June 4-5, 2010

Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures were recorded across the state of Hawaii Friday afternoon:

Lihue, Kauai – 82
Honolulu, Oahu – 84
Kaneohe, Oahu – 82
Kaunakakai, Molokai – 82
Kahului, Maui – 84
Hilo, Hawaii – 83
Kailua-kona – 81

Air Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level around the state – and on the highest mountains…at 5pm Friday evening:

Kalaeloa, Oahu – 82F
Kaneohe, Oahu – 78

Haleakala Crater –    59 (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea summit – 46 (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 afternoon:

0.02 Mount Waialaele, Kauai  
0.01 Nui Valley, Oahu
0.00 Molokai 
0.00 Lanai
0.00 Kahoolawe
0.01 Kahakuloa, Maui
0.21 Piihonua, Big Island

Marine Winds – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map showing a high pressure ridge running east to west, to the north of the Hawaiian Islands. The trade wind flow will remain light to moderately strong Saturday into Sunday.

Satellite and Radar Images: To view the cloud conditions we have here in Hawaii, please use the following satellite links, starting off with this 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.

Tropical Cyclone activity in the eastern and central Pacific – Here’s the latest weather information coming out of the National Hurricane Center, covering the eastern north Pacific. You can find the latest tropical cyclone information for the central north Pacific (where Hawaii is located) by clicking on this link to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. Here’s a tracking map covering both the eastern and central Pacific Ocean. A satellite image, which shows the entire ocean area between Hawaii and the Mexican coast…can be found here. Of course, as we know, our hurricane season won’t begin again until June 1st here in the central Pacific.

 Aloha Paragraphs

The beautiful coast of the Big Island

The trade winds will continue, blowing in the light to moderately strong range through the rest of this weekend…into the new week ahead. The forecast calls for a bump-up in strength as we move into the Monday or Tuesday time frame. As the winds are on the lighter side now, there are no small craft advisories active anywhere in the coastal or channel waters. As this weather map shows, we still have two weak high pressure systems, more or less to the west and east of our islands. Ridging passes by to the north of Hawaii, although a series of low pressure systems, with their associated cold fronts, have temporarily broken the ridge to our north-northeast. These high pressure cells are displaced further south in latitude than they ordinary would be this time of year, largely the reason our local trade winds are on the softer side of normal now. As these cyclone families (the string of low pressure systems in the mid-latitudes), move further north, so will our high pressure systems and their ridges…prompting strong trade winds in our tropical latitudes during the new week.

Besides the somewhat lighter winds now, we find a very dry and stable atmosphere overhead, which in turn is greatly limiting our precipitation activity. There has been hardly any rainfall through the last 24 hours…with little on the horizon ahead. If we take a look at this satellite image, we can see that despite the lack of rainfall, there certainly isn’t any lack of low clouds. There are also some fairly thick high cirrus clouds down to our southwest as well. This larger view of the tropics shows that area of high icy clouds being carried along in the fast moving sub-tropical jet stream. If this high stuff were to migrate a bit further east over the next couple of days, we would see a shift into a sun dimming reality during the days. These cirrus have been holding firm to our south for several days lately, although haven’t been able to move over us just yet. There may be a couple of opportunities for added windward showers, although not all that much rainfall, over the next 4-5 days…associated with upper level troughs in our area.





It’s Friday evening as I begin writing the last section of today’s narrative. 











The trade winds remain active, although as noted above, slightly less strong than would normally be expected in early June. Did you notice that arc of high cirrus clouds in the satellite link above…I find that quite interesting. Rainfall has been scant lately, with little change expected through most of the weekend, if not through the weekend in its entirety. The surf will be small at all our local beaches for the time being, so beaching should be exceptionally nice! It’s Friday evening, and there’s actually nothing that I want to see in the theatres, so I’ll have to do something different. I’m kinda thinking of heading down to the beach in Paia for a walk and swim, maybe have dinner out over there, before heading back upcountry to Kula. I’ll let you know what I eventually did Saturday morning, when I’ll be back here with your next new weather narrative. I hope you have a great Friday night until then! Aloha for now…Glenn.

Extra: Having a little fun at breakfast

Interesting: Things have gotten quiet at Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull volcano. The silence is good news for European airlines and passengers who suffered through weeks of travel chaos earlier this year when the Icelandic volcano erupted and spewed ash into the skies over Europe. Scientists monitoring Eyjafjallajokull indicate that the volcano’s magma chambers are nearly empty and ash production has stopped.

