Aloha Paragraphs



The sunset from Waikiki Beach
Photo Credit: Flickr.com

The trade winds will remain steady, with minor fluctuations in terms wind speeds through the next week. The latest weather map shows a 1026 millibar high pressure system located to the northeast of Hawaii Sunday evening. These trade winds will on the light side over the next couple of days…then increase again by mid-week through the rest of the week. The orientation of our local winds has shifted slightly to the south of east, bringing volcanic haze to the Hilo area on the Big Island, on up the chain to Maui County.

These light trade winds will blow some showers onto our windward sides at times. The leeward sides in contrast, will generally remain dry, with just a few possible upcountry afternoon showers. There’s a chance that the remnant moisture from former eastern Pacific tropical cyclone Boris, may bring an increase in clouds and windward showers to the islands around the middle of the new week…although mostly on the Big Island.



~~~ Our weather here in the Hawaiian Islands will remain just fine into Monday. The leeward sides of the islands in particular, will be great, with great sun tanning potentials along those sandy beaches. Daytime high temperatures will be rising well into the 80F’s, with those hottest areas reaching perhaps 90F degrees…or even a degree or two higher. The lighter trade winds will have us feeling pretty hot during the days…with slightly cooler early mornings.

~~~ The windward sides, will find favorably inclinded weather too, although, as usual, there will be a bit more wind blowing there. At the same time, that wind will help to carry clouds ashore, brought in from the ocean to our east. These clouds will spill a few showers at times, but nothing remarkable is expected. The windward slopes will find the heaviest rainfall, although again most areas will find light amounts…most leeward beaches remaining totally dry.

~~~ It’s early Sunday evening here in Kula, Maui.  Looking downcountry, across the central valley towards the West Maui Mountains…I see haze. The winds seem to have carried light volcanic haze up over Maui, from the two vents down on the Big Island. This haze isn’t as bad as it sometimes gets, but is definitely noticeable. I stayed home all day, which was great, just kind of cruising with my neighbors much of the time. I had picked up some chicken thighs and corn on the cob, which we had for lunch. I then brought over some small slices of Key Lime cheese cake for dessert, which topped off the meal nicely. We ended up doing quite a bit of work on the property, which was fun and productive. It’s so wonderful to have a long three day holiday weekend, it really allows one to relax more thoroughly than with just two days off from work. I’ll be back very early Monday morning with your next new weather narrative from paradise. I hope you have a great Sunday night wherever you happen to be spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.

Honolulu City Lights music video…Keola and Kapono Beamer

Somewhere over the Rainbow…Israel Kamakawiwo’ole (IZ)

Aloha Paragraphs



Surfboard view of Maui…close to where I surfed today
Photo Credit: Flickr.com

The trade winds will remain steady, with minor fluctuations along the way in terms wind speeds through the next week. The latest weather map shows a 1024 millibar high pressure system located to the north-northwest of Hawaii Saturday evening. These trade winds will weaken some over the next couple of days, becoming generally light through Monday…and increase again thereafter.  

These trade winds will blow some showers onto our windward sides at times…mostly generously during the nights and early mornings.  During the next week or so, those windward sides will find off and on showers…with modest increases at times. The leeward sides in contrast, will generally remain dry, with just a few possible upcountry afternoon showers on Maui and the Big Island. There’s a chance that the remnant moisture from former tropical cyclone Boris, may bring an increase in clouds and windward showers to the islands around the middle of the new week.



~~~ Our weather here in the Hawaiian Islands will remain just fine through the remainder of this 4th of July holiday weekend. The trade winds will continue to bring their cooling relief from the early summer heat. The leeward sides of the islands in particular, will be great, with great sun tanning potentials along those sandy beaches. Daytime high temperatures will be rising well into the 80F’s, with those hottest areas reaching perhaps 90F degrees…or even a degree or two higher.

~~~ The windward sides, will find favorably inclinded weather too, although, as usual, there will be more wind blowing there. At the same time, that wind will help to carry clouds ashore, brought in from the ocean to our east. These clouds will spill a few showers at times, but nothing remarkable is expected. The windward slopes will find the heaviest rainfall, although again most areas will find light amounts…most leeward beaches remaining totally dry.

~~~ It’s early Saturday evening here in Kula, Maui. I got another nice surf session in Saturday morning. I was the first person to paddle out at the spot that I surfed, which was quite a treat. A friend joined me a short while later, and we had a chance to ride lots of waves before more people finally paddled out. Since I had got so much sun Friday, I decided to retreat upcountry right after surfing, and have stayed under the cloud cover. I had planned to drive over to Wailea to a party some friends were putting on, but once I got home, I just couldn’t get myself to take the long drive over there. So, here I am am, hunkered in for the rest of the day, enjoying the relaxing time to read, and have a good dinner of bbq’d organic chicken thighs, and a big fresh salad out of the garden. I have a pint of chocolate hazelnut ice cream, to which I may add some banana and fresh mango for dessert! If I start to listen to some fun music later, I may put a couple of new video’s here, until then, please enjoy the Hawaiian selections I have chosen. I’ll be back Sunday morning, perhaps not at the crack of dawn, or before, like I usually do, since it’s a day for me to sleep in a bit. I hope you have a great Saturday night wherever you happen to be spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.

Honolulu City Lights music video…Keola and Kapono Beamer

Somewhere over the Rainbow…Israel Kamakawiwo’ole (IZ)

Aloha Paragraphs



Happy 4th of July!
Photo Credit: Flickr.com

The trade winds will be our primary weather influence through the 4th of July holiday weekend. The latest weather map shows a 1025 millibar high pressure system located to the north-northwest of Hawaii Friday night. These trade winds will blow generally in the light to moderately strong range, although with those typically windier areas…finding somewhat stronger gusts. These winds will continue through the weekend, right on into the new week ahead.

These trade winds will blow some showers onto our windward sides at times…mostly generously during the nights and early mornings.  During the next week or so, those windward sides will find off and on showers, probably more off than than on…with modest increases at times. The leeward sides in contrast, will generally remain dry, with lots of sunshine beaming down during the days. Some of the leeward upslope areas, like Kona on the Big Island in particular, may find some afternoon or evening showers falling too.





~~~ Our weather here in the Hawaiian Islands will remain just fine during the 4th of July holiday weekend. The trade winds will continue to bring their cooling relief from the early summer heat…along with ventilating whatever smoke from fireworks that tries to accumulate. The leeward sides of the islands in particular, will be fabulous, with great sun tanning potentials along those sandy beaches. There will be small south swell waves breaking too, making for a fun time in the surf. Daytime high temperatures will be rising well into the 80F’s, with those hottest areas reaching perhaps 90F degrees.

