Hello everyone, I’ll be on vacation until November 16th, and will return then to begin my daily weather updates.

In my absence, you can find the current weather forecasts for all of the state, by clicking on the individual islands in the upper left hand corner of this page (then click on the maps), located just below where it says Glenn’s Daily Weather Narrative.

All of the satellite images, and the radar image below, will continue to be the most current available.

Down this page, below the images, I’ll keep a travelogue, giving you updates on what’s going on during my vacation.

Aloha, Glenn James


Aloha Paragraphs

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http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/west/cpac/vis.jpg

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/west/hi/vis.jpg


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Looping radar image

 

Hawaii’s Mountains – Here’s a link to the live webcam on the summit of our tallest mountain Mauna Kea (nearly 13,800 feet high) on the Big Island of Hawaii. This webcam is available during the daylight hours here in the islands, and at night whenever there’s a big moon shining down. Also, at night you will be able to see the stars — and the sunrise and sunset too — depending upon weather conditions.

Here’s the latest weather map

Here’s a wind profile of the offshore waters around the islands – and a closer look

Here’s the Hawaiian Islands Sulfate Aerosol animated graphic, showing vog forecast


~~~ Glenn’s Autumn Travelogue ~~~

 

October 13th – I’ll be flying out from Maui today, and arriving in San Francisco this evening. I’ll catch the Marin Airporter, taking it north across the Golden Gate Bridge to Marin County. My good friend Bob, who lives in the Sacramento area, will pick me up, and we’ll head over to our friend Linda’s house in the Larkspur area. As you may know, there’s the season’s first big storm arriving along the west coast today. This will be a major weather event, with strong winds and heavy rains. It’s expected to arrive in the SF Bay area this evening, and keep things wet and windy into the weekend. I consider this a favorable weather greeting, which will also bring much needed precipitation to dry California. I’ll get back in touch soon, to let you know how  my flight went, and of course how the weather is! Aloha, Glenn

October 14th – Hi again, I’m beginning to finally feel like I’m on vacation now! My friends Linda, Bob and I have been hanging out, and really enjoying each others company. My flight was easy and smooth,  and the airporter ride to Marin County went off without a hitch as well. Bob picked me up, and when we got to Linda’s, she had a warm bowl of home made soup waiting for us, along with some fresh bread, and a tasty cheese I brought. Bob popped a bottle of 2013 Stags Leap Artemis Cabernet from Napa Valley, which was delicious. The next morning we went to Tennessee Valley for a hike out to the ocean, and to stretch our legs, before a good breakfast out in Mill Valley. It rained quite a bit that first day, and we sat in front of the fireplace catching up with each other. For dinner we bought some very fresh King Salmon at the local farmers market, and had that with fingerling potatoes, lightly cooked spinach, and a great salad. We popped a bottle of 2012 Silver Oak Cabernet from Alexander Valley, which was excellent! I’ll catch up with you again soon. Glenn

October 15th – This has been another great day, with breakfast out, more hiking, and keeping an eye on this next inbound storm system. Bob had to head back to the Sacramento area, as he had plans with his girlfriend. Linda and I were a little sad to see him go, although I’m hoping to see him one more time before I head back to Maui. This afternoon the wind is really picking up, with increasingly strong gusts. There’s a couple of minor drops falling out of the cloudy skies, although according to radar, the bulk of this incoming rainfall is still offshore at the time of this writing. Linda is gone to an Audubon meeting, and so I’ve finally had some time to sit down and write. We decided to have a lighter dinner tonight, after the rich dinner last night. We have lots of vegetables we’ll cook up, and plate them with some brown rice, and of course a nice salad. Linda enjoys her television, so after dinner we’ll watch some of her favorite programs, which she records earlier. I guess the main thing now, is to experience this big storm, enjoying the wind and rain, while sitting near the warmth of the fireplace. Trust everyone is well and fine this weekend! Aloha, Glenn

October 17th – Today turned out to be a wonderfully sunny day, after the last two cloudy and wet days. Don’t get me wrong, I greatly enjoyed the inclement weather conditions. Linda had nowhere to go yesterday, so we stayed home all day, and just hunkered in. We had a fire in her fireplace all day, which was a special treat for me! Today Linda was gone most of the day, so I had many hours to catch up on some reading, take a long walk, and do some outside work that Linda suggested. As many of you know, I don’t have a TV, and haven’t had one for many years. Although, I enjoy watching the programs that Linda has recorded, and most evenings after dinner, we sit and watch a couple of fun things. Back to the weather briefly, here in northern California, the recent rainfall is now done, with nothing expected through the next week. Looking ahead, as I fly down to see my Mom in Southern California Wednesday, there’s Santa Ana wind conditions expected. The temperatures are expected to get up into the low 90’s for 2-3 days, oh well, I suppose I can manage that. I much prefer cool weather however, which is why I live in upper Kula on Maui.

