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

80 – 65  Lihue, Kauai
81 – 68  Honolulu, Oahu
85 – 65  Kahului AP, Maui
82 – 69  Kona Int’l AP
82 – 64  Hilo AP, Hawaii

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

0.02  Mount Waialeale, Kauai
0.01  Mililani, Oahu
 0.01  Molokai
0.00  Lanai
0.00  Kahoolawe
0.00  Maui
0.01  Honokaa, Big Island

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

13  Poipu, Kauai
15  Wheeler AAF, Oahu
08  Molokai
13  Lanai
31  Kahoolawe
16  Hana, Maui
25  South Point, Big Island

Here’s a wind profile of the Pacific Ocean – Closer view of the islands – Here’s the Hawaiian Islands NOAA Vog model animation

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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Low pressure systems are active well north through northwest of the islands, while a high pressure system is located well northeast, keeping light breezes over the Hawaiian Islands…with volcanic haze

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A cold front has stalled to the northwest…and is retreating northward

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Clear to partly cloudy…with a few cloudy areas

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Just a few showers – Looping radar image


High Surf Warning…north and west facing shores of Kauai, Oahu, Molokai and north shore of Maui, and the Big Island west shore

Small Craft Advisory…most coastal and channel waters for high seas


~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~

 

The winds remain light, with daytime sea breezes…and volcanic haze over many areas. Here’s the latest weather map, showing low pressure centers well to the north through northwest of Hawaii…with a fragmenting cold front now stalled to the northwest of the islands. Meanwhile, we find a high pressure system well to the northeast of the islands…with an associated ridge over the western islands. Low pressure systems and their associated cold fronts will keep the ridge of high pressure over us…through the weekend. This will keep our atmosphere stable, and at the same time volcanic haze (vog) over us as well. Looking further ahead, we’ll see the return of trade winds early next week, which will help to whisk the voggy conditions away then. As these more normal trades fill back into the state, we’ll finally have less stagnant weather conditions.

Mainly dry weather…through the weekend. There will be the chance of some very minor afternoon upcountry showers here and there, especially over the Big Island through the next several days. Meanwhile, our atmosphere continues to be dry and stable, with any showers remaining sparse for the most part. A cold front has stalled, and is retreating northward away from the state. As we push through the weekend, this dry and rather mellow weather pattern will continue over the islands. As the trade winds return early next week, there may be a few windward showers…although not many are expected.

Marine environment details:  A large west-northwest swell associated with a recent hurricane-force low pressure system over the past weekend and earlier this week, will fill in this morning, peak later this afternoon through tonight, then slowly lower through the weekend. Warning-level surf will be the result today through early Saturday morning along the exposed north and west facing shores, which will be followed by advisory level surf Saturday into Saturday night before dropping further Sunday and Monday.

Warning level surf is also expected along the west facing shores of the Big Island late this afternoon through early Saturday, due to this being a more westerly source (mainly from Kona to South Point). Buoy observations northwest of Kauai, have been quickly climbing through the early morning hours. This trend will be expected at the nearshore buoys through the day today as the swell builds. Small Craft Advisory seas associated with this swell will likely continue through Saturday.

A second round of large surf will become a possibility next week at some point between late Tuesday night and Thursday in response to a large gale to storm force low that is forecast across the northwest Pacific over the weekend and early next week.

Small surf associated with a southerly swell will likely hold for another day…before lowering into the weekend.

Local winds are forecast to remain light through the weekend and early next week, with land and sea breezes each day as a ridge of high pressure remains over the islands. Moderate to fresh trades are forecast to gradually return next week as high pressure builds north of the state.

Friday Evening Film:  My friend Jeff is just back from a long trip to the mainland and Europe. We decided we’d go see a brand new film called Live By Night, starring Ben Affleck, Elle Fanning, Brendan Gleeson, Sienna Miller, Chris Messina, Chris Cooper, and Zoe Saldana…among many others. The synopsis – Ben Affleck writes, produces, and stars in this dramatic adaptation of Dennis Lehane’s sprawling crime novel, centering on the prodigal son of a prominent police chief, and his gradual descent into the criminal underworld.

The long and short way of describing this piece of work, is to call it an epic Gangster film, no two ways about it. Affleck was far and away the leading actor, although his supporting cast was splendid as well. The film starts out romanticizing the gangster lifestyle, although eventually rips it apart. The sets, costumes and vintage automobiles made this story interesting to watch, making it very realistic in an old-fashioned way. It was certainly a dark-edged film, with all manner of killings going on from start to finish. It was filled with tommy guns, sharp suits, and villainous vamps throughout. When it came time to grade this film, both Jeff and I handed out a strong B to B+ rating. Here’s the trailer if you’re interested in taking a peek at this heavy weight film.

 

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Very large surf north and west shores…gradually lowering

 

World-wide tropical cyclone activity…with storms showing up when active


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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 the NOAA 2016 Hurricane Season Summary for the Eastern Pacific Basin

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 the NOAA 2016 Hurricane Season Summary for the Central Pacific Basin

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: Affordable water in the US: A burgeoning crisis – If water rates continue rising at projected amounts, the number of U.S. households unable to afford water could triple in five years, to nearly 36 percent, finds new research by a Michigan State University scholar.

Elizabeth Mack said a variety of factors, ranging from aging infrastructure to climate change to population decline in urban areas, are making residents’ ability to afford water and wastewater services a burgeoning crisis. Published online today in the journal PLOS ONE, her study is one of the first nationwide investigations of water affordability.

“In cities across the United States, water affordability is becoming an increasingly critical issue,” said Mack, an assistant geography professor who analyzed water consumption, pricing and demographic and socioeconomic data for the study.

Spending on water and wastewater services combined should make up no more than 4.5 percent of household income, the Environmental Protection Agency recommends. Based on that criteria, some 13.8 million U.S. households (or 11.9 percent of all households) may find water bills unaffordable – a hardship that hits poor families particularly hard, Mack said.

Water rates have increased 41 percent since 2010, and if they continue at that pace over the next five years the number of households that cannot afford water and wastewater services could soar to an estimated 40.9 million, or 35.6 percent of all households.

One driving factor is aging infrastructure. Experts say it will cost more than $1 trillion to replace World War II-era water systems over the next 25 years. Another pressure is climate change, as more intense weather events fuel a need for improvements to wastewater facilities. Making such adaptations will cost the United States more than $36 billion by 2050, according to estimates.

Further, shrinking populations in major cities such as Detroit and Philadelphia means fewer people to pay for the large fixed cost of water service. Some 227,000 customers in Philadelphia, or 4 out of 10 water accounts, are past due, while 50,000 delinquent customers in Detroit have had their water service terminated since the start of 2014, the study says. Households in Atlanta and Seattle are paying more than $300 a month for water and wastewater services (based on a family of four).

Ultimately, the study says, governments, utilities and consumers will need to work together to solve the growing affordability problem.

“Water is a fundamental right for all humans,” Mack said. “However, a growing number of people in the United States and globally face daily barriers to accessing clean, affordable water.”

The United States remains a relatively understudied country in international work on water affordability issues, she noted.

“The hope is that enhanced awareness of this issue in the developed world will highlight the severity of the issue, which is not isolated to people in the developing world,” Mack said.