~~~ The windward sides, will be pretty good, although, as usual, there will be more wind blowing there. At the same time, that wind will help to carry clouds ashore, brought in from the ocean to our east. These clouds will spill a few showers at times, but nothing remarkable is expected. The windward slopes will find the heaviest rainfall, although again most areas will find light amounts…some most leeward beaches remaining totally dry.

~~~ It’s early Friday evening here in Kula, Maui. This 4th of July holiday weekend will be just fine, with good weather for most outdoor activities. The only showers that you might run into, will be along the windward sides. Last evening after work I went to see the new film called Hancock (2008), starring Will Smith and Jason Bateman, along with beautiful Charlize Theron among others. This film hasn’t gotten top scores by the critics, with one review saying: "Though it begins with promise, Hancock suffers from a flimsy narrative and poor execution." I don’t know if its just me, or what, but I liked the film quite a bit! I guess I don’t look for the weak points, but just enjoy being swept away into some other wild world. I suppose I let go pretty easily, and just become part of the movie, without sitting there waiting critically for what’s wrong. I would give it a solid B grade, at least for what kind of film it tried to be. Here’s a trailer, if you’re interested in seeing a sneak preview of this new adventure film. I went surfing in Lahaina this morning, then slipped right back into my regular Saturday schedule, although it was Friday…which was putting in Sprecklesville, walking and swimming at Baldwin Beach, and then back upcountry to Kula. I’m looking forward to seeing the fireworks down in Wailea once it gets dark, that is if the clouds, and light mist clears a little later this evening. I bbq’d some organic chicken thighs for dinner. I plan to head back over to Lahaina again early tomorrow morning for a second round of surfing, and then have a party to go to in Wailea Saturday afternoon. I hope you have a great Friday night, wherever you are celebrating the holiday! I catch up with you again Saturday morning with your next weather narrative from paradise. Aloha for now…Glenn.

Honolulu City Lights music video…Keola and Kapono Beamer

Somewhere over the Rainbow…Israel Kamakawiwo’ole (IZ)

Aloha Paragraphs



A Molokai sunset
Photo Credit: Flickr.com

The trade winds will be our primary weather influence through the 4th of July holiday. The latest weather map shows a 1025 millibar high pressure system located to the north-northwest of Hawaii Thursday evening. These trade winds will blow generally in the light to moderately strong range, although with those typically windier areas…finding stronger gusts. These winds will continue through the weekend, right on into the new week ahead.

These trade winds will blow just a few showers onto our windward sides at times.  During the next week or so, those windward sides will find off and on showers, probably more off than than on…with modest increases at times. The leeward sides in contrast, will generally remain dry, with lots of sunshine beaming down during the days. All of this is fairly normal for this time of year.



The eastern Pacific remains active with now weakened tropical depressions Boris and Douglas. Here’s a storm tracking map, showing the two systems in relation to Hawaii. There remains no threat to the Hawaiian Islands from any of this tropical cyclone activity. Here’s a satellite image showing those two storms in the eastern Pacific. Meanwhile, the Atlantic Ocean finally has its second tropical storm of the season, as Bertha churns the waters there.



~~~ Our weather here in the Hawaiian Islands will remain just fine during the 4th of July holiday weekend. The trade winds will continue to bring their cooling relief from the early summer heat…along with ventilating whatever smoke from fireworks that tries to accumulate Friday night. The leeward sides of the islands in particular, will be fabulous, with great sun tanning potentials along those sandy beaches. There will be small south swell waves breaking too, making for a fun time in the surf. Daytime high temperatures will be rising well into the 80F’s, with those hottest areas reaching perhaps 90F degrees.

~~~ The windward sides, will be pretty good too, although, as usual, there will be more wind blowing there. This is very common of course, thus the name…windward. The trade winds will be picking up some strength now, which will have the palm trees swaying back and forth, and also adding white caps to the ocean surface during the days. At the same time, that wind will help to carry clouds overhead, brought in from the ocean to our east. These clouds will spill a few showers at times, but nothing remarkable is expected. 

~~~ It’s early Thursday evening here in Kihei, Maui. This last work day of the week turned out to be a very nice day. I see no problems going into this long three day holiday weekend. The one problem that could crop up, would be troubles with fires started by the fireworks…especially along the bone dry leeward sides. Folks, particularly with sparklers, should be very careful not to light any brush on fire, and of course, not to burn themselves or others! I’m about to head out to Kahului, to take in a few film, this time called Hancock (2008), starring Will Smith and Jason Bateman, along with beautiful Charlize Theron among others. This film is not getting top scores by the critics, with one review saying: "Though it begins with promise, Hancock suffers from a flimsy narrative and poor execution." I don’t have high hopes for this film, like I did with last weeks Wanted…but I’ll give it a try anyway. I’ll be back early Friday morning with my own reviews. Here’s a trailer, if you’re interested in seeing a sneak preview of this new adventure film. At any rate, I hope you have a great Thursday night wherever you’re hanging your hat! Aloha for now…Glenn.

By the way, as many of you know, I have a ping pong table on my deck here in Kula, just outside my weather tower. If you were wondering what our level of play is, here’s a good example how a typical game would look…yeah right Glenn! This next example would be like one of our shorter rallies

Special: Fly with your mouse

Interesting:

The rocket’s red glare on future July Fourth celebrations may be more eco-friendly as researchers revise the chemistry behind the pyrotechnic displays. Roman candles and roadside flares typically use potassium perchlorate to speed up the fuel-burning process that drives them. As they burn, they should consume most of the perchlorate, but sometimes the reaction snuffs out before all the fuel is consumed, leaving behind some of the chemical. Excess perchlorate is also sometimes added to pyrotechnics.

These leftovers can be a problem because they inhibit the working of the thyroid gland, which produces a key hormone in the human body, according to an article in the June 30 issue of Chemical & Engineering News.

A 2007 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency study mentioned in the article measured perchlorate levels in a small lake in Oklahoma where an annual Fourth of July fireworks show is held. Within 14 hours of the display, perchlorate levels in the water were 1,000 times higher than they were naturally.

One way chemists are trying to revamp these explosive displays is by using compounds with a high nitrogen content to supply the energy that drives the burning reaction. Getting all that energy from breaking nitrogen bonds means that less perchlorate is needed to make those burning shapes in the sky.

Less perchlorate also means less smoke, which in turn means that fewer coloring agents, which are usually heavy metals like strontium, barium and copper, are needed to dazzle patriotic revelers.

Interesting2:

Six months after the first freighter put to sea drawn by a giant kite, a German company said Thursday that the invention could "realistically" reduce a ship’s fuel use by 15 per cent. Enthusiastic proponents say that the computerized SkySails system could usher in a new age of wind power in commercial shipping, although the main power still comes from the ship’s engine. Because of high oil prices, even small savings are valuable to ship-owners. A 90-metre coastal freighter, the Michael A, was retro-fitted with one of the kites at the end of last year and a purpose-built kite vessel, the Beluga SkySails, set off in March on a two-month maiden voyage to Venezuela, the United States and Norway. The Hamburg-based SkySails company said its forecast of at least a 15-per-cent reduction in annual fuel costs applied for European coastal waters including many regions with moderate winds.