The volcano’s temperature has dropped and only steam is puffing benignly from the crater. Forecasting volcanic activity is not an exact science, but experts think that Eyjafjallajokull has gone dormant, for the time being. In the future, volcanic eruptions may not cause the air traffic chaos that followed this spring’s ash clouds from Iceland’s Eyjafjallajokull.

European airline EasyJet has installed an experimental Airborne Volcanic Object Identifier and Detector (Avoid) system on one of its Airbus jets. If it works, the system could allow pilots to see and avoid areas of airborne volcanic ash. Ironically, the new system will have to be tested elsewhere since the skies over Europe are currently ash-free.

Interesting2: The health of a waterway is entirely dependent on the status of its riparian zone, the area of land from which storm water flows. In urban environments, which are typically found along a waterway, that land is altered, and the flow of water to the stream or river is affected. These changes can have a devastating effect on the populations of aquatic life that reside there.

As development increases, impervious surfaces like roads, buildings, and parking lots cover more of the riparian zone. During a storm, the water is unable to penetrate the ground surface to recharge the aquifer. Instead it rapidly flows over the surface in the direction gravity takes it. Storm water drains aid in its precipitous movement to the nearby stream or river.

This massive influx of storm water into river systems can spell trouble for its native species. According to Tom Cuffney, biologist for the United States Geological Survey (USGS), when the area of impervious cover reaches ten percent, one can expect many types of pollution-sensitive aquatic insects to decline by up to one third.

He says, "We learned that there is no ‘safezone,’ meaning that even minimal or early stages of development can negatively affect aquatic life in urban streams." There are several reasons why excess storm water runoff is detrimental to riverine ecosystems. First of all, in urban environments, storm water is a major source of water pollution.

Human activities result in the deposition of environmental contaminants onto the ground in the riparian zone. Fertilizer is used widespread on lawns, parks, and golf courses. While the fertilizer helps the growth of grass, its chemicals can be toxic when ingested by other organisms. Another human source is ice melt, which is strewn intentionally over impervious surfaces, often in liberal quantities.

The rock salt and calcium chloride pellets can change the chemical composition of water systems, which can affect sensitive species. Another source that comes from our roadways is spilled gasoline and leaks of other automotive fluids. In a storm, these petroleum chemicals are whisked directly to the nearest stream.

This all does not even include litter and other industrial pollutants that make their way into storm drains. Secondly, stream/river systems are damaged by the amount of water itself. The rapid rise and fall in the water level can alter the temperature of the water and completely alter the natural flow regime. A steady flow regime is critical for the spawning, juvenile development, and migration of aquatic species.

The increase in water flow can also lead to increased erosion of the stream/river banks and encourage the spread of invasive weeds. The USGS studied the effects of urbanization of nine metropolitan areas. They looked at the effects on algae, aquatic insects, fish, habitat, and chemistry. After comparison, they found that not all the streams react the same way to urbanization.

A lot of this depends on the surrounding land use prior to urbanization, whether it was forested or agricultural. Forested streams were degraded more than agricultural streams. The reason for this is that the streams in agricultural riparian zones were already degraded from fertilizer runoff. The differences also stem from a number of other factors such as population density, soils, hydrology, and climate.

The management of storm water has become a priority for many state and local officials like Tom Schueler, coordinator for the Chesapeake Stormwater Network. Schueler says of the USGS study, "The information has been useful in helping us to predict and manage the future impacts of urban development on streams and reinforces the importance of having green infrastructure to control storm water runoff and protect aquatic life."

There are several methods used for storm water management. Retention ponds can be built near impervious surfaces to capture the runoff and gradually let it evaporate or infiltrate the ground. Systems can be constructed that remove contaminants before they enter the surface water such as drain filters and skimmers.

Wetlands, ponds, or swales can be built using existing drainage structures like pipes and concrete channels. Source control can be implemented to prevent the release of hazardous substances from being released in the first place. And of course, community education about pollution and improving water quality is important.

The USGS studies are helpful in meeting the challenge of urban storm water runoff because they represent an integrated approach. They take into account urbanization’s effects on the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of river/stream systems. This information is useful to develop strategies for stream protection in varying geographic locations, and can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of those strategies down the road.

