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

86 – 78  Lihue, Kauai
88 – 76  Honolulu, Oahu
89 – 79  Molokai
90 – 76  Kahului AP, Maui
87 – 76  Kailua Kona
85 – 71  Hilo AP, Hawaii

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

0.26  Mount Waialeale, Kauai
0.03  Luluku, Oahu
 0.00  Molokai
0.01  Lanai
 0.00  Kahoolawe
0.16  West Wailuaiki, Maui
0.21  Kawainui Stream, Big Island

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

32  Port Allen, Kauai
27  Kuaokala, Oahu
22  Molokai
28  Lanai
32  Kahoolawe
31  Maalaea Bay, Maui 
29  Kealakomo, 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

http://weather.unisys.com/satellite/sat_ir_enh_west_loop-12.gif
Hurricane Fernanda forecast to become a tropical storm…as she enters the central Pacific

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/TROP/floaters/06E/imagery/ir-animated.gif
Fernanda will generally head towards Hawaii…or to our south

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/storm_graphics/EP06/refresh/EP062017_5day_cone_no_line_and_wind+png/024105_5day_cone_no_line_and_wind.png
Fernanda will move into the central Pacific next Wednesday…on a steady weakening trend

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/storm_graphics/EP06/refresh/EP062017_wind_probs_34_F120+png/024105.png
Fernanda will peak as a Category 4 major hurricane (130-156 mph)

 

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/west/cpac/ir4.jpg
Thunderstorms far southwest and west of Hawaii

http://www.goes.noaa.gov/GIFS/HAIR.JPG
Clear to partly cloudy…some higher level clouds well offshore


http://radar.weather.gov/Conus/RadarImg/hawaii.gif
Just a few showers locally – Looping radar image



Small Craft Advisory…windiest coasts and channel around Maui County and the Big Island


~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~

 

Broad Brush Overview: A moderately strong high pressure system is located well north of Hawaii, which will keep moderate to strong trades blowing across the state…through the next week. The trades will focus incoming off and on clouds and showers over the windward and mountain areas, mostly during the nights and early mornings.

Looking Ahead: Strengthening Hurricane Fernanda, still far away in the eastern Pacific, will continue moving westward, and as a result…the Hawaiian Islands will need to keep an eye peeled. Fernanda will likely move into our central Pacific next Wednesday…although will have peaked in strength by then. It’s still too early to know what influence this storm could have on the islands, as it moves into the area east-southeast of the state later next week…although at least high surf could be assumed. Whatever is left of Fernanda could bring clouds and showers into the general vicinity of the Hawaiian Islands next weekend.

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: Moderate to strong trade winds are expected to continue, with the typical windier waters around Maui County and the Big Island having some winds reaching Small Craft Advisory (SCA) levels through the weekend.

A series of small south swells will continue through early next week. The moderate trade winds will continue to produce choppy surf along east facing shores.

Looking further out, Hurricane Storm Fernanda is currently located well over 2,000 miles east-southeast of the Big Island. The latest 5 day forecast from The National Hurricane Center in Miami has Fernanda moving in a general westerly direction, with a more west-northwest direction with time. An east swell from Fernanda is forecast to arrive Tuesday night or Wednesday. The size of this swell will be highly dependent on the eventual track and intensity of this hurricane…high surf advisory level surf is a possibility along exposed shorelines.

 https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/b2/be/cb/b2becb39eb91a50de492208282d513f3.jpg
Trades with off and on showers this weekend


>>> Southern California Weather Brief: A large area of high pressure will bring above normal temperatures through next week. Partly cloudy into next week, except for the persistent nightly coastal marine layer. Breezy winds expected tonight for the Santa Barbara County south coast. Possible thunderstorms in the Los Angeles mountains and deserts this weekend.

There will be decent onshore Monday and Tuesday, with the return of the coastal low clouds. The marine layer will cause a noticeable cool down for the coasts on Tuesday, while the interior cools less steeply each day. Wednesday and Thursday could be muggy with more monsoonal moisture flowing in…although the associated clouds could provide a bit of a break on the high temperatures.

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/west/wfo/lox/cvis.jpg
Clouds offshore

 

>>> Northern California Weather Brief: A warming trend is expected to begin today, as high pressure builds into California from the desert southwest. Very warm to hot conditions are expected to return to inland areas over the weekend. Some cooling then appears in store for the first part of next week.

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

Low clouds offshore…pushing inland locally



World-wide tropical cyclone activity


https://icons.wxug.com/data/images/sst_basin/gl_sst_mm.gif


>>> Atlantic Ocean: No active tropical cyclone

No tropical cyclones are expected during the next 5-days

>>> Caribbean: No active tropical cyclone

No tropical cyclones are expected during the next 5-days

>>> Gulf of Mexico: No active tropical cyclones

No tropical cyclones are expected during the next 5-days

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:

Hurricane Fernanda remains active, here’s a graphical track map, a satellite image…and what the computer models are showing

1.) A broad low pressure system centered a few hundred miles southwest of the Gulf of Tehuantepec is producing a large but disorganized area of showers and thunderstorms. Environmental conditions are forecast to be somewhat conducive for gradual development, and a tropical depression could form by early next week while the system moves slowly toward the west-northwest at 5 to 10 mph.