The 160-square-metre kite has a pull of eight tons in a stiff breeze, almost as much as a single engine on an Airbus A318 plane and reducing fuel use at such moments by half, Skysails said. Flying higher, the kite had more pull than a sail on a mast. The tests on the Michael A showed the owner could choose between fuel-saving or greater speed, with the sail forecast to raise average speed during the year from 10 to 11.6 knots. Testing is to continue till next year before the system is commercialized. "The emphasis in the second pilot phase will be on extending the flight periods of the kite and optimizing its performance," said Stephan Wrage, 35, inventor of the system and founder of the firm. He hopes to make it pull evenly when the ship pitches in a swell. He said 60,000 of the 100,000 freighters in the world could be retro-fitted with such a kite, though his system was not suitable for very large container vessels.

Interesting3: Iowans will eventually see more severe flooding every few years because of new flood risks, including rain patterns altered by climate change, the National Wildlife Federation said Tuesday. "Big storms we expected to see every 20 years should be expected every four to six years by end of century," said Amanda Staudt, a climate scientist for the federation who led a news teleconference Tuesday on the issue.  The group said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is giving Iowans a false sense of security about the potential for future flooding, even as they have struggled with this year’s record damage. The corps’ latest flood-frequency projections, completed in 2004, did not anticipate more intense rainfall predicted because of climate change and underestimated how high water would rise during floods, the group said. 

A spokesman for the Army Corps said that the group’s assertions were not based on solid research and that the flood projections the corps uses are sound.  During Tuesday’s teleconference, Southern Illinois University geologist Nicholas Pinter said that Iowa‘s Flood of ’93 should have been called a 90-year flood, not a 500-year flood.  He also said the corps’ study underestimated the flood stage at St. Louis by 4.5 feet because it didn’t take into account the heavier future rains predicted by climatologists.  "These aren’t random events," Pinter said, noting there have been four major floods in the last 35 years. "We are getting a systematic series of floods" that are more frequent and severe than predicted by the corps’ models, he said.

Interesting4: During the European heat wave of 2003 that killed tens of thousands, the temperature in parts of France hit 104 degrees. Nearly 15,000 people died in that country alone. During the Chicago heat wave of 1995, the mercury spiked at 106 and about 600 people died.  In a few decades, people will look back at those heat waves "and we will laugh," said Andreas Sterl, author of a new study. "We will find (those temperatures) lovely and cool."  Sterl’s computer model shows that by the end of the century, high temperatures for once-in-a-generation heat waves will rise twice as fast as everyday average temperatures. Chicago, for example, would reach 115 degrees in such an event by 2100. Paris heat waves could near 109 with Lyon coming closer to 114.

Sterl, who is with the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, projects temperatures for rare heat waves around the world in a study soon to be published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.  His numbers are blistering because of the drying-out effect of a warming world. Most global warming research focuses on average daily temperatures instead of these extremes, which cause greater damage.  His study projects a peak of 117 for Los Angeles and 110 for Atlanta by 2100; that’s 5 degrees higher than the current records for those cities. Kansas City faces the prospect of a 116-degree heat wave, with its current all-time high at 109, according to the National Climactic Data Center.

Aloha Paragraphs



A nice way to end the day
Photo Credit: Flickr.com

After a period of lighter than normal winds here in Hawaii, we’ve seen returning trade winds Wednesday. The latest weather map shows a 1027 millibar high pressure system located to the northwest of Hawaii. The leading edge of these returning winds, will arrive from the northwest Wednesday evening. Trade winds coming in from this direction often have a slightly cooler feel to them, than when they blow in from the east…although with a minimal influence during the summer season. These winds will continue through the rest of this week, right on into next week.

The atmosphere has become dry and stable behind the recent out of season cold front. This satellite image shows that the leftover clouds, from the frontal boundary, have mostly evaporated, leaving the state mostly sunny late Wednesday afternoon. Computer forecast models suggest that we’ll see just a few off and on showers falling on those windward sides. As we move into the upcoming weekend, we may see some increase in showers again along the windward sides. The leeward areas will remain generally dry, as would be expected this time of year. 



The eastern Pacific remains active with tropical storm Boris, and tropical storm Douglas churning the waters. Here’s a storm tracking map, showing the two systems in relation to the Aloha state. There remains no threat to the Hawaiian Islands. Tropical storm Boris has weakened from a hurricane recently, as it moved over cooler water, while losing more steam…and becoming a tropical depression over the next several days. Here’s a satellite image showing these two counterclockwise spinning storms in the eastern Pacific.



~~~  I’m starting to run out of adjectives to describe the abnormal weather that we’ve seen happening here in the Hawaiian Islands! Yesterday’s very unusual cold front, brought lots of clouds, and many showers to our islands. This was a boon though, as we so needed the rainfall! We saw less than the normal amount of showers during our spring season, which has us going into our typically dry summer months on the verge of a drought…perhaps beyond verge! At any rate, it was wonderful to see such a rare frontal cloud band dip so far south into the tropics.