June 3-4, 2010

Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures were recorded across the state of Hawaii Thursday afternoon:

Lihue, Kauai – 83
Honolulu, Oahu – 85
Kaneohe, Oahu – 82
Kaunakakai, Molokai – 82
Kahului, Maui – 85
Hilo, Hawaii – 84
Kailua-kona – 81

Air Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level around the state – and on the highest mountains…at 5pm Thursday evening:

Honolulu, Oahu – 82F
Molokai airport – 77

Haleakala Crater –    61 (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea summit – 45 (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 Thursday afternoon:

0.08 Mount Waialaele, Kauai  
0.01 Kahuku, Oahu
0.00 Molokai 
0.00 Lanai
0.00 Kahoolawe
0.04 West Wailuaiki, Maui
0.10 Kawainui Stream, Big Island

Marine Winds – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map showing a high pressure ridge running east to west, to the north of the Hawaiian Islands. The trade wind flow will remain light Friday into Saturday…locally stronger.

Satellite and Radar Images: To view the cloud conditions we have here in Hawaii, please use the following satellite links, starting off with this 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.

Tropical Cyclone activity in the eastern and central Pacific – Here’s the latest weather information coming out of the National Hurricane Center, covering the eastern north Pacific. You can find the latest tropical cyclone information for the central north Pacific (where Hawaii is located) by clicking on this link to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. Here’s a tracking map covering both the eastern and central Pacific Ocean. A satellite image, which shows the entire ocean area between Hawaii and the Mexican coast…can be found here. Of course, as we know, our hurricane season won’t begin again until June 1st here in the central Pacific.

 Aloha Paragraphs

Hawaiian Plumeria Flowers

The late spring trade winds will remain lighter than normal through the rest of this week…then strengthen again as we move into early next week.  The current thought is that the trade winds, while weakening…won’t go away completely by any means. This weather map shows an elongated ridge of high pressure running more or less west to east, to the north of the islands. There are a series of low pressure systems, connected by their associated cold fronts, to the north of this ridge…anchored to the west and east by two weak high pressure cells. As these lows and fronts, called cyclone families in the weather business, move along in the prevailing westerly wind flow, to the north of the ridge, they will push the ridge down a bit closer to Kauai through the next several days. The trade wind breezes will be strongest near the Big Island end of the island chain, and lighter towards Kauai…nearest the relatively close by ridge of high pressure. The computer forecast models show high pressure building to the north of the islands after the weekend, which will boost trade wind speeds back up, remaining active through the entirety of next week, probably.

The trade winds will bring a few light showers our way, particularly along the windward sides…otherwise it should remain generally dry for the time being. There are lots of stable cumulus and stratocumulus clouds around the islands Thursday morning…although they burned off nicely during the afternoon hours. This satellite image shows the general lack of clouds as move into the night. If we pull our view back even further, using this satellite picture, we see active thunderstorm cells firing off well down to the south and southwest of our islands. These cumulonimbus clouds have streaks of high cirrus being carried off by the upper winds aloft towards our islands. As the trade winds continue, only in a softer fashion, there will be a few passing showers, generally along our windward coasts and slopes. As the overlying atmosphere is so dry and stable however, it would be surprising to see more than a few showers. As we move into the Sunday-Monday time frame, an upper level low pressure system may edge closer, and in the process…enhance some of these showers then for several days.

It’s Thursday evening as I begin writing the last section of today’s narrative.  











The trade winds remained stronger than I anticipated today, and were actually quite strong and gusty in many places. At around 5pm this evening, the strongest gusts were still reaching the 30 mph mark on almost all the islands. The clouds will increase again tonight, although it appears the Big Island and perhaps Maui will have the most…generally over the windward sides. There’s an area of high cirrus clouds migrating northward towards the islands, and at the time of this writing, the northern edge of these icy upper level clouds were just south of the Big Island. ~~~ During much of the day Thursday, we had quite a coverage of dry stable low clouds over the islands. As we moved into the afternoon hours however, most of those evaporated totally away…as expected. Looking up towards the Haleakala Crater again this evening, there are a few thin clouds, although its mostly clear up that way. Most of the state actually turned mostly clear as we headed towards sunset. I’ll be back before sunrise again on Friday, with your next new weather narrative. I hope you have a great Thursday night until then! Aloha for now…Glenn.

