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

81 – 74  Lihue, Kauai
79 – 73  Honolulu, Oahu
79 – 72  Molokai AP
77 – 72  Kahului AP, Maui
82 – 73  Kailua Kona
75 – 65  Hilo AP, Hawaii

Here are the latest 24-hour precipitation totals (in inches) for each of the islands as of Thursday evening:

1.23  Kilohana, Kauai
1.08  Tunnel RG, Oahu
 1.28  Molokai
0.00  Lanai
0.20  Kahoolawe
3.19  Kaupo Gap, Maui
6.93  Saddle Quarry, Big Island

The following numbers represent the strongest wind gusts (mph) as of Thursday evening:

32  Port Allen, Kauai
61  Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu
37  Molokai
31  Lanai
50  Kahoolawe
42  Kaupo Gap, Maui
50  Kohala Ranch, Big Island

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.


Aloha Paragraphs

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Unsettled weather conditions over Hawaii…with a cold front northwest

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Rainy clouds south and east…extending over parts of the island chain

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A range of clear to cloudy skies across the state…with locally heavy rains in our vicinity

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Locally heavy rain…mostly offshore at the time of this writing – Looping radar image


Small Craft Advisory…most coasts and channels (25-30 knots)

High Surf Advisory…east facing shores of all the major islands

Flash Flood Watch…all islands through Sunday

Flood Advisory…eastern Big Island

Winter Storm Warning…Big Island Summits (webcam Mauna Kea)


~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~

 

 

Winds remaining stronger than normal tonight…followed by lighter winds Friday into the weekend. Here’s the latest weather map, showing our primary high pressure system northeast of Hawaii. The current windy weather episode will bring 40-50 mph wind gusts to some areas of the island chain. These numbers are the extreme values, with most areas much lighter. As a result, we have Small Craft Advisories posted over all coastal and channel waters across the state. In addition, there’s a Gale Warning over the Pailolo and Alenuihaha Channels, and Maalaea Bay. The trades are forecast to remain blustery over the islands tonight…then weakening significantly later Friday into the weekend. These winds will turn to the southeast, which are infamous for carrying volcanic emissions from the Big Island vents, over the smaller islands.

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

Showers will be frequent, at least locally…continuing Friday into the weekend. These showers will be heavy in some areas, with even a few thunderstorms…thanks to an upper level trough of low pressure near the state. More specifically, a Kona low pressure system will set up shop just west of the state, bringing a shower prone and unsettled atmosphere over the state. This in turn will draw abundant moisture up from the deeper tropics over the islands, along with the potential for excessive rains and flooding at times. The models continue to suggest that this wet weather could continue for several days into next week.

Marine environment details: Strong trade winds and combined seas continue to warrant a Gale Warning in the windier marine zones, and a Small Craft Advisory (SCA) in the remainder of Hawaiian waters. Winds are still expected to weaken and shift to the SE Friday, as a surface trough develops just west of the islands. However, latest observations indicate that the pressure gradient near the Big Island remains sufficiently tight to warrant an extension of the Gale Warning. While local winds are likely to drop below SCA criteria by Friday, seas in windward zones will likely stay elevated to the point that the SCA will need to be extended through most of the weekend.

A long-running High Surf Advisory remains posted through Friday for east facing shores, due to strong trade winds driving seas and swells toward the islands. This may need to be extended into Saturday as the upstream fetch of trade winds will change little, despite a local drop off in wind speeds. This high surf event is expected to end later in the weekend as the high weakens and seas diminish. A High Surf Advisory is also in effect for exposed north and west facing shores, as a northwest swell is currently arriving, expected to peak Friday, and then gradually diminish through the weekend. Another advisory level northwest swell is possible around the middle of next week.

A Marine Weather Statement issued for thunderstorms over the waters highlights the unsettled weather regime that is expected to prevail the next couple of days. Thunderstorms with dangerous cloud to surface lightning strikes, low visibility in heavy rain, and locally gusty winds will provide potentially dangerous boating conditions. Some model guidance indicates the potential for even stronger thunderstorms over the next couple of days, and mariners should plan accordingly.

 

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Off and on wet weather into the weekend

 

World-wide tropical cyclone activity…


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>>> Atlantic Ocean: The 2016 hurricane season has ended

Here’s a satellite image of the Atlantic Ocean

>>> Caribbean: The 2016 hurricane season has ended

>>> Gulf of Mexico: The 2016 hurricane season has ended

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: The 2016 hurricane season has ended

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: The 2016 hurricane season has ended

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: Corals much older than previously thought, study finds – Coral genotypes can survive for thousands of years, possibly making them the longest-lived animals in the world, according to researchers at Penn State, the National Marine Fisheries Service and Dial Cordy & Associates.

The team recently determined the ages of elkhorn corals  — Acropora palmata — in Florida and the Caribbean and estimated the oldest genotypes to be over 5,000 years old. The results are useful for understanding how corals will respond to current and future environmental change.

“Our study shows, on the one hand, that some Acropora palmata genotypes have been around for a long time and have survived many environmental changes, including sea-level changes, storms, sedimentation events and so on,” said Iliana Baums, associate professor of biology, Penn State. “This is good news because it indicates that they can be very resilient. On the other hand, the species we studied is now listed as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act because it has suffered such sharp population declines, indicating that there are limits to how much change even these very resilient corals can handle.”

According to Baums, many people mistake corals for plants or even non-living rocks, but corals actually consist of colonies of individual invertebrate animals living symbiotically with photosynthetic algae.

“Previously, corals have been aged by investigating the skeletons of the colonies or the sizes of the colonies,” she said. “For example, bigger colonies were thought to be older. However many coral species reproduce via fragmentation, in which small pieces break off from large colonies. These pieces look like young corals because they are small, but their genomes are just as old as the big colony from which they broke. Similarly, the big colonies appear younger than their true age because they became smaller during the process of fragmentation.”

Now, for the first time, Baums and her colleagues have used a genetic approach to estimate the ages of corals. The method determines when the egg and the sperm originally met to form the genome of the coral colonies. The researchers then tracked the number of mutations that accumulated in the genome since that time. Because mutations tend to arise at a relatively constant rate, the researchers were able to estimate an approximate age in calendar years of the coral genomes in their study.

The results, which appear in print in the November 2016 issue of the journal Molecular Ecology, suggest that some Acropora palmata genomes have been around for over 5,000 years.

“This was surprising, as previously, only cold-water corals were found to be older than 1,000 years,” said Baums. “Knowing the age of individuals in a population is important for understanding their population history and whether the population is increasing or decreasing. It is especially important when the population under study is threatened.

“If Acropora palmata genomes have persisted over hundreds to thousands of years, it implies persistence through substantial environmental changes, and possibly gives hope that they can survive additional anticipated climate change. What is different now is that human-induced climate change is happening at a rate that far exceeds past environmental changes. Therefore, the coral’s past ability to survive environmental change does not necessarily predict their future success.”