October 18th – Let’s start off with the weather here in northern California, and its perfect! The low temperature this morning was 44F degrees, and the high this afternoon is in the lower 70’s, under mostly sunny skies. This morning Linda and I joined with two other lady friends of ours, for a 20 minute drive down to Green Gulch, to see the grounds. This place is very near the coast, and after hearing about it all these years, was wonderful to actually visit. We walked down to the beach, and found sunny skies and large waves breaking. I had a shirt on, and was glad I didn’t need my jacket, like is so often required along this cold water coast. We’re back at Linda’s now, and after a really nice large Kale salad, we plan to take a break, and then do a little work a bit later this afternoon. For dinner we bought a nice piece of wild caught, local Rock Cod, which we’ll plate with steamed Broccoli, Zucchini, and a few roasted potatoes. We’ll have this fine food along with a glass of 2013 Murphy-Goode Cabernet Sauvignon. Dessert will be a little container of fine chocolate we got, sort of whipped somehow, called Pot De Creme (french for delicious pudding), followed by a cup of lemon grass tea and a little television.

October 21st – It was hot, hot, hot yesterday, in Long Beach, where my Mom lives, reaching 99 degrees! This was a record high temperature, and with my own thermometer placed in my Mom’s backyard, in the shade of course, I recorded over 100 degrees. I must say, heat is not my favorite weather condition, although with the humidity levels down in the single digits, it was more like the desert, rather then muggy. The peak of this heat wave has passed, and we’re heading into a cooler week ahead. There’s even been some talk about the slight chance of a few showers in a couple of days, and the better chance of more significant rain later in the new week ahead.

My Mom and I have been watching lots of television, mostly focused on the Presidential Debate, and the big dinner yesterday, where Hillary and Donald tried to poke fun at each other. We have enjoyed all this political action, and although I’ve never said before which way I’m going to vote, I think now may be the time. I’m away from Hawaii now, so I have an absentee ballet, and I’ll be definitely voting for Hillary Clinton. The more I hear Donald Trump talk, the more I keep scratching my head in wonderment! I can’t say it’s not interesting to hear his take on things, even entertaining in a strange way…although the thought of having him occupy the White House, to be the most powerful man in the world, well, is terrifying.

October 24th – Hi again, I’m still down here in Long Beach, enjoying the visit with my Mom. We just went through a big change in weather, shifting from record breaking heat, to cooler, cloudy, and even showery weather conditions. As a matter of fact, we had a night of thunderstorms recently, which was fun, and unusual for this area. My Sister and her husband came over yesterday, and we really enjoyed visiting and sharing a meal together. We continue to watch quite a bit of political news coverage, although my Mom has agreed to let me tune into the World Series game tomorrow night. My Niece will be coming over for lunch one of these days too, she works at the BMW Corporate office in Orange County. I still have three full days left with my Mom, before I fly north again, to my friend Linda’s house in Marin County. I’ll be there for a few days, before heading further north to Sonoma County for the final part of my California vacation.

October 27th – I’m nearing the end of the Southern California portion of my vacation. It’s been great spending all this time with my Mom! We’ve had our regular schedule, starting off with a morning walk, breakfast together, some yard work, a bit of television to catch up on the happenings in the world. Lunch comes into play next, followed by some more work outside, or inside, depending upon on what needs fixing…if anything. We get back into television late in the afternoon, watching Anderson Cooper on CNN, one of her favorite programs. We fix dinner, and share a glass of wine together, before settling in for another period of TV, before hitting the hay around 9 or 930pm. By the way, we have a period of showers on the horizon, which is a good thing for California, especially over this southern part of the state. I fly up to San Francisco tomorrow morning (Friday), ending up in Marin County again, at my friend Linda’s house. I’ll catch up with you again soon, Aloha for now…Glenn.

October 31st – Happy Halloween! I’m at my friend Linda’s house again, here in Marin County. Linda has candy ready to give out at the first knock on the door, which will be fun. The weather has been nice today, although the next cold front is knocking at the front door now as well, sliding down from the northwest. As it turned out, the weather was cool, cloudy, off and on showery and breezy, which put a damper on the trick or treating. I’ll catch a ride north on Highway 101 (the Redwood Highway) tomorrow, to a small town called Penngrove. At any rate, when I leave tomorrow, Linda flies out to see her parents in New York early the next morning. The next leg of my vacation will be up at my long time friend Greg’s in Sebastopol, Sonoma County. He’s quite a well known poet, and has a new book out. Speaking of poetry, he’s giving a reading at Lone Glen, which I’ll be attending with him. Apparently I’ll be riding up there with the other two poetry readers in the car as well, which takes place in Oakland. This should be lots of fun, and I’m looking forward to the evening very much.