Interesting: The stimulatory effects of caffeine may be nothing more than an illusion, according to new research that shows there is no real benefit to be gained from the habitual morning cup of coffee. Tests on 379 individuals who abstained from caffeine for 16 hours before being given either caffeine or a placebo and then tested for a range of responses showed little variance in levels of alertness.

The study, published online in the journal of Neuropsychopharmacology, reports that frequent coffee drinkers develop a tolerance to both the anxiety-producing effects and the stimulatory effects of caffeine. While frequent consumers may feel alerted by coffee, evidence suggests that this is actually merely the reversal of the fatiguing effects of acute caffeine withdrawal.

And given the increased propensity to anxiety and raised blood pressure induced by caffeine consumption, there is no net benefit to be gained. Peter Rogers, from the University of Bristol’s Department of Experimental Psychology and one of the lead authors of the study, said: "Our study shows that we don’t gain an advantage from consuming caffeine — although we feel alerted by it, this is caffeine just bringing us back to normal.

On the other hand, while caffeine can increase anxiety, tolerance means that for most caffeine consumers this effect is negligible." Approximately half of the participants were non/low caffeine consumers and the other half were medium/high caffeine consumers. All were asked to rate their personal levels of anxiety, alertness and headache before and after being given either the caffeine or the placebo.

They were also asked to carry out a series of computer tasks to test for their levels of memory, attentiveness and vigilance. The medium/high caffeine consumers who received the placebo reported a decrease in alertness and an increase in headache, neither of which were reported by those who received caffeine. However, their post-caffeine levels of alertness were no higher than the non/low consumers who received a placebo, suggesting caffeine only brings coffee drinkers back up to ‘normal’.

The authors also found that the genetic predisposition to anxiety did not deter coffee drinking. In fact, people with the gene variant associated with anxiety tended to consume slightly larger amounts of coffee than those without the variant, suggesting that a mild increase in anxiety may be a part of the pleasant buzz caused by caffeine.

Interesting2: In the first peer-reviewed scientific paper to be published about the Icelandic volcano since its eruption in April 2010, UK researchers write that the ash plume which hovered over Scotland carried a significant and self-renewing electric charge. The volcano-chasing researchers argue this adds a further dimension to understanding the detailed nature of volcanic plumes and their effects on air travel.

The paper, to be published today, Thursday 27 May, in IOP Publishing’s Environmental Research Letters, is published as the UK continues to face the possibility of further flight disruption from future volcanic activity. Shortly after the volcano’s active eruption phase began in mid-April, the Met Office contacted Joseph Ulanowski from the Science and Technology Research Institute at the University of Hertfordshire, who last year, together with Giles Harrison from the Department of Meteorology at the University of Reading, had developed a specialist weather balloon which could assess the location and composition of the volcanic ash clouds.

Their balloons, originally designed and used to study the properties of desert dust clouds, are able to assess not only the size of atmospheric particles but also the electric charge present. Measurements made last year with the balloons in Kuwait and off the west coast of Africa showed clearly that desert dust could become strongly electrified aloft. Charging modifies particle behavior, such as how effectively particles grow and are removed by rain.

A hastily scrambled team travelled to a site near Stranraer in Scotland where a balloon was launched, detecting a layer of volcanic ash 4km aloft, about 600m thick, with very abrupt upper and lower edges. From their measurements, the researchers conclude that neither energy from the volcanic source – more than 1200 kilometers away – nor weather conditions could have been responsible for the position of the charge found by the balloon.

Interesting3: Oil from the BP spilling into the Gulf of Mexico could float around Florida and up the U.S. East Coast as far as North Carolina, the National Center for Atmospheric Research said on Thursday. Citing computer models, scientists at the federally-funded center said in a statement that the oil could reach Florida’s Atlantic Coast within weeks and could move as far north as Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. "I’ve had a lot of people ask me, ‘Will the oil reach Florida?’"

NCAR scientist Synte Peacock said in the statement. "Actually, our best knowledge says the scope of this environmental disaster is likely to reach far beyond Florida, with impacts that have yet to be understood." The center’s statement said the study is not a forecast because it is not possible to accurately predict where the oil will be weeks or months from now.

However, the computer simulations of the oil’s movement "provide an envelope of possible scenarios for the oil dispersal." Where and when the oil will move depends on regional weather conditions and the Gulf of Mexico’s Loop Current, the statement said.

