March 6-7, 2009
Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures were recorded across the state of Hawaii Friday afternoon:
Lihue, Kauai – 73
Honolulu, Oahu – 80
Kaneohe, Oahu – 75
Kahului, Maui – 77
Hilo, Hawaii – 73
Kailua-kona – 76
Air Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level – and on the highest mountains…at 4 p.m. Friday afternoon:
Barking Sands, Kauai – 76F
Hilo, Hawaii – 65
Haleakala Crater – 41 (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea summit – 28 (near 14,000 feet on the Big Island)
Precipitation Totals – The following numbers represent the largest precipitation totals (inches) during the last 24 hours on each of the major islands, as of Friday evening:
1.59 Hanalei River, Kauai
0.58 Poamoho 2, Oahu
0.21 Molokai
0.00 Lanai
0.01 Kahoolawe
2.08 Puu Kukui, Maui
1.20 Kealakekua, Big Island
Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map showing a very strong 1046 millibar high pressure system located far to the north of the islands. This high pressure system will keep our trade winds still locally gusty Friday, remaining at generally moderately strong levels into Saturday.
Satellite and Radar Images: To view the cloud conditions we have here in Hawaii, please use the following satellite links, starting off with the Infrared Satellite Image of the islands to see all the clouds around the state during the day and night. This next image is one that gives close images of the islands only during the daytime hours, and is referred to as a Close-up visible image. This next image shows a larger view of the Pacific…giving perspective to the wider ranging cloud patterns in the Pacific Ocean. Finally, here’s a looping IR satellite image, making viewable the clouds around the islands 24 hours a day. To help you keep track of where any showers may be around the islands, here’s the latest animated radar image.
Hawaii’s Mountains – Here’s a link to the live webcam on the summit of near 14,000 foot Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii. The tallest peak on the island of Maui is the Haleakala Crater, which is near 10,000 feet in elevation. These two webcams are available during the daylight hours here in the islands…and when there’s a big moon rising just after sunset for an hour or two! Plus, during the nights and early mornings you will be able to see stars, and the sunrise too…depending upon weather conditions.
Aloha Paragraphs
Apple Bananas…my favorite
flickr.com
The long lasting trade wind regime, is going to be lasting quite a while longer…certainly into the beginning of the new week ahead. Looking at this latest weather map, we find a very strong 1046 millibar high pressure system, in the area north of the Hawaiian Islands Friday night. Despite the gusty nature of our trade winds now, they have softened enough generally, that the only NWS wind related notice…is for a small craft advisory around parts of Maui and the Big Island. These moderately strong trade winds will continue on into next week, although might be reduced briefly to the light to moderately strong realms this weekend.
There’s a chance that we’ll see quite a marked increase in showers during the next 24-36 hours. An area of low pressure, a trough to the southwest and west of our islands, will be moving overhead…destabilizing our air mass in the process. The cold air associated with this area of low pressure, will help to enhance whatever showers that form over and around the Aloha state, especially this weekend. There is a chance that some of this precipitation will be locally heavy…with even the chance of a few thunderstorms at times. We may see this threat of showers extending into the new week ahead, as this trough moving through, will be a slow mover.
The winds remained on the strong and gusty side Friday, although will finally begin to wind down some as we move into the weekend. The winds are generally the lightest during the morning hours, which then almost always increase during the late morning through early evening hours. The following numbers represented the strongest gusts (mph) on each of the islands at around 11pm Friday night:
Kauai: 21
Oahu: 38
Molokai: 29
Maui: 27
Kahoolawe: 28
Lanai: 10
Big Island: 27
As you notice in the list of strongest gusts around the state Friday night, they were still gusting to near the 30 mph mark…a bit higher and lower locally. As the high pressure system to our north gradually loses a bit of strength over the next couple of days, we should begin to see somewhat lighter trade winds blowing as we move into the weekend. The trade winds will remain active well into next week however, although gradually winding down into the light to moderately strong realms as we go forward.
Those pesky high cirrus, and middle level altocumulus clouds, remain an almost permanent fixture in our local skies. If you have a chance to check out this looping satellite image, you’ll see that we still have lots of those persistent clouds moving by aloft, which will keep us quite cloudy for the time being. The one good thing, at least in terms of seeing more sunshine, is that those clouds seem to be gradually edging eastward, and eventually will move away…perhaps even during this weekend. At the same time, coming in on the trade winds, from the opposite direction, we have lower level clouds…which are carrying passing showers to the windward sides.
The primary difference today, over what we were seeing Thursday, is the colder air at high altitudes over our islands. This cold air, brought our way by a trough of low pressure to the southwest and west, will be having an influence on our local weather soon. As we all know, the strong and gusty trade winds, have been the main meteorological factor during the last week. These gusty trade winds were still around Friday, but as I mentioned in one of the paragraphs above…may not be the top dog (in terms of weather phenomenon) soon, as the showers increase during the weekend.
