Hawaiian Islands weather details & Aloha paragraphs

The Oheo Gulch near Hana, Maui
Photo Credit: Flickr.com

Our trade wind producing high pressure ridge is just north of Kauai Wednesday evening…allowing light trade winds to move up into the state a distance. The Big Island and Maui will see easterly trade winds, while Oahu and Kauai, closer to a high pressure ridge just to our north…will have lighter winds in general. The modestly strong trades have helped to ventilate away some of the haze that has prevailed over the southern part of the Aloha state. The latest computer models show light to moderately strong trade winds during the first part of next week, overriden by light and variable winds shortly thereafter.

A few windward biased showers will fall around the Big Island and Maui, otherwise most areas will remain dry for the time being. A few showers will get carried into the windward sides, now that the trade winds are blowing in places. These showers won’t amount to much, although be more generous than any time during the last week. Those areas closer to Kauai won’t see the trade winds, and find afternoon clouds over the interior sections collecting a few drops, but again hardly worth mentioning. The leeward beaches statewide will continue to find dry weather.

It’s Wednesday evening as I begin writing this last paragraph of today’s narrative.  We’re moving into the tail-end of our winter season here in the islands…with spring just up ahead. Here in the tropics, at least here in the Hawaiian Islands, spring usually means that the trade winds would be blowing. When the trade winds are active, we often see at least some form of passing shower activity along the windward sides. Just as commonly, the leeward beaches are graced with abundant daytime sunshine, and warm to very warm air temperatures. One thing we can’t forget though, is that we’re still in a fairly strong La Nina condition here in the Pacific Ocean. This typically means that we see more than the normal amount of rainfall in the islands. ~~~ Wednesday kept to the script quite closely, with no major deviations from the expected forecast. Clouds increased during the day over the mountains, as usual, although didn’t let loose, also expected. Light trade winds returned today, although not much more than that. Clouds will clear overnight in most areas, with Thursday looking to closely resemble Wednesday. ~~~ I’ll be back very early Thursday morning with your next new weather narrative from the tropical Hawaiian Islands. I hope everyone has a great Wednesday night until then! Aloha for now…Glenn. 

Interesting: The least biologically productive areas of the oceans are expanding much faster than predicted, according to a new study by researchers at NOAA and the University of Hawaii. This change in ocean biology, linked to the warming of sea surface waters, may negatively affect the populations of many fish species trying to survive in these desert-like environments. Between 1998 and 2007, these expanses of saltwater with low surface plant life in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans grew by 15 percent or 6.6 million square kilometers, according to the study which appears in Geophysical Research Letters. The expansion is occurring at the same time that sea surface temperatures are warming about one percent or .02 to .04 degrees Celsius a year. The warming increases stratification of the ocean waters, preventing deep ocean nutrients from rising to the surface and creating plantlife.

Interesting2: Research from ancient sediment cores indicates that a warming climate could make the world’s arctic tundra far more susceptible to fires than previously thought. The findings, are important given the potential for tundra fires to release organic carbon — which could add significantly to the amount of greenhouse gases already blamed for global warming. The authors of the study, examined ancient sediments from four lakes in a remote region of Alaska, in and around Gates of the Arctic National Park, to determine what kind of vegetation existed in the area after the last ice age…14,000 to 9,000 years ago. By looking at fossilized pollen grains in the sediment cores, the authors determined that after the last ice age, the arctic tundra was very different from what it is now. Instead of being covered with grasses, herbs, and short shrubs, it was covered with vast expanses of tall birch shrubs. Charcoal preserved in the sediment cores also showed evidence that those shrub expanses burned — frequently. 

Interesting3: Imagine a vat of liquid cow manure covering the area of five football fields and 33 feet deep. Meet California’s most alternative new energy.  On a dairy farm in the Golden State’s agricultral heartland, utility PG&E Corp began on Tuesday producing natural gas derived from manure, in what it hopes will be a new way to power homes with renewable, if not entirely clean, energy. The Vintage Dairy Biogas Project, the brainchild of life- long dairyman David Albers, aims to provide the natural gas needed to power 1,200 homes a day, Albers said at the facility’s inauguration ceremony. "When most people see a pile of manure, they see a pile of manure. We saw it as an opportunity for farmers, for utilities, and for California," Albers said.