Interesting4: Less ice covers the Arctic today than at any time in recent geologic history. That’s the conclusion of an international group of researchers, who have compiled the first comprehensive history of Arctic ice. For decades, scientists have strived to collect sediment cores from the difficult-to-access Arctic Ocean floor, to discover what the Arctic was like in the past. Their most recent goal: to bring a long-term perspective to the ice loss we see today.

Now, in an upcoming issue of Quarternary Science Reviews, a team led by Ohio State University has re-examined the data from past and ongoing studies — nearly 300 in all — and combined them to form a big-picture view of the pole’s climate history stretching back millions of years. "The ice loss that we see today — the ice loss that started in the early 20th Century and sped up during the last 30 years — appears to be unmatched over at least the last few thousand years," said Leonid Polyak, a research scientist at Byrd Polar Research Center at Ohio State University.

Polyak is lead author of the paper and a preceding report that he and his coauthors prepared for the U.S. Climate Change Science Program. Satellites can provide detailed measures of how much ice is covering the pole right now, but sediment cores are like fossils of the ocean’s history, he explained. "Sediment cores are essentially a record of sediments that settled at the sea floor, layer by layer, and they record the conditions of the ocean system during the time they settled.

When we look carefully at various chemical and biological components of the sediment, and how the sediment is distributed — then, with certain skills and luck, we can reconstruct the conditions at the time the sediment was deposited." For example, scientists can search for a biochemical marker that is tied to certain species of algae that live only in ice. If that marker is present in the sediment, then that location was likely covered in ice at the time.

Scientists call such markers "proxies" for the thing they actually want to measure — in this case, the geographic extent of the ice in the past. While knowing the loss of surface area of the ice is important, Polyak says that this work can’t yet reveal an even more important fact: how the total volume of ice — thickness as well as surface area — has changed over time. "Underneath the surface, the ice can be thick or thin.

The newest satellite techniques and field observations allow us to see that the volume of ice is shrinking much faster than its area today. The picture is very troubling. We are losing ice very fast," he said. "Maybe sometime down the road we’ll develop proxies for the ice thickness. Right now, just looking at ice extent is very difficult." To review and combine the data from hundreds of studies, he and his cohorts had to combine information on many different proxies as well as modern observations.

They searched for patterns in the proxy data that fit together like pieces of a puzzle. Their conclusion: the current extent of Arctic ice is at its lowest point for at least the last few thousand years. As scientists pull more sediment cores from the Arctic, Polyak and his collaborators want to understand more details of the past ice extent and to push this knowledge further back in time.

During the summer of 2011, they hope to draw cores from beneath the Chukchi Sea, just north of the Bering Strait between Alaska and Siberia. The currents emanating from the northern Pacific Ocean bring heat that may play an important role in melting the ice across the Arctic, so Polyak expects that the history of this location will prove very important.

He hopes to drill cores that date back thousands of years at the Chukchi Sea margin, providing a detailed history of interaction between oceanic currents and ice. "Later on in this cruise, when we venture into the more central Arctic Ocean, we will aim at harvesting cores that go back even farther," he said. "If we could go as far back as a million years, that would be perfect."

June 2-3, 2010

Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures were recorded across the state of Hawaii Wednesday afternoon:

Lihue, Kauai – 83
Honolulu, Oahu – 84
Kaneohe, Oahu – 82
Kaunakakai, Molokai – 86
Kahului, Maui – 88
Hilo, Hawaii – 83
Kailua-kona – 83

Air Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level around the state – and on the highest mountains…at 5pm Wednesday evening:

Barking Sands, Kauai – 85F
Molokai airport – 77

Haleakala Crater –    59 (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea summit – 45 (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 Wednesday afternoon:

0.26 Mount Waialaele, Kauai  
0.06 Punaluu Pump, Oahu
0.00 Molokai 
0.00 Lanai
0.00 Kahoolawe
0.02 Kahakuloa, Maui
0.06 Kawainui Stream, Big Island

Marine Winds – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map showing a 1024 millibar high pressure system to our northeast. The trade wind flow will become gradually lighter Thursday into Friday.

Satellite and Radar Images: To view the cloud conditions we have here in Hawaii, please use the following satellite links, starting off with this 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.

Tropical Cyclone activity in the eastern and central Pacific – Here’s the latest weather information coming out of the National Hurricane Center, covering the eastern north Pacific. You can find the latest tropical cyclone information for the central north Pacific (where Hawaii is located) by clicking on this link to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. Here’s a tracking map covering both the eastern and central Pacific Ocean. A satellite image, which shows the entire ocean area between Hawaii and the Mexican coast…can be found here. Of course, as we know, our hurricane season won’t begin again until June 1st here in the central Pacific.