~~~ The computer forecast models remain on our side, so to speak, as they’re suggesting that we may find more showers arriving this weekend. These showers would be taking aim on the windward sides. The source of these showers would be the close proximity of low pressure systems aloft, along with plenty of available moisture near the surface…to feed the showers. At this point we will take whatever showers we can get, and if see these wet trade winds manifest as pointed out by the models, we will be lucky!

~~~ It’s early Wednesday evening here in Kihei, Maui, as I begin writing this last paragaph of this morning’s narrative. Skies were still quite cloudy early this morning, what with the remnant moisture from yesterday totally unusual cold front. During the day however, those clouds have pretty much completely cleared away, leaving a sunny day in their place. I expect dry and sunny weather to remain in place through Friday. As we move into the weekend, we may see some increase in windward showers, let’s fine tune that prospect over the next couple of days. We have the upcoming 4th of July holiday on Friday, so we want to definitely have good weather for everyone who will be outdoors having fun! I’ll be back very early Thursday morning with your next new weather narrative, I hope you have a great Wednesday night until then! Aloha for now…Glenn.

By the way, as many of you know, I have a ping pong table on my deck up in Kula, just outside my weather tower. If you were wondering what our game playing looks like, here’s a good example how a typical game would look…yeah right Glenn!

Interesting:

The Hong Kong Observatory has declared June 2008 its wettest month ever on record, with records dating back to 1884. Up to midday on Monday June 30th, the total rainfall recorded at the Hong Kong Observatory was 1,346.1mm (53 inches) breaking the previous record set in May 1889. The previous rainfall record was 1,241.1mm (49 inches).  The heavy rain is being attributed to active southwesterlies over the south China coastal areas during the first half of the month. On June 7th in particular, a heavy storm gave as much as 145.5mm (5.73 inches) of rain in one hour.

This set a new record at the Hong Kong Observatory for the highest rainfall ever recorded in an hourly period. The rain triggered floods and landslides prompting the highest level of weather alert. Rainfall during the second half of June is being attributed to Typhoon Fengshen. Fengshen which first lashed the Philippines hit southern China a week ago as a weakened tropical storm. The storm was slow moving and lashed the region with heavy rainfall for several days. Guangzhou and Macau (also in the Pearl River Delta) both set new monthly rainfall records. Although a few showers are forecast for Hong Ko today, high pressure is expected to bring fine weather over the next few days.

Interesting2: China‘s latest Olympics nightmare is a vast algae bloom that covers one-third of the sea where the world’s best sailors are supposed to be competing in just over a month. Athletes call it the blob, the carpet, the fairway. "We almost think of it as land," said Carrie Howe, a member of the U.S. team and her three-person squad’s unofficial algae remover. During practice, she dips her hand into the goo three or four times an hour to remove it from the rudder. When it collects shaggily on the boat’s tow rope, she and her teammates refer to it as "the dog." They’ve named it Hickory. Chinese officials are trying to make the stuff go away.

Hundreds of soldiers cleaned it up by hand in a seaside park Wednesday. About 10,000 ordinary citizens were doing the same along the shore, while more than 1,200 fishing and other boats hauled it in by net, the workers smiling and flashing the two-fingered victory sign to journalists. "We all need to pitch in," said Gao Shaofan, a massage parlor employee who was stuffing the algae into plastic sacks with her co-workers. "This is the worst it’s ever been that we know." Chinese officials promised at a news conference Wednesday that the Olympics competition area, all 19 square miles of it, will be clear of the algae before races begin Aug. 9th. 

Interesting3: Iowans will eventually see more severe flooding every few years because of new flood risks, including rain patterns altered by climate change, the National Wildlife Federation said Tuesday. "Big storms we expected to see every 20 years should be expected every four to six years by end of century," said Amanda Staudt, a climate scientist for the federation who led a news teleconference Tuesday on the issue.  The group said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is giving Iowans a false sense of security about the potential for future flooding, even as they have struggled with this year’s record damage. The corps’ latest flood-frequency projections, completed in 2004, did not anticipate more intense rainfall predicted because of climate change and underestimated how high water would rise during floods, the group said. 

A spokesman for the Army Corps said that the group’s assertions were not based on solid research and that the flood projections the corps uses are sound.  During Tuesday’s teleconference, Southern Illinois University geologist Nicholas Pinter said that Iowa‘s Flood of ’93 should have been called a 90-year flood, not a 500-year flood.  He also said the corps’ study underestimated the flood stage at St. Louis by 4.5 feet because it didn’t take into account the heavier future rains predicted by climatologists.  "These aren’t random events," Pinter said, noting there have been four major floods in the last 35 years. "We are getting a systematic series of floods" that are more frequent and severe than predicted by the corps’ models, he said.

Interesting4: During the European heat wave of 2003 that killed tens of thousands, the temperature in parts of France hit 104 degrees. Nearly 15,000 people died in that country alone. During the Chicago heat wave of 1995, the mercury spiked at 106 and about 600 people died.  In a few decades, people will look back at those heat waves "and we will laugh," said Andreas Sterl, author of a new study. "We will find (those temperatures) lovely and cool."  Sterl’s computer model shows that by the end of the century, high temperatures for once-in-a-generation heat waves will rise twice as fast as everyday average temperatures. Chicago, for example, would reach 115 degrees in such an event by 2100. Paris heat waves could near 109 with Lyon coming closer to 114.

Sterl, who is with the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, projects temperatures for rare heat waves around the world in a study soon to be published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.  His numbers are blistering because of the drying-out effect of a warming world. Most global warming research focuses on average daily temperatures instead of these extremes, which cause greater damage.  His study projects a peak of 117 for Los Angeles and 110 for Atlanta by 2100; that’s 5 degrees higher than the current records for those cities. Kansas City faces the prospect of a 116-degree heat wave, with its current all-time high at 109, according to the NationalClimacticDataCenter.

Aloha Paragraphs



Beach scene on the island of Oahu
Photo Credit: Flickr.com

What a way to start off the first day of July! That is…with a cold front moving down through the island chain! Yes, there is no other way to think about this, than having it be a highly unusual occurrence. Cold fronts here in the islands usually occur from November through the winter months, into spring. Some years we see an early front approaching Hawaii in late October, and on the other end of the spectrum, maybe a few late season cold fronts bringing showers during the month of April, maybe early May at the very latest. But July 1st, geez, that’s what I would consider exceedingly rare! This years entire spring season was filled with unusual weather events, most of which were focused around the stop and go pattern of the trade winds.

Meanwhile, the parent low pressure system, which spawned this way out of season cold front, also spun-out a north swell. This has brought much larger surf along our north facing beaches, than what we hardly ever see in July. This surf isn’t nearly as large as what we would expect during the winter months, but the generated dynamics are exactly the same as they would be during winter…and don’t forget that its summer now! There were head high waves breaking on the north shore of Oahu this morning, and we might see some overhead set waves breaking before this rare north swell subsides over the next day or two. Could there be anything else happening that would be eye catching, oh yeah, then there’s what was hurricane Boris to our east…which recently was downgraded to a strong tropical storm at 11am HST!

What can we pin all this unusual weather on? Could it be global warming, global climate change, or what?  During the day I had a phone conversation with Mr. Ray Tanabe, one of the senior members at the NWS Honolulu office this morning. We were talking about what was making for all the unusual things lately here in the central Pacific. He mentioned that he had talked to one of the senior Meteorology professors at the UH about this very question, and the truth is that no one really knows for sure what is causing all this. There don’t even seem to be any wild theories that are being batted around in the Met community. One thing can be said, and that is that we haven’t seen a year quite like 2008 as far back as anyone can remember. It will be interesting to see how the rest of the year manifests, especially as we get deeper into our hurricane season.

At any rate…back to the present. Once the frontal boundary dissipates, and we have high pressure strengthening to our north, which won’t be long, our weather will snap back to some semblance of normal. How long we can maintain normal weather conditions is debatable…although climatology would have us believe through much of the rest of the summer. The trade winds “should” take over as the main weather driver, going forward, but we’ll have to wait and see. The models show a pretty classic trade wind weather pattern taking over starting Wednesday, through the rest of the week…right on into next week. The remnant moisture from what will be former tropical storm Boris, will likely move by to the south of Hawaii early next week…although last week the models showed it coming more northward towards Hawaii. That will leave us with just the usual passing showers activity along the windward sides through the rest of the week.



As far as tropical cyclone activity in the eastern Pacific goes, tropical depression Cristina has dissipated, while tropical storm Boris became a hurricane briefly, before weakening back into a tropica storm…and finally, a new tropical system just started near Mexico late Tuesday afternoon. Here’s a storm tracking map, showing the two systems in relation to the Aloha state. There remains no threat to the Hawaiian Islands. This is all fairly normal during this time of year, when the waters in the eastern Pacific are warming quickly under the summer sun. Here’s a satellite image showing these two counterclockwise spinning storms in the eastern Pacific.



