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

78 – 70  Lihue, Kauai
77 – 69  Honolulu, Oahu
78 – 69  Molokai
79 – 69  Kahului AP, Maui
81 – 67  Kona Int’l AP
75 – 64  Hilo AP, Hawaii

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

0.14  Mount Waialeale, Kauai
0.31  Kunia Substation, Oahu
 0.18  Molokai
0.00  Lanai
0.00  Kahoolawe
2.07  Puu Kukui, Maui
1.20  Saddle Quarry, Big Island

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

29  Port Allen, Kauai
40  Kuaokala, Oahu
36  Molokai
 35  Lanai
36  Kahoolawe
32  Maalaea Bay, Maui
39  Waikoloa, 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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A cold front is moving by north of the state

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The last cold front is seen south to east of the state

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Partly to mostly cloudy…some clear areas locally

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Active showers locally…mostly offshore – Looping radar image


Small Craft Advisory…all coasts and channels

Gale Warning…Pailolo and Alenuihaha Channels

Special Weather Statement…strong thunderstorms possible over leeward and interior Big Island this afternoon


~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~



An increase in windward showers is expected…as an upper level trough of low pressure moves nearby. Showers will favor windward areas through the period, although some showers will push into leeward areas occasionally. Additionally, due to cold temperatures aloft, along with mid-level moisture overhead…thunderstorms with snow showers may develop over the Big Island summits this afternoon.

High pressure north of the state will keep moderate to breezy trade winds in place through Friday…with the trades diminishing by the weekend. A relatively dry atmosphere will remain in place across the state Friday through the weekend. As a result, showers should remain limited to windward areas through Sunday. There may be an increase in showers statewide by early next week…as tropical moisture tries to work its way northward from the deeper tropics.

Here’s a wind profile of the Pacific Ocean – Closer view of the islands / Here’s the vog forecast animation / Here’s the latest weather map

Marine environment details: Strong high pressure passing north-northeast of Honolulu, will keep strong trade winds in place through Wednesday. The trades have diminished below gale force across the typically windy waters around Maui and the Big Island, so a Small Craft Advisory (SCA) is in effect for all waters through Wednesday. Moderate trade winds will continue through the remainder of the work week, with the SCA likely needing to be extended in time for portions of the coastal waters. The trades are then expected to diminish over the weekend.

The current north-northwest swell which helped produce high surf across north facing shores yesterday, continues on a downward trend.

A pair of swells from distant sources will produce somewhat elevated surf along north and west facing shores for the latter half of the week. Rough trade wind seas will also maintain surf just below advisory levels along east facing shores through Thursday. The first northwest swell is expected to arrive Wednesday and peak in the double overhead range Wednesday night and Thursday. The second northwest swell will likely be larger…and may lead to advisory level surf Friday night and Saturday.

 

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Breezy weather continues



World-wide tropical cyclone activity


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>>> Atlantic Ocean: The 2017 hurricane season begins June 1st

Here’s a satellite image of the Atlantic Ocean

>>> Caribbean: The 2017 hurricane season begins June 1st

>>> Gulf of Mexico: The 2017 hurricane season begins June 1st

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 2017 hurricane season begins May 15th

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 2017 hurricane season begins June 1st

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:

Tropical Cyclone 07P (Bart) is dissipating over French Polynesia, here’s the JTWC graphical track map, a satellite image of the system – Final Warning

Tropical Cyclone 08P is now active over French Polynesia, here’s the JTWC graphical track map, a satellite image of the system…and what the computer models are showing


>>> North and South Indian Oceans / Arabian Sea: No active tropical cyclones

Here’s a link to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC)


Interesting: Unprecedented Arctic weather has scientists on edge – As station chief at NOAA’s Point Barrow, Alaska, observatory, Bryan Thomas works close to the edge of the Arctic Ocean. What he saw from his office in early February, looking north toward the horizon, was troubling.  

“I could see what’s known as water-sky — the reflection of dark water on clouds on the horizon,” Thomas said. “From land, you can maybe see 10 miles, and the clouds were telling us that somewhere in that distance there was open water.”

Normally, there would be unbroken sea ice for hundreds of miles.

“Here we are in February, when we expect maximum sea ice extent,” Thomas added. “This might be all we’re going to get.”

The Arctic’s new abnormal

It’s a time of tumult in the Arctic, with record temperatures and extraordinary sea-ice conditions now becoming the norm. For starters:

  • Sea ice observed in January in the Arctic was the lowest in the 38 years of satellite record and 100,000 square miles less than 2016. That’s equivalent to the size of Colorado.

  • The average temperature of 4.4 degrees F in Barrow, Alaska, from November 2016 through January 2017 shattered the old record of 0 degrees set between 1929 and 1930. From 1921 to 2015, the average November-to-January temperature in Barrow was -7.9 degrees F.

  • Temperatures in the Arctic for the calendar year 2016 were by far the highest since 1900. Each of the past four years was among the top 10 warmest on record.

The late and faltering formation of sea ice this winter is one of many signs of extraordinary change in the Arctic, said Mark Serreze, director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center. He added that repeated surges of extremely warm air have stunted the growth of sea ice during fall and winter.

Melt season is dead ahead, and it’s not looking good

Will 2017 set a record for the least amount of sea ice ever recorded at winter’s end? Serreze said it’s probably a given: “We’re starting melt season on very, very bad footing.

What’s happening in the Arctic isn’t staying in the Arctic, added Richard Thoman, a meteorologist for NOAA’s National Weather Service Alaska Region. Profound changes are coming to the state’s interior as well.

“This winter was cold by today’s climate standards,” Thoman said. “By historic standards, it was completely uninteresting. I’m ready to say beyond any doubt that interior Alaska simply does not experience the temperatures it did in the past. “

The rapid changes are bewildering, even to scientists who’ve studied it for decades.

“We knew the Arctic would be the place we’d see the effects of climate change first, but what’s happened over the last couple of years has rattled the science community to its core,” Serreze said. “Things are happening so fast, we’re having trouble keeping up with it. We’ve never seen anything like this before.”