 Aloha Paragraphs

The beautiful coast on Kauai

The trade winds remained plenty active Wednesday, with some of the windiest places finding gusts well up into the 40 mph range…almost reaching 50 mph on the small island of Kahoolawe. This should be the last day of the strongest and gusty trade winds for a while, at least through the end of this week. The latest computer models are suggesting that our winds will become lighter than normal starting Thursday through next Monday, then rebound back into the moderate to fresh category next Tuesday onwards. June is a windy month typically, so it would be even more unusual to have another soft spot in our trade wind flow during these last few weeks, leading up to the summer solstice. The current thought is that the trade winds while weakening…won’t go away completely. This weather map shows an elongated ridge of high pressure running more or less west to east, to the north of the islands…with a 1024 millibar anchoring high pressure system to our northeast. There are a series of low pressure systems, connected by their associated cold fronts, stretched out across all of the Pacific Ocean. As these lows and fronts move along in the prevailing westerly wind flow, to the north of the ridge, they will push the ridge down a bit closer to Kauai with time. Lighter winds can mean an added degree of mugginess, along with a couple of degrees of added heat during the days…and slightly cooler air temperatures in the early morning hours.

Rainfall has been minimal during the last 24 hours, as indicated by the meager precipitation totals. There are areas around the state early Wednesday afternoon that are totally clear of clouds. What clouds there are, consist of dry and stable cumulus and stratocumulus clouds. This satellite image shows the abundance of low clouds generally to our north, east, and south. The verifying fact however, can be established without a doubt, by glancing at this looping radar image. If we pull our view back even further, using this satellite picture, we see lots of pretty serious thunderstorms well down to the southwest through southeast, along with some minor cirrus clouds between here and there…and to the north of our islands too. In between the thin cirrus, we see those scattered clouds being carried along in our trade wind flow…across the Hawaiian Islands. As the trade winds continue, only in a softer fashion, there will be a few passing showers, generally along our windward coasts and slopes. Depending upon just how light the trade winds get, which will be determined by how close the ridge gets to Kauai, we could see some afternoon convective clouds forming over and around the mountains during the afternoon hours. As the overlying atmosphere is so dry and stable however, it would be surprising to see more than a few stray drops of rain. As we move into the Sunday-Monday time frame, an upper level low pressure system may enhance some of these showers…hopefully!

It’s Wednesday evening as I begin writing the last section of today’s narrative.  











The trade winds remained blustery today, and at around 5pm this evening, were still gusting 38 mph on Kahoolawe. At one point today, before the afternoon clouds began gathering around the mountains, it was absolutely clear here on Maui. It appears that Thursday will be another somewhat windy day, at least that could be inferred by seeing that the NWS is keeping the small craft wind advisory alive overnight…in the windiest areas around Maui and the Big Island. This advisory is active through at least 6am Thursday morning. The way the winds look at this point, they will in fact begin to wind down later Thursday into Friday into the weekend. ~~~ This afternoon here on Maui, the clouds quickly began forming around the slopes of the Haleakala Crater at mid-afternoon, and completely circle the Crater early this evening. Those clouds will collapse again after dark on the leeward slopes, although will actually increase along the windward sides during the cool of the night into the early morning hours. There may be a few showers, but again, not many. I’ll look forward to catching up with you again early Thursday morning, at which point I’ll have your next new weather narrative here waiting. I hope you have a great Wednesday night until then! Aloha for now…Glenn.

June 1-2, 2010

Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures were recorded across the state of Hawaii Tuesday afternoon:

Lihue, Kauai – 83
Honolulu, Oahu – 84
Kaneohe, Oahu – 81
Kaunakakai, Molokai – 84
Kahului, Maui – 86
Hilo, Hawaii – 83
Kailua-kona – 83

Air Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level around the state – and on the highest mountains…at 5pm Tuesday evening:

Barking Sands, Kauai – 85F
Princeville, Kauai – 77

Haleakala Crater –    52 (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea summit – 34 (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 Tuesday afternoon:

0.23 Mount Waialaele, Kauai  
0.10 Moanalua RG, Oahu
0.00 Molokai 
0.00 Lanai
0.00 Kahoolawe
0.14 West Wailuaiki, Maui
0.08 Mountain View, Big Island

Marine Winds – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map showing a 1027 millibar high pressure system to our northeast. The trade wind flow will be slightly lighter Wednesday...then lighter into Thursday

Satellite and Radar Images: To view the cloud conditions we have here in Hawaii, please use the following satellite links, starting off with this 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.