~~~  Tuesday was one of those very interesting days, in many ways.  Here on Maui, the cold front parked itself most of the day. The frontal boundary early Tuesday evening had its back edge still over Oahu, with its leading edge having moved over most of the Big Island. There were still scattered showers falling within this cloud band. This looping radar image shows showers still draped over the central islands, at least at the time of this writing. I expect that there will be a gradually clearing of the cold front during the night, into Wednesday. I’m about ready to leave Kihei for the drive home to Kula. I’m hoping that I’ll run into a wall of fog as I get upcountry…one of my favorite weather types! I’ll be back very early Wednesday morning with your next new weather narrative. I hope you have a great Tuesday night until then! Aloha for now…Glenn.

Interesting:

The dwindling march of the penguins is signaling that the world’s oceans are in trouble, scientists now say.  Penguins may be the tuxedo-clad version of a canary in the coal mine, with generally ailing populations from a combination of global warming, ocean oil pollution, depleted fisheries, and tourism and development, according to a new scientific review paper. A University of Washington biologist detailed specific problems around the world with remote penguin populations, linking their decline to the overall health of southern oceans. "Now we’re seeing effects (of human caused warming and pollution) in the most faraway places in the world," said conservation biologist P. Dee Boersma, author of the paper published in the July edition of the journal Bioscience. "Many penguins we thought would be safe because they are not that close to people. And that’s not true." Scientists figure there are between 16 to 19 species of penguins. About a dozen are in some form of trouble, Boersma wrote.

A few, such as the king penguin found in islands north of Antarctica, are improving in numbers, she said. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature lists three penguin species as endangered, seven as vulnerable, which means they are "facing a high risk of extinction in the wild," and two more as "near threatened." About 15 years ago only five to seven penguin species were considered vulnerable, experts said. And the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which has already listed one penguin species on its endangered list, is studying whether it needs to add 10 more.  The largest Patagonian penguin colony in the world is at Punta Tumbo, Argentina, but the number of breeding pairs there dropped in half from about 400,000 in the late 1960s to about 200,000 in October 2006, Boersma reported. Over a century, African penguins have decreased from 1.5 million breeding pairs to 63,000. The decline overall isn’t caused by one factor, but several.

Interesting2: Wal-Mart Stores Inc is sourcing more produce sold in its U.S. supercenters and Neighborhood Market stores from local farmers as it tries to offset the soaring transportation costs that are driving up food prices. The world’s largest retailer said on Tuesday it had increased the number of local U.S. farmers that it works with by 50 percent in the past two years, and it would like to continue expanding that figure at a double-digit rate. While Wal-Mart declined to provide an exact figure, it said it now works with "hundreds" of individual farmers, and this year it expects to source about $400 million in locally grown fruits and vegetables from farmers across the United States. "When we’re buying local, there are less trucks on the road, less miles that that produce is traveling and therefore less fuel," said Pam Kohn, Wal-Mart’s general merchandise manager for grocery.  

Wal-Mart defines "local" as buying from farmers in a state and selling the produce at stores in the same state. Over the summer months, it said locally sourced fruits and vegetables make up a fifth of the produce available in Wal-Mart stores.  Grocery is a big business for the company, accounting for 41 percent of sales in its U.S. Wal-Mart stores for its fiscal year ended Jan. 31. As food prices rise, shoppers have been flocking to its stores in search of cheaper groceries.  But soaring fuel costs mean the cost of transporting food to its 2,555 supercenters — a full grocery store combined with a discount store — and 138 Neighborhood Market grocery stores is more expensive, making it tougher to keep prices low.

Aloha Paragraphs



Another shot of paradise here in the islands!
Photo Credit: Flickr.com

An early season low pressure system, with its out of season cold front, have pushed our trade wind producing high pressure ridge down over Kauai…where it remains Monday night. This weather map shows two high pressure systems, one to the northwest, and the other to the northeast. The ridge connecting these two cells of high pressure has dipped unusually far south. This is the cause our light early summer winds. We will have to wait until the middle of the work, or even Thursday, before we see the return of strengthening trade winds…which will then continue to blow across our tropical latitudes through the rest of the week, and likely into the following week.

Rainfall has been almost particularly scant, with little change in this dry reality through Tuesday. Temperature inversions over the islands remain low and strong. This means that clouds will be limited in their vertical development, which keeps them from being showery. The winds are light enough that we’re in a convective weather pattern, with clear mornings, giving way to afternoon clouds. Moisture is very limited, which will keep those clouds from doing much for us…in terms of showers. We may see some increase in moisture coming our way during the next 24 hours…which may add some additional cloudiness to island skies during the day Tuesday into Wednesday.



The eastern Pacific continues to be rather active, with one tropical storm named Boris, along with recently dissipated tropical cyclone Cristina. Here’s a storm tracking map, showing these systems in relation to the Hawaiian Islands. Here’s a picture of the storms from space, showing the classic counterclockwise spin with Boris. There is no threat to the Hawaiian Islands. The hurricane models show that the next new tropical system may now be taking form, some 400 or so miles south of Manzanillo, Mexico. This is all fairly normal during this time of year, when the waters in the eastern Pacific are warming quickly under the summer sun.



~~~  An usual gale low pressure system, which is spinning to the northeast of Hawaii, along with its associated cold front, are rare occurrences this time of year. Actually, to be more specific, the gale isn’t all that unusual, although it did get much closer to our islands than normal for summer. It’s the cold front, whose cloud band has moved within a couple hundred miles north of Kauai…which is the rarity. This low pressure system, and its cold front, have made for yet another uncommon occurrence, which is having our trade wind producing ridge of high pressure draped right over the islands now too. The net result is that we find ourselves in a light wind episode, when the trade winds ought to be blowing…at least according to climatology. One more thing about this gale, it has generated an out of season north swell, which will bump the surf up along our north shores soon.

