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

86 – 76  Lihue, Kauai
88 – 77  Honolulu, Oahu
85 – 74  Molokai AP
88 – 75  Kahului AP, Maui 
90 – 77  Kona AP
86 – 76 
Hilo AP, Hawaii

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

2.03  Mount Waialeale, Kauai
1.29  Manoa Lyon Arboretum,
Oahu
3.27  Molokai
0.15  Lanai
0.00  Kahoolawe
2.84  West Wailuaiki, Maui
2.99  Kawainui Stream, Big Island

The following numbers represent the strongest wind gusts (mph)…Saturday evening:

24  Port Allen, Kauai
28  Kuaokala, Oahu
12  Molokai
18  Lanai

21  Kahoolawe
15  Maalaea Bay, Maui

27  Kaupulehu, Big Island

Hawaii’s MountainsHere’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

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Tropical Storm Lester is moving away to the north of the state

http://www.prh.noaa.gov/cphc/tc_graphics/2016/graphics/EP132016W.gif

 

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/west/cpac/vis.jpg
Tropical Storm Lester well offshore north of Kauai…with flaring thunderstorms

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/TROP/floaters/13E/imagery/vis-animated.gif
Lester is coming unglued…due to southwesterly wind shear aloft

 

http://radar.weather.gov/Conus/RadarImg/hawaii.gif
Showers generally light to moderately…locally heavy
Looping radar image


Tropical Storm Warning…Hawaiian offshore waters beyond 240 nautical miles

Small Craft Advisory…Kauai northwest waters, Kauai windward waters, Kauai channel, Oahu windward waters

 

~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~

 

Tropical storm Lester continues to move away from the Hawaiian Islands…taking away most of its associated weather with it. However, its departure has left us with one more feature that all islands will be dealing with over the next 24 hours, and that’s a band of clouds that includes isolated thunderstorms. The final part of this band will clear Kauai by Monday afternoon. A stable air mass will arrive in the wake of this band…with a trade wind prevailing through the rest of the new week ahead.

Here’s a wind profile…of the offshore waters around the islands – with a closer view

Marine environment details: The buoy data from around the islands support the lowering of the High Surf Watch for east shores of the Big Island, and the High Surf Warning for Maui, Molokai, Oahu, and Kauai. 

However seas remain elevated for the windward waters of Oahu and Kauai for the time being. Expect the seas to fall below the small craft advisory threshold by by early this evening over those western islands. This advisory will likely shift southeast over Maui County and the Big Island waters tonight.

The first of two southerly swells will be filling in today into Monday. A second south swell is due to arrive around Wednesday, when surf heights may reach advisory levels along the southern shores.

 

The Numbers: I was telling my Mom (Dorothy James…Long Beach, California), who by the way, is the proof reader of this website, about the number of page views that we’ve had over the last seven days. She suggested that I share them with you. So, during this seven day period, which of course covers Madeline and now Lester, there have been 435,627 page impressions as of yesterday (Saturday). I wonder if by the end of the weekend, with Lester finally come and gone, we might make it up to 500,000? Wow, that would be half a billion, oh no I guess that would be million (smiling), and certainly enough to let me know that there are a couple of you folks using this website. Oh, and by the way…Thank You Very Much!

Friday Evening Film: My movie viewing friend Jeff and I went to see the new film called Hell or High Water. The critics are giving it a huge grade, which is a little unusual. When I first saw the preview I immediately thought to myself, I wanna see this one. This film stars Chris Pine, Jeff Bridges, Dale Dickey, Ben Foster, Gil Birmingham, Katy Mixon, Buck Taylor, Melanie Papalia, and Marin Ireland…among many others.

The synopsis: Texas brothers…Toby (Chris Pine), and Tanner (Ben Foster), come together after years divided, to rob branches of the bank threatening to foreclose on their family land. For them, the hold-ups are just part of a last-ditch scheme to take back a future that seemed to have been stolen from under them. Justice seems to be theirs, until they find themselves on the radar of Texas Ranger, Marcus (Jeff Bridges) looking for one last grand pursuit on the eve of his retirement, and his half-Comanche partner, Alberto (Gil Birmingham). As the brothers plot a final bank heist to complete their scheme, and with the Rangers on their heels, a showdown looms at the crossroads where the values of the Old and New West murderously collide.

I ended up seeing this great film with three other friends, and there were straight A’s across the board! Typically one or two of our group really likes something, and the others might not be nearly as taken. However this time, we all thought very highly of this modern western. It reminded me quite a bit of the Coen Brothers film No Country for Old Men, which I also liked very much. Every actor was rock solid, and the Texas scenery added a special sense of place, and lets not forget the perfect music tracks either. There was no lack of shooting, and driving along dusty back roads, and yes…plenty of bank robberies too. In sum, I’m so glad that riveting films like this come around, to kind of offset the other films that are just luke warm. If you’re inclined, here’s the trailer (full screen is best), and by the way…it ain’t no light-weight piece of work!

 

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High surf breaking along our east facing beaches


World-wide tropical cyclone activity..

 

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>>> Atlantic Ocean:

Post-Tropical Cyclone Hermine) is over Atlantic Ocean, located about 295 miles south-southeast of Long Island, New York…here’s a satellite image 

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/storm_graphics/AT09/refresh/AL0916W5+gif/205108W_sm.gif

1.) A tropical wave located just east of the Lesser Antilles is producing a large area of cloudiness and showers and winds to near tropical storm force. Upper-level winds are not expected to be conducive for significant development of this disturbance while it moves westward at 15 to 20 mph through the Caribbean Sea this week. Regardless of whether or not development occurs, this wave will produce locally heavy rainfall and gusty winds over portions of the Lesser Antilles through early Monday.