Tropical Cyclone activity in the eastern and central Pacific – Here’s the latest weather information coming out of the National Hurricane Center, covering the eastern north Pacific. You can find the latest tropical cyclone information for the central north Pacific (where Hawaii is located) by clicking on this link to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. Here’s a tracking map covering both the eastern and central Pacific Ocean. A satellite image, which shows the entire ocean area between Hawaii and the Mexican coast…can be found here. Of course, as we know, our hurricane season won’t begin again until June 1st here in the central Pacific.

 Aloha Paragraphs

Windward Oahu

As we began this new work week, our trade wind speeds were still on the strong and gusty side, which is pretty normal for this time of year. Wind gusts exceeded 30 mph generally, with a couple of the windier spots in the southern part of the island chain…surging past 40 mph at mid-day. The latest weather map shows a moderately strong 1026 millibar high pressure system to the northeast of our islands…moving eastward. There are a whole host of developing gale low pressure systems in the western Pacific, and a couple of lows up in the Gulf of Alaska too. A low pressure system far to the northeast of the islands, has a cold front swinging southwest from its center. This cold front will be instrumental in pushing the high pressure cell to our northeast, further eastward. This in turn will cause the anticipated weakening of our local winds, which will be unusual for this season, so close to summer! We’ve had several of these faltering sessions by the trades lately, with this next one expected to last over the better part of a week. Anytime we have light trade winds this time of year, we can begin to feel hot and muggy, with the chance of some haze developing around the edges too.

As for rainfall, there isn’t expected to be much, and most of that for the time being, will fall along the windward coasts and slopes. The overlying atmosphere remains on the dry and stable side, as evidenced by the rather unimpressive rainfall totals lately. As the trade winds lose much of their strength by Thursday into the weekend, and perhaps even into early next week…we’ll see some shifting around of whatever showers that are around then. If the trade winds continue, even lightly, we could continue to see a few showery clouds moving over our windward sides. If on the other hand, the high pressure ridge migrates down right over the islands, we would be involved with a full on convective weather pattern. This implies that our mornings could start off clear to perhaps partly cloudy, and slightly cooler than normal. As the daytime heating kicks in, along with the light winds prompting afternoon clouds forming over and around the mountains…we could see some possible upcountry showers. Just how light the trade winds will become is still a question, and only time will tell us later this week. The way it looks from here either way though, the ongoing drought, to severe drought conditions…will continue into the future.

It’s Tuesday evening as I begin writing this last section of today’s narrative.  











The trade winds hung on today, and will do so into mid-week. There were wind gusts up above 40 mph today in those windiest spots around Maui and the Big Island. Early Tuesday evening the strongest winds gusts around the state included: 35 mph on Oahu and Molokai; 39 mph on Kahoolawe, 36 mph on Maui and the Big Island. The winds are still blowing strong enough atop the summits on Maui and the Big Island, that wind advisories are in effect until at least Wednesday morning. ~~~ Looking out the window here in Kihei, Maui before I leave for the drive back upcountry to Kula, I see mostly clear skies. I expect just a few showers overnight, and generally nice weather again on Wednesday. The winds will still be up tomorrow, although the surf is coming down in most places. This will make for more great beach weather, as long as you get out there before the strongest winds kick in during the afternoon hours. I’ll be back early Wednesday morning with your next new weather narrative from paradise. I hope you have a great Tuesday night until then! Aloha for now…Glenn.

Extra: Weather Satellites

Interesting: Archey’s frog is a survivor: virtually unchanged evolutionarily for 150 million years, the species has survived the comet that decimated the dinosaurs, the Ice Age, and the splitting of continents. Seventy million years ago New Zealand broke away from Australia, essentially isolating Archey’s frog and its relatives from all predatory mammals.

Yet, if the New Zealand government has its way this species may not survive the century, let alone the next few decades. The New Zealand government has put forward a controversial proposal to begin opening three of the nation’s protected areas to mining: Great Barrier Island, Paparoa National Park, and Coromandel Peninsula where the last populations of Archey’s frogs live.