~~~ This light wind regime, along with its convective weather pattern will remain in place through Tuesday and perhaps into Wednesday. Days will begin with generally clear skies, although the daytime heating will cause cloudy afternoons. This convective cloudiness may look fairly threatening, as if it might drop some showers, but most of them won’t. The clouds will be too shallow, without enough vertical dimension, to give us showers in most cases. As the trade winds return by mid-week, we may have somewhat better luck, as whatever moisture that may get picked up from the old cold front…could get carried onto the windward sides then, and for a few days thereafter. The second half of this week, otherwise, should exhibit generally fine weather conditions.

~~~ It’s early Monday evening here in Kihei, Maui. Monday was another almost completely dry day, everywhere! It’s about as dry as it gets here in the islands now, with 99% of the rain gauges around the state remaining empty. It’s a dry day when the largest rainfall amount anywhere, tops out at a meager .03"! Clouds remained undercover as well, with mostly sunny skies prevailing. The daytime heating, as expected, caused some minor cloudiness over and around the mountains, but that didn’t spread down towards the coasts very much. I expect another good day Tuesday, with little change in the overall pattern…although we might see some increase in clouds, but not likely in showers. I’ll be back very early Tuesday morning with your next new weather narrative from paradise, I hope you have a great Monday night until then! Aloha for now…Glenn.

Interesting: After last year’s thin ice cover, the North Pole is poised to vanish due to global warming in a short time.  DailyTech has previously covered the frantic pace of melt in Greenland, which is accelerating, dumping vast amounts of water into the sea.  Meanwhile, the North Pole has been steadily melting away as well.  Fortunately, the North Pole ice is floating, and thus will not affect sea levels, but its dissolution is an important indicator of warming. While some remain critical that global warming is occurring at all, the melting of the North Pole represents a sharp indicator against voices of doubt.  Now scientists are predicting that a major milestone will be reached this summer or next — the disappearance of the North Pole’s ice cover during the Arctic Summer. To most, imagining the North Pole without ice — only water — is an incredible prospect.  But that’s the reality of a warming world.  The prediction comes from the U.S.‘s top climate researchers at the National Snow and IceDataCenter in Boulder, Colorado. 

They predict that in September, there is a good chance that the ice will be gone on the pole. While this is obviously a rather sobering event, the scientists aren’t afraid to poke a little fun at the climatological milestone. Says the center’s senior research scientist, Mark Serreze, "We kind of have an informal betting pool going around in our center and that betting pool is ‘does the North Pole melt out this summer?”  About half the researchers are betting that the geographic pole, currently covered in ice will be ice free this fall.  Last year already saw a similarly landmark event — the Northwest Passage was ice free last September for the first time in recorded history. All of these events are merely part of a larger trend according to researchers.  Says Serreze, "What we’ve seen through the past few decades is the Arctic sea ice cover is becoming thinner and thinner as the system warms up."

Interesting2: The battle to reduce carbon emissions is at the heart of many eco-friendly efforts, and researchers from the University of Missouri have discovered that nature has been lending a hand. Researchers at the Missouri Tree Ring Laboratory in the Department of Forestry discovered that trees submerged in freshwater aquatic systems store carbon for thousands of years, a significantly longer period of time than trees that fall in a forest, thus keeping carbon out of the atmosphere. “If a tree is submerged in water, its carbon will be stored for an average of 2,000 years,” said Richard Guyette, director of the MU Tree Ring Lab and research associate professor of forestry in the School of Natural Resources in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources. “If a tree falls in a forest, that number is reduced to an average of 20 years, and in firewood, the carbon is only stored for one year.” 

The team studied trees in northern Missouri, a geographically unique area with a high level of riparian forests (forests that have natural water flowing through them). They discovered submerged oak trees that were as old as 14,000 years, potentially some of the oldest discovered in the world. This carbon storage process is not just ancient; it continues even today as additional trees become submerged, according to Guyette.  While a tree is alive, it has a high ability to store carbon, thus keeping it out of the atmosphere. However, as it begins to decay, a tree’s carbon is released back into the atmosphere. Discovering that certain conditions slow this process reveals the importance of proper tree disposal as well as the benefits of riparian forests.

Interesting3: Hawaii has become the first state to require solar water heaters in new homes. The bill was signed into law by Governor Linda Lingle, a Republican. It requires the energy-saving systems in homes starting in 2010. It prohibits issuing building permits for single-family homes that do not have solar water heaters. Hawaii relies on imported fossil fuels more than any other state, with about 90 percent of its energy sources coming from foreign countries, according to state data.  The new law prohibits issuing building permits for single-family homes that do not have solar water heaters. Some exceptions will be allowed, such as forested areas where there are low amounts of sunshine.

State Sen. Gary Hooser, vice chairman of the Energy and Environment Committee, first introduced the measure five years ago when he said a barrel of oil cost just $40. Since then, the cost of oil has more than tripled. “It’s abundantly clear that we need to take some serious action to protect Hawaii because we’re so dependent on oil,” Hooser said. “I’m very pleased the governor is recognizing the importance of this bill and the huge public benefits that come out of it.”

Aloha Paragraphs



Hawaii truly is paradise!
Photo Credit: Flickr.com

Storms in the north central Pacific have weakened our local winds, which will remain light for the time being. Those storms are too far away to do much more than erode our trade wind producing high pressure ridge. This weather map shows two high pressure systems, one to the northwest, and the other to the northeast. There is a break in the connecting ridge between them…where the tail of a cold front exists. This is the cause our unusually light early summer winds now. We will have to wait until the middle of the work, before we see the return of strengthening trade winds.

The overlying atmosphere remains unusually dry and stable, at least from Kauai to Maui. Temperature inversions over the islands remain low and strong. This simply means that clouds will be limited in their vertical development, which keeps them from being showery. The winds are light enough that we’re in a convective weather pattern, with clear mornings, giving way to afternoon clouds. Moisture is very limited, which will keep those clouds from doing much for us…in terms of showers. The Big Island has had better luck, where localized showers were locally quite generous Sunday afternoon.



Meanwhile, the second and third tropical cyclones of the season, in the eastern Pacific remain active in the eastern Pacific…with the tropical storm names Boris and Cristina. They are both heading more or less straight westward, remaining at tropical storm stage, although both will be weakening back into the tropical depression category before too long. Here’s a storm tracking map, showing these storms in relation to the Hawaiian Islands. Here’s a picture of the storms from space, showing the classic counterclockwise swirl to them. There is no threat to the Hawaiian Islands, however the remnant moisture, as they spin in our direction and weaken…may bring an increase in tropical showers to the Aloha state by next weekend.



~~~  I’ve been harping on how unusual the current set of weather circumstances are for this time of year. Weather models now show whatever is left of the aforementioned cold front moving down near Kauai in a couple of days. This cold front is very unusual, with the lighter trade winds unusual too…although we can leave off the very word. Light winds, with that June sunshine blazing down, will give a very warm, and somewhat sultry feel to our environment. As mentioned above, days will begin near cloud free, although that daytime heating will start clouds forming over and around the mountains later in the mornings, through the afternoon hours. These clouds will gather most effectively over and around the mountains, spreading down towards the coasts locally. For the time being, most areas will remain dry, although that cold front mentioned above, with its remnant moisture, may bring a few light showers to Kauai, and it wouldn’t be out of the question to see the windward sides on the other islands picking up a few showers during the week from it too.

~~~ It’s early Sunday evening here in Kula, Maui. Skies are mostly clear, although as this satellite image shows, there are some clouds by Kauai, to the south of the cold front that is moving by to our north. If we take a quick look at the looping image, this streak of high clouds appears to be shifting to the west away from our islands. It’s hazy out there too, not quite as thick as it was Saturday evening, but plenty hazy enough anyway. This morning I decided to drive over to Haiku, for the summer orchid sale…and am glad I did, as I found a nice plant. I was so close to Paia, that it seemed ridiculous not to go the beach. I had a great beach walk, and a quick swim in the warm ocean, and after a little shopping, high-tailed it back up here to Kula. I got back home by mid-morning, and have been working and lounging in equal measure through the rest of the day. My neighbors invited me for a nice picnic lunch, which was delicious.