This tropical disturbance is being referred to as Invest 92L, here’s a satellite image…and what the computer models are showing

* Formation chance through 48 hours…low…20 percent
* Formation chance through 5 days…low…30 percent

Here’s a satellite image of the Atlantic Ocean

>>> Caribbean: 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 large area of showers and thunderstorms continue in association with an elongated area of low pressure located just off the coast of southwestern Mexico. Upper-level winds are forecast to become more conducive for development, and a tropical depression is expected to form later today or Monday while the disturbance moves slowly northwestward, parallel to the southwestern coast of Mexico.

Regardless of whether or not development occurs, the system is already bringing very heavy rains and gusty winds to southwestern Mexico, and these conditions are likely to continue for the next couple of days. Total rainfall amounts of 5 to 10 inches with isolated totals up to 15 inches are possible across the southern Mexico states of Oaxaca, Guerrero, Michoacan, Colima, Jalisco, and Nayarit. These rains could produce life-threatening flash floods and mud slides, especially in areas of mountainous terrain. Interests in these areas as well as the Baja California peninsula should monitor the progress of this disturbance.

This active disturbance is being referred to as Invest 90E, with the satellite image…and what the computer models are showing. As this disturbance winds up into a possible tropical storm, it would take on the name Newton.

* Formation chance through 48 hours…high…80 percent
* Formation chance through 5 days…high…90 percent

2.)  An area of low pressure could form in a couple of days about thousand miles southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula. Development, if any, of this system should be slow to occur while the low meanders.

* Formation chance through 48 hours…low…near 0 percent
* Formation chance through 5 days…low…20 percent

3.) Another area of low pressure is expected to form later this week several hundred miles south or southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico. Some gradual development of this system is possible after that time while it moves generally westward.

* 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
:

Tropical Storm Lester remains active in the Pacific Ocean, located about 225 miles miles north-northwest of Honolulu, Hawaii…here’s a satellite image…along with computer model are showing

Here’s a link to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC)

>>> Northwest Pacific Ocean:

Tropical Storm 15W (Namtheun)
remains active, located about 24 NM south of Sasebo, Japan…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:
Meet a Surprising Plastic Alternative: Milk
What if you could have your packaging and eat it too? We’ve seen rice paper packaging on Japanese candies, but edible plastic? Thanks to researchers at the USDA, it’s not too far in the future.

And it’s not just an edible and environmentally-friendly plastic alternative; it’s actually better at keeping food fresh than petroleum-based plastics. It’ll be a few years before you see the material on shelves — don’t start chomping down just yet — but it represents a big revolution in the way we view food packaging.

Researchers are using casein, a protein found in milk, to make a flexible and very strong film — and they’re creatively calling it “casein-based film.”

There’s another food-based ingredient, too. Citrus pectin helps the material stay strong and flexible without dissolving.

And for all you vegans out there who aren’t thrilled at the thought of replacing petroleum — blech — with animal products — not great — I have good news for you: Researchers are working on making synthetic casein by cloning the necessary DNA and harnessing fermented yeast to produce it.

What a time to be alive.

So why is casein-based film so great?

For starters, it’s not made out of petroleum, which is a pretty big deal given how ubiquitous petroleum-based plastics are in the food packaging world.

Petroleum-based plastic may be sturdy and indestructible, but it’s also … indestructible. Well, almost. It takes hundreds of years for plastic to biodegrade, which is why it’s rapidly accumulating in the environment. We keep making it, using it and throwing it away.

Even with recycling efforts, it’s an uphill battle. Some cities and states are actually starting to crack down on the use of plastic products, especially plastic shopping bags.

These films break down quickly, if you don’t feel like eating them, and they’re made from renewable components. Better yet, the material is mostly protein, and it’s easy to add other nutrients.

Theoretically, your plastic wrap could also have nutritional value, which might be especially useful in places where people have trouble getting the nutrition they need. If chowing down on largely flavorless plastic doesn’t sound that great, don’t worry — the researchers say they can add flavorings.

Here’s where things get even cooler, though.

One of the prime spoilers of food is oxygen, which is a little hard to avoid. The amount of oxygen that reaches food once it’s wrapped is dependent upon the pore size of the plastic. Petroleum-based plastics, as well as starch-based alternatives, don’t do a great job of keeping oxygen out — but these films do.

In fact, casein-based film is about 500 times better at keeping oxygen out, which could represent huge savings all along the supply chain.

One of the reasons food waste is such a significant problem is that it can be hard to prevent spoilage, especially with fresh fruits and vegetables — you know, like those cucumbers that come inexplicably wrapped in plastic, despite the fact that nature already gave them a perfectly good wrapper?

A product that reduces spoilage, offers nutritional value and breaks down readily if no one wants to have a nibble is a huge breakthrough for food science.

These films aren’t just handy for wrapping blocks of tofu. An aerosol version could be sprayed onto crisp, crunchy foods to keep them from getting stale and/or soggy — I’m looking at you, cereal. It may also have potential for single-serving food products and instant meals: Drop a sealed parcel of plastic-wrapped food into some hot water, stir and eat!