According to critics, the government’s proposal could push Archey’s frog toward extinction, while negatively impacting a number of other endangered species, beloved wild lands, and a nation driven by tourism.

The conservation organization EDGE considers the Archey’s frog to be a truly one-of-a-kind species. In fact, it is the organization’s top amphibian. "Archey’s New Zealand frog is an incredibly special animal and an asset to global biodiversity.

It is the world’s most Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered [EDGE] amphibian out of more than 6,500 species—or ‘Number 1 EDGE Amphibian’ for short," explains Helen Meredith, EDGE’s Amphibian coordinator.

"Archey’s frog is almost indistinguishable from the fossilized remains of frogs that lived 150 million years ago…  These frogs were around before the Atlantic Ocean existed, and before the planet’s highest mountain range—the Himalayas—had even started to form."

New Zealand government: open protected areas for mining Named as EDGE’s number one amphibian means that Archey’s frog is not only an evolutionary treasure—representing the ancient origin of all modern frogs —but is also on the edge of extinction.

Struck by disease, alien predators, and climate change the IUCN Red List currently classifies the frog as Critically Endangered. Still the species survives—if not thrives; but conservationists are deeply concerned that the New Zealand government’s plans to open up three protected areas, all classified as Schedule Four, to mining would further imperil Archey’s frog as well as other endangered flora and fauna.

According to Nicola Vallance—an advocate with the local conservation organization Forest and Bird—New Zealand’s designation of Schedule Four "identifies conservation land, which due to its high conservation values, should be excluded from the possibility of being mined. This land includes national parks, nature reserves and scientific reserves—land considered to be core conservation land. About 40 percent of the conservation estate (13 percent of New Zealand’s landmass) is in Schedule Four."

Bishop, one of the world’s foremost experts on Archey’s frogs, is unequivocal on how the mining will impact the Critically Endangered frog: "the mining has the potential to push Archey’s over the edge and could drive them to extinction. They have already suffered a dramatic decline to less than 20 percent of their former distribution probably through disease, but if we destroy their habitat too there is no way they will be able to recover."

Interesting2: The air we breathe doesn’t always come from our own backyard. In fact, sometimes it doesn’t even come from our neighbors. On April 22, 2010, a NASA satellite captured the appearance of a large dust cloud over the eastern coast of United States that originated on the other side of the world — in China. "Dust can stimulate the production of more clouds, altering local weather and potentially the climate," said Zhoayan Liu, a researcher at the National Institute of Aerospace and NASA’s Langley Research Center who is monitoring the dust movement.

The dust cloud was in upper troposphere, the atmospheric layer in which we live. The dust plume that arrived in the U.S. maintained an average size of more than 1,200 miles wide and six miles tall as it traveled across the Earth. It began in China’s Taklimakan and Gobi Deserts, and over 10 days, NASA captured the dust moving across the Pacific Ocean, through the United States and Canada and over Virginia.

"It is likely that a cold front over the deserts generated strong surface winds that pushed a large amount of the dust into the atmosphere and from there the jet streams brought it across the world," said Liu. Liu and his colleagues at NASA discovered the relocation of the dust after analyzing data from Langley’s Earth observing satellite CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations).

It can be difficult to distinguish dust from regular clouds and other types of aerosols in photographs taken from space. CALIPSO, however, measures vertical profiles of the atmosphere and produces data that makes a distinction between the different particle types in our atmosphere, such as clouds, smoke, or dust. Not only can it tell scientists what is in our air, CALIPSO can also identify the vertical and horizontal location of the particles as well.

To validate what the satellite saw, NASA scientists took to the sky with the NASA King Air B200 aircraft and a lidar instrument similar to the one on CALIPSO. Aboard the plane, scientists were able to take the same measurements as CALIPSO over North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania. The local flights, which took place the same day and time that the satellite detected the dust, confirmed what the satellite observed.

"This transport of dust out of China happens every spring, but we rarely see it move this far with such intensity," said Raymond Rogers, a Langley scientist who participated in the local flights. The air is always made up of various kinds of particles, but it is uncommon that those particles relocate in such large amounts that can their origin can be visibly tracked.

Rogers and Liu said that using CALIPSO and local airborne measurements to monitor the presence of dust in our atmosphere will provide others with data that can be used to gain a better understanding of how dust impacts humans and ecosystems.