November 4th – I’m here at my friend Greg’s in west Sebastopol, and really enjoying myself. Getting to spend some good quality time with his son Julian too, whose quite a kid! The weather has been perfect, with clear skies, along with some high cirrus clouds, and perfectly warm daytime temperatures. Last evening Greg and I drove to Petaluma to meet up with Kathleen Winter, another of the poets who read last night in Oakland. The reading was a full house, with lots of interesting folks in attendance. I’m certainly not a poet, although enjoy poetry, after Greg introduced it to me many years ago. This morning my friend Bob is driving over from the Sacramento area to pick me up, and we’re heading up north to a place that we’ve rented in Mendocino County. It’s called the Cove House, where we’ve stayed many times in the past. It’s located right on the bluff overlooking the Ocean, and is stunning in its closeness to the water. Bob tells me that there’s internet connectivity there too, so I’ll be able to share some things that we do during our 4-day stay.

November 5th – Bob and I are here at our beach rental, after enjoying last evening’s sunset outside until dark. We were sipping on a couple of glasses of Hook and Ladder Sonoma County Pinot Noir, which I would probably get again. We had organic chicken thighs cooked over lots of red onion, with steamed broccoli, very tasty indeed. The surf is very large, and breaking on the cliffs just offshore from our place. These breaking waves are SO LOUD, that we have to raise our voices so we can hear each other speaking, and it doesn’t stop during the night! We left the doors open of course, so the sound fills the space up with crashing water sounds. The low temperature was 48 degrees this morning, and its turning mostly cloudy as the day progresses. We have a cold front approaching the coast now, which will bring rain later today into tomorrow morning. Bob and I are both weather fanatics, so we’ve been discussing this weather feature extensively, as well as studying satellite imagery of course. We’ll take our rain gear as we head up north for a long walk out in the woods. More specifically, we’re going to the Big River State Park, just south of Mendocino City, which is one of our favorite walks up this way. 

November 7th – Bob and I have come back from the coast, and he has dropped me off at Greg’s. It was simply wonderful to be out there on the edge of the land, with one foot practically in the cold ocean for four days. The truth is that it’s never long enough, and I’m always a bit sad to pull myself back into civilization. Bob felt the same way, as he headed back to the Sacramento area, to rejoin the nice lady that he lives with there. The weather outlook through the rest of my vacation is positive, in terms of warm dry weather. I’m mostly alright with this, although I must admit that I wouldn’t mind another cold front or two. At any rate, tonight is the eve of the big election tomorrow, and personally, it will be a relief to see this finally come to an end. I want to stand on the right side of history, at least in my way of thinking, and thus I’ve voted for Hillary, who I’m hoping will be our next president.

November 9th – I’m here at Greg’s, and we’re both feeling shocked, dismayed, and all the way down to distraught. We can hardly believe what we’ve found out this morning, although I fully realize that perhaps near half of the readers of this website, feel just the opposite. I want to say that I respect both sides of the political isle, and feel no hard feelings on a personal level for others with a different point of view. Where my great concern comes in however, is for the children, the wild animals of the world, and more than that, for the earth itself. I hate to think of the potential degradation of our environment. I listened closely to what our newly elected president said along the way towards this election, and must say, I found so many of his remarks to be unbelievably harsh. I honestly had a tough time understanding how he could say those things, and how could he possibly mean them in his heart of hearts. I must admit, it left me wondering how such a man could be our president!? The bottom line here is that we’re all in the same boat, sailing into uncharted waters. I’ll be needin’ ah drink tonight, and because of that, I’ve turned to a bottle of Ghost Waltz, a 2012 Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon for comfort.