~~~ Speaking of food, I just made a great dinner, which I will eat during the week. I started off with extra virgin olive oil in a pan, throwing in a whole organic onion. Just for the record, all the vegetables were organic. At any rate, in went some nice Yukon potatoes, and a small hot pepper. I sliced up shitaki mushrooms, lots of them, and threw them in too. I had some yellow squash, and a cob of corn, which I added to the mix. Then I cut up some local Kula Asparagus, along with garlic. I let this cook for until the potatoes began softening. I had bought some very fresh Mahi Mahi at the store, and so right at the end I cut that up into small pieces and put that in with those veges. I went out to the garden and picked some cherry tomatoes, and brought in a handful of basil leaves, and tossed those in on top of everything. I’ll plate that, with some tasty hard grating cheese, give a couple of twists of black pepper, a pinch or two of salt, sprinkle on a fork full of capers, and oh boy…

~~~ It’s a little before sunset now, and after first cooking that great meal, and then writing about it for you, I’m getting hungry. I often take my dinner up here to my weather deck, with its bi-coastal views of Maui, and eat it while watching the sunset. I hope you had, or will have a great dinner too, I’ll be back very early Monday morning with your next new weather narrative from paradise. I hope you have a great Sunday night wherever you happen to be spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.

Aloha Paragraphs


  Sunset shot from Maui
Photo Credit: Flickr.com

Fitting right into what has been an unusual spring season here in the islands…our current weather circumstances are quite odd. The month of June is well known for its very regular trade wind flow, blowing like 91% of the time on average. I guess we’re moving into that little 9% window, or will be over the next several days. Glancing at this latest weather map, we see high pressure systems anchored far to the northwest, and about the same distance to the northeast. We see low pressure systems, with their associated frontal boundaries, moving into the area directly north of our islands. This in turn will weaken the trade wind producing high pressure ridge north of here. Thus, the ridge will be not only be eroded from the north, but also pushed southward towards Hawaii.

Returning to the unusual aspects of this weather pattern, it’s just that the trade winds aren’t “suppose” to exhibit this start and stop pattern, like they have most of the spring season…not in June, especially not in late June into early July! So, our trade winds are going to be taking a nose dive in strength, as the ridge uncharacteristically slides down over us. This wouldn’t be so unusual if it were December, or January, or even April…but it’s almost July folks. Light winds equate to very warm and sultry conditions here in Hawaii, down here in the tropics. This uncommon light wind episode will extend into the first several days of the new week ahead, with the models suggesting it will take until around next Wednesday or Thursday, before we feel the return of our cooling and refreshing trade winds.



As the aforementioned sultry conditions develop, we’ll see the bias for showers breaking away from the windward sides…moving over into the upcountry inland areas. We call this shift from a trade wind weather pattern – a convective weather pattern. The most common time for showers under such a regime, would be during the afternoon hours, into the early evenings. If the dynamics were different, we would expect localized heavy showers, but this time around, that won’t be the case. As a matter of fact, only light precipitation is expected, if at all, in most areas…at the atmosphere remains dry and relatively stable at this time.



What you have been reading above, is what I would call unusual for this time of year. Looking at what the computer models are describing as we move further into next week…"grades easily into very unusual, if not down right rare". They show a trough, with a cold front pushing down into the tropics, and moving over the islands. This definitely goes against the grain of climatology, the history of Hawaiian weather.  The long and short of all this is that the winds will be getting lighter, and there will be the chance of light showers…especially during the first half of the new week ahead.



Meanwhile, the second and third tropical cyclones of the season, in the eastern Pacific have spun up…taken on the tropical storm names Boris and Cristina. They are both heading more or less straight westward, and aren’t expected to reach hurricane force. Here’s a storm tracking map, showing these storms in relation to the Hawaiian Islands. Here’s a picture of the storms from space, showing the classic counterclockwise swirl to them. There is no threat to the Hawaiian Islands at this time, however the remnant moisture, as they spin in our direction…may bring an increase in tropical showers to the Aloha state by next weekend.



~~~  Last night after work I went to see the new film called Wanted (2008), starring James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, Angelina Jolie, among others. This is a fast paced, crackling thrill ride of a film, full of special effects, and lots of killing. Sorry, I’m sure many of you wonder what I find so fascinating with these kinds of films? What can I say for myself? I have no excuse…am guilty as charged, it’s just that I’m very drawn to seeing these kinds of explosive films for some reason. I have to say in good conscience, that I simply loved the film, it was outstanding, have to give it a B+ grade, and am wondering why I’m not giving it a full on A? It swept me away from the first moment, and had me laughing more than I have laughed in ages. It wasn’t so much that it was funny, although it certainly was, but really it was just so good in parts, that I couldn’t help but laugh! If you are the type of person who can keep this kind of movie in perspective, remembering that it is after all just a motion picture, then I could highly recommend it. If on the other hand, you have a weak stomach for these kinds of films, I would recommend staying at least 10,000 miles away from any theater showing this top notch action film. And then, oh my god, there was Angelina Jolie, her name was Fox in the film, and that name was absolutely well chosen! Here is the trailer for this excellent film.

~~~ It’s early Saturday evening here in Kula, Maui. It’s partly cloudy, although the main thing that I’m seeing is the very hazy skies, which likely consist of some volanic emission from the Big Island. As noted in one of the paragraphs above, the overlying atmosphere is not conducive for showers at this time. These relatively dry conditions are expected to last for another severals days. The unusual part of this whole thing is the light winds that we have going on now. At any rate, I went surfing this morning over on the Lahaina side of the island, and had a great time! I then headed over to the Paia side, stopping by the putting green in Spreckelsville, and was doing quite well, I must say. Then, it was down to Baldwin Beach, for a walk and swim. If you read this page much, you will know that I can get into quite a habit of doing very similar things each weekend, not to mention during the week days…fortunately they are good things! This evening I have no plans, and will just hang around the house, and take it easy. There’s an orchid sale in Haiku tomorrow morning, so I might take the drive over there, and see what I find. Otherwise, nothing much happening, I hope you have a great Saturday night wherever you happen to be! I’ll be back here Sunday morning with your next new update on what’s happening in the world of weather, here in paradise. Aloha for now…Glenn.

Since I have more time during the weekends, I like to share of few of my favorite songs, mostly from the past, since I haven’t been able to stay up on the current music scene. Lets start of with some great voices, and see where it goes as we move into Saturday night.

Sarah Smile…Hall & Oates 

Aloha Paragraphs

  Occasional light showers…
Photo Credit: Flickr.com

The trade winds are getting softer now, which will become even lighter this weekend. The winds will get light enough soon, that our overlying atmosphere is going to be feeling rather sultry, if not down right muggy over the next 4-5 days.  The computer models are strengthening our local trade winds again by the middle of next week…developing back into the light to moderately strong range then. 

The trade winds may bring a few light showers to the windward sides, and then a few during the afternoon hours…all on the light side however. The majority of whatever passing showers that arrive, will end up along the windward sides for the time being, although as the winds get lighter…we will see afternoon convective showers over the leeward sides locally too.

As this looping satellite image shows, we have an area of high cirrus clouds moving by to the south. At the same time, we see an new area moving southward towards us from the north as well. Those cirrus clouds are showing up as bright and white, carried along in the upper winds aloft. 

Pressure patterns in the central Pacific are shifting around some now, with the net result being lighter trade winds through the beginning of the new week ahead. We still have a high pressure ridge to our north, which is the source of our local winds now. This ridge will be migrating southward now, which is why our winds will be getting softer, especially later this weekend into Monday. This time of year, when the trade winds falter like this, we find ourselves in an increasingly muggy environment.

As these sultry conditions develop, we’ll see the bias for showers shifting away from the windward sides…moving over to the upcountry inland areas. We call this shift from a trade wind weather pattern – a convective weather pattern. The most common time for showers under such a regime, would be during the afternoon hours, into the early evenings. If the dynamics were different, we would expect localized heavy showers, but this time around, that won’t be the case.  

By the way, the second tropical cyclone of the season, in the eastern Pacific has spun up…called tropical storm Boris. It is heading more or less straight westward, which isn’t expected to reach hurricane force.  Meanwhile, another system, to the left of the main storm, has developed, called 3E, which is forecast to become tropical storm Cristina soon. Here’s a storm tracking map, showing this newly developed storm in relation to the Hawaiian Islands. Here’s a picture of the storms from satellite. Neither of these early season storms pose any threat to the Hawaiian Islands at this time.  
 