* Formation chance through 48 hours…low…30 percent
* Formation chance through 5 days…medium…50 percent

2.) Disorganized cloudiness and showers located several hundred miles southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico are associated with a trough of low pressure. Development, if any, of this system is expected to be slow to occur as the system moves west-northwestward at about 10 mph.

* Formation chance through 48 hours…low…10 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: No active tropical cyclones

No tropical cyclones are expected during the next 5-days

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

>>> Northwest Pacific Ocean: No active tropical cyclone

>>> 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: The last survivors on Earth — The world’s most indestructible species, the tardigrade, an eight-legged micro-animal, also known as the water bear, will survive until the Sun dies, according to a new Oxford University collaboration.

Although much attention has been given to the cataclysmic impact that an astrophysical event would have on human life, very little has been published around what it would take to kill the tardigrade, and wipe out life on this planet. The research implies that life on Earth in general, will go on as long as the Sun keeps shining. It also reveals that once life emerges, it is surprisingly resilient and difficult to destroy, opening the possibility of life on other planets.

The new study published in Scientific Reports, has shown that the tiny creatures, will survive the risk of extinction from all astrophysical catastrophes, and be around for at least 10 billion years – far longer than the human race.

Tardigrades are the toughest, most resilient form of life on earth, able to survive for up to 30 years without food or water, and endure temperature extremes of up to 150 degrees Celsius, the deep sea and even the frozen vacuum of space. The water-dwelling micro animal can live for up to 60 years, and grow to a maximum size of 0.5mm, best seen under a microscope. Researchers from the Universities of Oxford and Harvard, have found that these life forms will likely survive all astrophysical calamities, such as an asteroid, since they will never be strong enough to boil off the world’s oceans.

Three potential events were considered as part of their research, including; large asteroid impact, and exploding stars in the form of supernovae or gamma ray bursts.

Asteroids

There are only a dozen known asteroids and dwarf planets with enough mass to boil the oceans (2×10^18 kg), these include (Vesta 2×10^20 kg) and Pluto (10^22 kg), however none of these objects will intersect the Earth’s orbit and pose a threat to tardigrades.

Supernova

In order to boil the oceans an exploding star would need to be 0.14 light-years away. The closest star to the Sun is four light years away and the probability of a massive star exploding close enough to Earth to kill all forms of life on it, within the Sun’s lifetime, is negligible.

Gamma-Ray bursts

Gamma-ray bursts are brighter and rarer than supernovae. Much like supernovas, gamma-ray bursts are too far away from earth to be considered a viable threat. To be able to boil the world’s oceans the burst would need to be no more than 40 light-years away, and the likelihood of a burst occurring so close is again, minor.

Dr Rafael Alves Batista, Co-author and Post-Doctoral Research Associate in the Department of Physics at Oxford University, said: ‘Without our technology protecting us, humans are a very sensitive species. Subtle changes in our environment impact us dramatically. There are many more resilient species’ on earth. Life on this planet can continue long after humans are gone.

‘Tardigrades are as close to indestructible as it gets on Earth, but it is possible that there are other resilient species examples elsewhere in the universe. In this context there is a real case for looking for life on Mars and in other areas of the solar system in general. If Tardigrades are earth’s most resilient species, who knows what else is out there?’

Dr David Sloan, Co-author and Post-Doctoral Research Associate in the Department of Physics at Oxford University, said: ‘A lot of previous work has focused on ‘doomsday’ scenarios on Earth – astrophysical events like supernovae that could wipe out the human race. Our study instead considered the hardiest species – the tardigrade.

As we are now entering a stage of astronomy where we have seen exoplanets and are hoping to soon perform spectroscopy, looking for signatures of life, we should try to see just how fragile this hardiest life is. To our surprise we found that although nearby supernovae or large asteroid impacts would be catastrophic for people, tardigrades could be unaffected. Therefore it seems that life, once it gets going, is hard to wipe out entirely. Huge numbers of species, or even entire genera may become extinct, but life as a whole will go on.’

In highlighting the resilience of life in general, the research broadens the scope of life beyond Earth, within and outside of this solar system. Professor Abraham Loeb, co-author and chair of the Astronomy department at Harvard University, said: ‘It is difficult to eliminate all forms of life from a habitable planet. The history of Mars indicates that it once had an atmosphere that could have supported life, albeit under extreme conditions.

Organisms with similar tolerances to radiation and temperature as tardigrades could survive long-term below the surface in these conditions. The subsurface oceans that are believed to exist on Europa and Enceladus, would have conditions similar to the deep oceans of Earth where tardigrades are found, volcanic vents providing heat in an environment devoid of light. The discovery of extremophiles in such locations would be a significant step forward in bracketing the range of conditions for life to exist on planets around other stars.’