November 10th – It’s a very special day here in western Sonoma County, in terms of weather at least. It’s dry and mostly clear, with warm temperatures prevailing. It’s one of those most lovely days here in northern California, the kind of day that strongly reminds me of how much I appreciate this part of the country. Greg and I, along with the mother of one of Greg’s son Julian’s friends from school, will be going to Ragle Park in Sebastopol today, for baseball and tennis. This should be fun for both the kids and us adults too. I just realized I’m into my last week of vacation, and had a slight pang of anxiety. It’s not that I’m dreading flying back to Maui, not at all, it’s just that I so much enjoy being with my friends here in California. Maui is my home, and likely I’ll always be going back there after spending time elsewhere. I moved to Sonoma County back in the early 1970’s, and lived here for five years, while I was going to college. I then moved to Hawaii, and have lived in this beautiful state ever since. As many of you know, I’ve continued to visit Marin and Sonoma Counties, as I have these good friends who have settled here.

November 11th – It’s Veteran’s Day, and since I’m a veteran, I’ll be celebrating being alive today. I got drafted into the army, very reluctantly I might add, back in 1967. They wanted to make me an officer, although I refused, as it would have extended my time in service by one year. Thus, they sent me to a school that would make me a sergeant, which I had no choice over. I had a leave coming after basic training, and during that time I went skiing at Mammoth Mountain, and while there broke my leg on the slopes. As a result, I got sent to Georgia to give my leg time to heal, which was in a cast. They temporarily assigned me to work for a Colonel in Military Intelligence, with my own secretary, while I was at the lowest rank called a private first class. It was good, and the Colonel tried to have me assigned there on a permanent basis. I was thinking to myself that I had really lucked out. However, the army had other plans for me, and ended up sending me to Vietnam as an infantryman!

I’m not sure you can imagine the feeling that got cast over me, although as best as I can remember, horrible was pretty close. I was keenly aware that lots of young men, like myself, were dying in combat. To make a long story shorter, let me just say that I made it through that experience, by, what’s that saying…the skin of my teeth. I saw things that one shouldn’t have to see, things that left mental scars, situations that put me very near the end of my life several times. I flew in helicopters, into areas called hot LZ’s (landing zones where fighting was taking place), and yes, I saw death close up. I should add that as a kid, I was naturally a pretty fragile little boy, and so having to experience such brutality was extraordinary. I think the only way that I was able to make it through that experience was to retreat inside my self, into an interior place that I’ve always had available.

When I got back to the world (what soldiers called leaving Vietnam and going home), I immediately returned to college. While there I took a class called Beginner’s Mind Zazen, in the Humanistic Psychology Department of Sonoma State University. It was a Zen meditation class, which started me off on a life long practice, which continues to this day. This practice has deepened that quiet safe place within myself, which in part has given me a great sense of peace throughout my life. In sum, I consider myself very fortunate, very fortunate indeed, and I can honestly say that everyday is a good day being alive! I send my well wishes to all veterans who may be reading this, I sincerely take my hat off to all of you.

November 13th – Hi again, I’ve left Greg’s, as he’s flown down to Todos Santos, Mexico for the next 10 days. I’ve moved over to another very good friend of mine, Jeff’s here in western Sebastopol as well. His wife Roberta and he live here in one of my favorite homes anywhere. Let’s see, what have I been doing the last few days, kind of hard to remember, as it’s been a slight blur of activity. Hmmm, oh yeah, Greg and his son Julian and I had a nice breakfast out yesterday morning, at a restaurant called Fork Roadhouse. We sat outside, and enjoyed our last morning together, at least for this vacation period. Jeff and Roberta are both therapists in Sonoma and Marin Counties, and work out of their home in some cases as well. We’ve been having such interesting conversations, as usual, with the range all over the map. Tonight I’ve invited them out to dinner, so they’ve suggested a place called K & L Bistro. Before I sign off for the time being, I see a cold front approaching the Hawaiian islands. I’m already beginning to look forward to getting back in the saddle on Maui, issuing my daily weather updates beginning this coming Thursday! By the way, I see what’s being called the Super Full Moon rising out of the eastern skyline this evening, beautiful!

November 15th – This is my last full day here in Sonoma County, at Jeff and Roberta’s home in Sebastopol. They had business in Santa Rosa this morning, so I have the whole house to myself, and it’s such a pleasure. I have a couple of logs in the fireplace, and a weak cold front is bringing fog and light drizzle, which is doubling the pleasure I’m having this morning! The last couple of days Jeff and I have seen a few films, the one we like most, by far, was called The Accountant (full screen is best for viewing). We hadn’t had dinner after the film, so Jeff suggested that we get a bite at a place called Eight, which was both fun and good. My friend Bob sent me a text this morning, asking me how I felt about going back home to Maui. The short version of my answer was that I love both northern California and Hawaii. I’ll miss my good friends here, and my Mom and family too, although I look forward to seeing my friends on Maui as well. My neighbor Amulya will be picking me up at the Kahului airport tomorrow, and it’s always great to spend time with her. This may be the last update to my vacation travelogue, and you folks who come solely for the weather, should know I’ll be getting back to work in that regard tomorrow evening. Please let me thank everyone here in California for a most enjoyable experience, and at the same time, let me say Aloha to everyone in Hawaii!

