effect for the typically windy waters around the Big Island and Maui through Thursday night. As the remnants of former tropical cyclone Ivette pass several hundred miles south of the state, the resulting trade winds should increase. Border line SCA conditions are expected by Friday.
In the short term, increased trade winds will lead to a slight increase in surf along the windward shores during the next couple of days, but surf is expected to remain below advisory levels along all shorelines through the next week.
A quick break from weather, weather…and more weather!
World-wide tropical cyclone activity
>>> Atlantic Ocean: No active tropical cyclones
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
1.) A broad area of disturbed weather is located several hundred miles southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula. A low pressure area is forecast to form over the weekend while it moves generally westward. Some development of this system is possible by early next week.
This area is being referred to as Invest 94E, here’s a satellite image…and what the computers are showing
* Formation chance through 48 hours…low…near 0 percent
* Formation chance through 5 days…low…20 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
Here’s a link to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC)
Tropical Storm 08W (Conson) remains active in the western Pacific, located about 140 NM south of Minami Tori Shima…here’s the JTWC graphical track map, with a satellite image, and what the computer models are showing
>>> 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: California Freeways to Go Greener by Generating Electricity – Energy conservation is probably not the first thing that comes to mind when you think about freeways jammed with idling vehicles.
But in California, which has some of the most congested freeways in the country, that’s about to change. The California Energy Commission (CEC) has approved a pilot program in which piezoelectric crystals will be installed on several freeways.
No, these aren’t some kind of new-agey crystals with mystical powers. Piezoelectric crystals, about the size of watch batteries, give off an electrical discharge when they’re mechanically stressed, such as when a vehicle drives over them. Multiply that by thousands of vehicles, and it creates an electric current that can be harvested to feed the grid.
In fact, scientists estimate the energy generated from piezoelectric crystals on a 10-mile stretch of freeway could provide power for the entire city of Burbank (population: over 105,000).
“I still get stopped on the street by people who ask what happened to the idea of using our roads to generate electricity,” said Mike Gatto, a Los Angeles assemblyman, in a press release announcing the program. “California is the car capital of the world, and we recycle just about everything. So why not capture the energy from road vibrations and put it to good use?”
Piezoelectric-based energy?harvesting technology is already being used in other countries. Since 2009, all the displays in the East Japan Railway Company’s Tokyo station have been powered by people walking on the piezoelectric flooring. Italy has signed a contract that will install this technology in a portion of the Venice-to-Trieste Autostrada. Israel is already using this technology on some highways, which is how Gatto got the idea for the pilot program in California. A friend returning from a trip to Israel raved about a road that produced energy.
“If piezoelectric based technology has the potential to match the performance, reliability, and costs of existing or emerging renewable energy sources, then it can potentially diversify California’s resource portfolio, and ultimately increase grid reliability and reduce costs to ratepayers,” states a report prepared for the CEC in 2014 by international certification body and classification society DNV KEMA Energy & Sustainability (now known as DNV GL).
Piezoelectric technology has been used for years in electric guitars and sonar. The crystals are “in effect the reverse of sonar: a vibration comes in, and an electric pulse comes out,” according to the press release. This video provides an animated illustration of how they could generate electricity on roadways.
After Governor Jerry Brown vetoed an assembly bill Gatto introduced in 2011 that would have launched two piezoelectric pilot programs in California, Gatto asked the CEC to study the technology. Five years later, the CEC has agreed to fund pilot projects around the state.
If they are successful, perhaps other states will consider harvesting electricity from their busy roadways.
“Thirty years ago, no one would have believed that black silicon panels in the desert could generate ‘solar’ power,” Gatto stated. “Piezoelectric technology is real, and I am glad the state has finally acknowledged its potential in becoming an energy source.”
Rich Says:
World-class photo of the bodyboarder, Glenn. Can you tell us which surf break that might be? That fellow is still thinking about that ride ! Rich–Puna Makai
~~~ Hi Rich, good to hear from you again. I totally agree, that is a fabulous wave, and the rider is in the perfect take off position. I love the colors of the wave especially!
I went back and tried to find out where this picture was taken, but with no such luck. I’m tempted to say over near La Perouse Bay here on Maui, or at that place called Dumps…although I’m not sure.
Thanks for writing
Aloha, Glenn