~~~  We’ll here we are at the end of yet another work week. These days it seems that we rarely have just a normal period of weather, at least not many lately. There always seems to be something going on that qualifies it for the unusual category. I’m about ready to leave Kihei, Maui, heading over to Kahului, to see a new film. This time its called Wanted (2008), starring James McAvoy, Morgan Freeman, Angelina Jolie, among others. This is a faced paced, crackling thrill ride of a film, full of special effects, and lots of killing. Sorry, I’m sure many of you wonder what I find so fascinating with these kinds of films? What can I say for myself? I have no excuse, am guilty as charged…it’s just that I’m very drawn to seeing these kinds of explosive films for some reason. If you can handle it, here’s a trailer for this film, which is most assuredly not for everyone out there! I’ll be back early Saturday morning with your next new weather narrative, and more than likely, raving about how much I liked this film! I hope you have a great Friday night wherever you happen to be spending it. Aloha for now…Glenn.

Interesting:  Martian soil appears to contain sufficient nutrients to support life – or, at least, asparagus – Nasa scientists believe. Preliminary analysis by the Phoenix Mars Lander mission on the planet’s soil found it to be much more alkaline than expected. Scientists working on the spacecraft project said they were "flabbergasted" by the discovery. The find has raised hopes conditions on Mars may be favourable for life. "We basically have found what appears to be the requirements, the nutrients, to support life, whether past, present or future," said Sam Kounaves, the project’s lead chemist, from the University of Arizona. Although he said further tests would have to be conducted, Mr Kounaves said the soil seemed "very friendly… there is nothing about it that is toxic," he said.

It is the type of soil you would probably have in your back yard – you know, alkaline. You might be able to grow asparagus in it really well." As well as being far less acidic than anticipated, the soil was also found to contain traces of magnesium, sodium, potassium and other elements. "We were all flabbergasted at the data we got back," said Mr Kounaves. "It is very exciting for us." The analysis is based on a cubic centimetre of soil scooped from 2.5cm (one inch) below Mars’ surface by the lander’s robotic arm.

Interesting2:  The North Pole may be briefly ice-free by September as global warming melts away Arctic sea ice, according to scientists from the National Snow and IceDataCenter in Boulder, Colorado.  "We kind of have an informal betting pool going around in our center and that betting pool is ‘does the North Pole melt out this summer?’ and it may well," said the center’s senior research scientist, Mark Serreze. It’s a 50-50 bet that the thin Arctic sea ice, which was frozen in autumn, will completely melt away at the geographic North Pole, Serreze said. The ice retreated to a record level in September when the Northwest Passage, the sea route through the Arctic Ocean, opened briefly for the first time in recorded history. "What we’ve seen through the past few decades is the Arctic sea ice cover is becoming thinner and thinner as the system warms up," Serreze said. Specific weather patterns will determine whether the North Pole’s ice cover melts completely this summer, he said.  "Last year, we had sort of a perfect weather pattern to get rid of ice to open up that Northwest Passage," Serreze said. "This year, a different pattern can set up. so maybe we’ll preserve some ice there. We’re in a wait-and-see mode right now. We’ll see what happens."

The brief lack of ice at the top of the globe will not bring any immediate consequences, he said. "From the viewpoint of the science, the North Pole is just another point in the globe, but it does have this symbolic meaning," Serreze said. "There’s supposed to be ice at the North Pole. The fact that we may not have any by the end of this summer could be quite a symbolic change." Serreze said it’s "just another indicator of the disappearing Arctic sea ice cover" but that it is happening so soon is "just astounding to me." "Five years ago, to think that we’d even be talking about the possibility of the North Pole melting out in the summer, I would have never thought it," he said. The melting, however, has been long seen as inevitable, he said. "If you talked to me or other scientists just a few years ago, we were saying that we might lose all or most of the summer sea ice cover by anywhere from 2050 to 2100," Serreze said. "Then, recently, we kind of revised those estimates, maybe as early as 2030. Now, there’s people out there saying it might be even before that. So, things are happening pretty quick up there."

Interesting3: Food prices could rise even more unless the mysterious decline in honey bees is solved, farmers and businessmen told lawmakers Thursday.  "No bees, no crops," North Carolina grower Robert D. Edwards told a House Agriculture subcommittee. Edwards said he had to cut his cucumber acreage in half because of the lack of bees available to rent.  About three-quarters of flowering plants rely on birds, bees and other pollinators to help them reproduce. Bee pollination is responsible for $15 billion annually in crop value.  In 2006, beekeepers began reporting losing 30 percent to 90 percent of their hives. This phenomenon has become known as Colony Collapse Disorder. Scientists do not know how many bees have died; beekeepers have lost 36 percent of their managed colonies this year.

It was 31 percent for 2007, said Edward B. Knipling, administrator of the Agriculture Department’s Agricultural Research Service. "If there are no bees, there is no way for our nation’s farmers to continue to grow the high quality, nutritious foods our country relies on," said Democratic Rep. Dennis Cardoza of California, chairman of the horticulture and organic agriculture panel. "This is a crisis we cannot afford to ignore."  Food prices have gone up 83 percent in three years, according to the World Bank.  Edward R. Flanagan, who raises blueberries in Milbridge, Maine, said he could be forced to increase prices tenfold or go out of business without the beekeeping industry. "Every one of those berries owes its existence to the crazy, neurotic dancing of a honey bee from flower to flower," he said.