November 16th – Heading home today, will be back on Maui at 5pm HST

 


World-wide tropical cyclone activity…


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>>> Atlantic Ocean:  No active tropical cyclones

 Here’s a satellite image of the Atlantic Ocean

>>> Caribbean

>>> 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

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)

>>> 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: Study reveals 82% of the core ecological processes that underpin ecosystems and provide services to people are now affected by climate change – Most studies of global climate change attempt to predict what might happen to the Earth as temperatures rise in future.  A new study representing an international collaboration by ecologists and conservation biologists shows that global changes in climate have already impacted every aspect of life on Earth, from genes to entire ecosystems. It was published in the prestigious journal Science on November 10, 2016.

The research team, led by the University of Florida and with participation from the University of Hong Kong, showed that of a total of 94 ecological processes evaluated globally, 82% of them showed evidence of impact from climate change.  Land, freshwater and marine ecosystems and species have all been all affected, and consequential impacts on people could range from increased pests and disease outbreaks, to unpredictable changes in fisheries and decreasing agriculture yields.

This study is released at an important moment as it helps shed light on the need to plan practically for the implementation of the Paris agreement on climate change which entered into force November 4, 2016. The Paris agreement marked the first time that governments have agreed binding limits to keep global warming well-below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. That agreement was overdue: the World Meteorological Organization announced on Wednesday (November 9, 2016) that the 2011-15 had been the five hottest years on record, with temperatures peaking in 2015.

“We now have evidence that, with only a ~1 degree Celsius of warming globally, major impacts are already being felt in natural systems,” said study lead author Dr Brett Scheffers of the University of Florida. “Genes are changing, species’ physiology and physical features such as body size are changing, species are moving and we see clear signs of entire ecosystems under stress, all in response to changes in climate on land and in the ocean”.

“Some people didn’t expect this level of change for decades,” said co-author Dr James Watson, of the University of Queensland in Australia. “The impacts of climate change are being felt with no ecosystem on Earth being spared. It is no longer sensible to consider climate change as a concern just for the future.”

“The paper shows that there are winners and losers under global warming: the geographic ranges of some species have expanded while others have contracted, and timing of breeding and other seasonal events have shifted,” said co-author, Professor David Dudgeon, Chair of Ecology & Biodiversity and Director of the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Hong Kong.

This study has significant implications for Hong Kong. According to Professor Dudgeon, we can envisage that endemic species –  found nowhere else but Hong Kong – will have little chance to make compensatory range shifts in response to climate change.  The Hong Kong paradise fish and the short-legged toad are examples of species that would be unable to adjust their ranges due to intense urbanization around the sites they occupy currently.  If conditions change, they must adapt or perish.

The Hong Kong newt, which breeds only during the coolest months of the year, would also likely fall victim to warming since, in future, winter temperatures might not fall sufficiently to permit reproduction by this species which is, already, globally near-threatened.  Mountain-top animals such as the giant spiny frog, already mainly confined to streams near the summit of Tai Mo Shan and globally vulnerable to extinction, would have nowhere to go as the climate warms.

“The new paper shows a pervasive ecological finger print of only 1 degree Celsius of global warming.  This will not be beneficial for local species of conservation concern.”  On a global scale, Dudgeon added, “we face an uncertain ecological future as the temperature continues to rise, especially if warming exceeds the 1.5-degree boundary incorporated in the Paris climate-change agreements that came into force last week.  Such warming would put at risk biodiversity and the ecosystem services delivered by nature that benefit humans”.

Dudgeon concluded: “To put it bluntly, climate change is already happening, and it is altering ecological process and natural systems everywhere.  We must to do more to limit carbon emissions and prevent further warming.”