Our overlying atmosphere will become more shower prone soon, with windward showers increasing with time. If those high clouds finally go away, or at least thin some, the daytime heating may help to deepen our local cumulus clouds, with some generous showers over the interior parts of the islands Saturday afternoon. If the air aloft gets as cold as the computer models are suggesting, we could see a couple of lone thunderstorms forming over and around the islands during the next couple of days too. The tops of the mountains on the Big Island will likely see snow falling…so in order to keep track of that, here’s a link.
It’s Friday evening here in Kihei, Maui, as I get ready to take the drive over to Kahului. It’s totally cloudy again, as I look out the window, in every direction I might add. Here’s a looping radar image so you can keep track of where those showers are, that I’m been talking about above. If you have a chance, I think you will be impressed with what you find in that satellite image!
~~~ At any rate, I’ve decided to go see a new film, called Watchmen (2009) starring Malin Akerman, and Billy Crudup…among others. The short synopsis of this film: after a law is passed to thwart the efforts of a group of crime fighters, one of them is mysteriously murdered…which starts a whole host of chain reactions! This is the opening night for this film, so am hoping to get in, that is, unless it is sold out before I arrive. I’ll come back online Saturday morning with my opinion of this thriller, which is long running by the way, 2:45 minutes! Here’s a trailer for this wild film. I hope you have a great Friday night, and will join me here again on Saturday for your next new weather narrative from paradise! Aloha for now…Glenn.
Interesting: Scientists identified seven new species of bamboo coral discovered on a NOAA-funded mission in the deep waters of the Papahnaumokukea Marine National Monument. Six of these species may represent entirely new genera, a remarkable feat given the broad classification a genus represents. Scientists expect to identify more new species as analysis of samples continues.
“These discoveries are important, because deep-sea corals support diverse seafloor ecosystems and also because these corals may be among the first marine organisms to be affected by ocean acidification,” said Richard Spinrad, Ph.D., NOAA’s assistant administrator for Oceanic and Atmospheric Research.
Ocean acidification is a change in ocean chemistry due to excess carbon dioxide. Researchers have seen adverse changes in marine life with calcium-carbonate shells, such as corals, because of acidified ocean water. “Deep-sea bamboo corals also produce growth rings much as trees do, and can provide a much-needed view of how deep ocean conditions change through time,” said Spinrad. Rob Dunbar, a Stanford University scientist, was studying long-term climate data by examining long-lived corals.
“We found live, 4,000-year-old corals in the Monument – meaning 4,000 years worth of information about what has been going on in the deep ocean interior.” “Studying these corals can help us understand how they survive for such long periods of time, as well as how they may respond to climate change in the future,” said Dunbar.
Interesting2: Moths need just the essence of a flower’s scent to identify it, according to new research from The University of Arizona in Tucson. Although a flower’s odor can be composed of hundreds of chemicals, a moth uses just a handful to recognize the flower. It’s like identifying a piece of music from hearing only the notes played by a few key instruments, said lead researcher Jeffrey A. Riffell. "The moth isn’t paying attention to all the chemicals at the same time," Riffell said.
"It’s actually just paying attention to a few." The finding provides insight into how the brain processes a specific smell from the sea of odors floating through the air. The UA team recorded from the brains of tobacco hornworm moths as they smelled each individual chemical of the 60-some that comprise the fragrance emitted by the moth’s preferred source of nectar, sacred datura flowers.
It is the first time researchers have recorded an insect’s brain activity as the animal smelled all the individual chemicals captured from a real flower. Previous research used only synthetic odors. Just nine of the chemicals provoked a neural response. However, all nine had to be presented simultaneously for the moth to fly to the smell’s source and then stick out its tongue seeking nectar.
Interesting3: University of Montana researcher Scott Mills and his students have noticed an exceptional number of white snowshoe hares on brown earth. He contends that climate change and the color mismatch are causing much more hare mortality. On an unseasonably warm May afternoon, University of Montana wildlife biology Professor Scott Mills treks into the shadowy forests above the Seeley-Swan Valley in pursuit of his quarry. He skirts the rivulets of water melting from snow patches.
In one hand he holds an antenna and in the other a receiver that’s picking up signals from a radio-collared snowshoe hare. The beeps increase in volume as he draws nearer. Mills picks his way over downed branches, steps out from behind a western larch and spots the white hare crouched on the bare brown earth. “That’s just an embarrassing moment for a snowshoe hare to think that it’s invisible when it’s not,” said Mills with a grin, quickly adding that seeing such mismatched colors is becoming all too common and disturbing.
For the past decade, Mills has directed teams of biologists and students to investigate snowshoe hares on more than 35 study sites in Montana, Wyoming and Washington, including just outside UM’s back door near Seeley Lake. His findings have led to improved forest thinning practices that maintain patches of dense trees for hares. He’s delved into population dynamics and genetics of hares in their southern range.
His research has turned directly to lynx, too, as a key predator of snowshoe hares and a threatened species. Increasingly Mills and his students have noted an exceptional number of white hares on brown earth. Radio telemetry data revealed spring and fall to be the most deadly seasons for hares and a bonanza for predators.
Interesting4: Children and adolescents aren’t meeting guidelines for fruit and vegetable consumption, according to researchers at Ohio State University. The researchers analyzed results of the 1999-2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to assess the amounts of fruits and vegetables consumed by children and adolescents compared to Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommendations, and to identify factors related to low fruit and vegetable consumption.
In a study of more than 6,500 children ages 2 to 18, the researchers found those not meeting recommendations tended to be male, older and living in households making between 130 percent and 350 percent of the federal poverty level. The researchers found 2-to-5 year-olds consumed significantly more fruit and juice than children ages 6 to 11 and 12 to 18 year olds. Total vegetable consumption was significantly higher among 12-to-18 year-olds. However, only 8 percent of vegetables consumed by children in all groups were dark green or orange; fried potatoes constituted about 46 percent of total vegetable consumption.
The study also found fruit consumption differed significantly among race, ethnicities and household income. Mexican Americans consumed significantly more fruit than non-Hispanic white children and adolescents. In addition, non-Hispanic black children and adolescents consumed significantly more dark-green vegetables and fewer deep-yellow vegetables than Mexican American and non-Hispanic white children and adolescents.
The researchers concluded: "These children and adolescents should be targeted for nutritional interventions focusing on amounts and types of fruits and vegetables to consume. Nevertheless, there is a common need among American children and adolescents for nutritional interventions designed to increase daily fruit and vegetable consumption. When counseling children, adolescents and their parents/caregivers, dietitians need to address factors that may influence fruit and vegetable intake, such as gender, age, race/ethnicity and income."
Interesting5: Ancient groundwater being tapped by Jordan, one of the 10 most water-deprived nations in the world, has been found to contain twenty times the radiation considered safe for drinking water in a new study by an international team of researchers. "The combined activities of 228 radium and 226 radium – the two long-lived isotopes of radium – in the groundwater we tested are up to 2000 percent higher than international drinking standards," said Avner Vengosh, associate professor of earth and ocean sciences in the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University.
Making the water safe for long-term human consumption is possible, he said, but it will require extra steps to reduce its radioactivity. Vengosh and his research team, made up of scientists from Jordan, Palestine, Israel and the United States, published their findings Feb. 19 in a paper in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Science & Technology. Jordan’s annual water use exceeds the natural replenishment of its major river, the Yarmouk, and its local aquifers that are becoming salinized as a result of over-pumping.
In 2007, the Jordanian government announced plans for a $600-million project to pump low-saline fossil groundwater from the Disi aquifer, located along the nation’s remote southern border with Saudi Arabia, and pipe it 250 kilometers north to the capital, Amman, a city of 3.1 million people, and other population centers.Fossil groundwater is a nonrenewable supply of water trapped underground in aquifers.
In recent years, policymakers in countries facing chronic water shortages have increasingly viewed low-saline supplies of fossil groundwater as an important potential source of water for human and agricultural use. Libya and Saudi Arabia, for example, have relied extensively on fossil groundwater from Nubian sandstone aquifers similar to the Disi to meet their water needs in recent decades.
Interesting6: A Spanish researcher has discovered a newfound species of fish in an area of the Antarctic Ocean that has not been studied since 1904. The fish, given the name Gosztonyia antarctica, was found at a depth of 2,000 feet in the Bellingshausen Sea, an area between two islands along the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula. The area has been little explored by scientists because it is relatively inaccessible and the ocean floor beneath it has not been mapped, said the researcher who made the discovery, Jesús Matallanas of the Autonomous University of Barcelona.
Since the expedition of the boat Bélgica, which obtained two unique specimens of fish in 1904, no one has fished in the sea. Matallanas collected four specimens of the newfound species — measuring between 10 to 12 inches — during Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO) campaigns in the southern hemisphere summers of 2003 and 2006. His findings were detailed in the January issue of the journal Polar Biology.
The fish is from the family Zoarcidae, a dominant group of fish on continental slopes that has some 240 species. The discovery yielded some insight into the makeup of the fauna of the Bellingshausen Sea. "One of the most significant results is that the ichthyofauna of the Bellingshausen Sea, contrary to what was previously believed, is more closely related to that of the Eastern Antarctic than the Western," Matallanas said.
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