Hawaiian Islands Weather details & Aloha paragraphs / March 18-19, 2011

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

Lihue, Kauai –                   80
Honolulu airport, Oahu –   83
Kaneohe, Oahu –               78
Molokai airport –                80
Kahului airport, Maui –       83
Kona airport –                     83
Hilo airport, Hawaii –          81

Air Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level – and on the highest mountain tops…as of 5pm Friday evening:

Honolulu, Oahu – 80F
Lihue, Kauai – 75

Haleakala Crater –     missing (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea summit – 32 (under 14,000 feet on the Big Island)

Precipitation Totals – The following numbers represent the largest precipitation totals Friday evening:

1.00    Kilohana, Kauai
1.24    South Fork Kaukonahua, Oahu
0.05    Molokai
0.00    Lanai
0.00    Kahoolawe
0.06    Kaupo Gap, Maui
0.59    Honaunau, Big Island

Marine Winds – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map showing a moderately strong 1031 millibar trade wind maintaining high pressure system to the north-northeast of Hawaii. Our trade winds will be locally strong and gusty, although easing up a touch through this weekend.

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 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 web cam 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 web cams 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 ended November 30th here in the central Pacific…and begins again June 1st.

 Aloha Paragraphs

Big full moon
 
 
 

The trade winds will be locally blustery tonight, easing up slightly this weekend through Tuesday…before picking up again towards the middle of next week onwards.  According to this weather map, we find a moderately strong 1031 millibar trade wind producing high pressure system to the north-northeast of the islands Friday night. The outlook shows the trade winds easing up in strength slightly this weekend. The longer range forecast shows the strong and gusty trade winds continuing into the new week, with another surge in strength around the middle of the week or so…right on into next weekend.     

Strong trade winds…the following numbers represent the strongest gusts, along with directions early Friday evening:

29 mph       Port Allen, Kauai – ENE
30              Waianae, Oahu – NE
28              Molokai – NE
38              Kahoolawe – E
36              Lipoa, Maui – ENE
16              Lanai Airport – NE    
40                South Point, Big Island – NE

We can use the following links to see what’s going on in our area of the north central Pacific Ocean Friday night.  This large University of Washington satellite image shows a streak of high clouds over the  the Big Island…moving away. Looking at this NOAA satellite picture we see that area of cirrus clouds centered right over the Big Island. At the same time we see a line of showers, which are an old cold front sagging south towards our windward sides. We can use this looping satellite image to see the cirrus shaft riding down on the upper winds. It will likely be gone soon, which should make for a sunny to partly cloudy day Saturday along our leeward sides. Checking out this looping radar image shows an increase in showery looking clouds approaching the windward sides.

As noted above, the trade winds continue to be a major part of our Hawaiian Islands weather picture now…with off and on passing showers expected along our windward sides into Saturday. The trade winds are being supplied by a high pressure system more or less to our north, on this last day of the work week. The expectations are that they become slightly lighter through this coming Tuesday. A new surge in the trade winds will arrive around Wednesday. They may then become just about as strong and gusty as the current windy episode. Meanwhile, an old cold frontal cloud band is sagging southward, and being carried in our direction by the trade winds. This will bring off and on showery weather to our windward sides into Saturday. Conditions should dry out again Sunday through Tuesday, before another area of showers possibly arrives with that next surge in the trades. 

This evening after work I'll be seeing a new film, one of several which I'm interested in. This particular film is called Battle: Los Angeles, starring Aaron Eckhart, Bridget Moynahan, Michelle Rodriquez…among many others. It's being billed as an action/adventure and science fiction fantasy. The synopsis: For years, there have been documented cases of UFO sightings around the world — Buenos Aires, Seoul, France, Germany, China. But in 2011, what were once just sightings will become a terrifying reality when Earth is attacked by unknown forces. As people everywhere watch the world's great cities fall, Los Angeles becomes the last stand for mankind in a battle no one expected. It's been a big week at work here in Kihei, and I'm in the mood to just sit myself down in the theater and be carried away into just such a mindless film as this. I'll let you know what I think in the morning. The critics are giving this film a C grade, while viewers are giving it a B+ rating. Here's the trailer…just in case you are curious.

Meanwhile, this is going to be a big weekend in terms of our full moon, and the end of winter…and the beginning of our spring season. There is excitement in the air, as these are both pretty big markers in our yearly calender. Here's a good NASA link detailing this unusual full moon…being called a super full moon! I'll have more information about the spring equinox tomorrow. For right now though, I'm going to blow out of Kihei, and take the drive over to Kahului right about now. By the way, the full moon will be in its most filled out form both tonight and Saturday night, so make a point of getting out there and checking it out. I'll be back again Saturday morning, I hope you have a great moonlight filled night! Aloha for now…Glenn.

Interesting: The first radioactive fallout from Japan's crippled nuclear plant reached Southern California early Friday, but the readings indicate levels far below a level that could endanger people, according to a diplomat. The ambassador, who has access to United Nations radiation tracking of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization, cited data from a California-based measuring station of the CTBTO.

Initial readings are "about a billion times beneath levels that would be health threatening," the diplomat told The Associated Press. He asked for anonymity because the CTBO does not make its findings public. U.S. government experts also insist there's no threat to public health from the plume.

"Radiation is one of those words that get everybody scared, like 'plague,"' said Dr. Jonathan Fielding, director of public health for Los Angeles County. "But we're 5,000 miles away." The amount of any fallout that wafts across the Pacific Ocean to the U.S. coast will be so diluted that it will not pose any health risk, officials say.

Wind, rain and salt spray will help clean the air over the vast ocean between Japan and the United States. Nuclear experts say the main elements released are radioactive cesium and iodine.

They can combine with the salt in sea water to become cesium chloride and sodium iodide, which are common and abundant elements and would readily dilute in the wide expanse of the Pacific, according to Steven Reese, director of the Radiation Center at Oregon State.

"It is certainly not a threat in terms of human health" added William H. Miller, a professor of nuclear engineering at the University of Missouri. Earlier this week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency deployed extra radiation detectors throughout the country to allay public concerns.

On Thursday, President Barack Obama said "harmful levels" of radiation from the damaged Japanese nuclear plant are not expected to reach the U.S. Obama said he knows that Americans are worried about potential risks from airborne radiation that could drift across the Pacific. "So I want to be very clear," he said. "We do not expect harmful levels of radiation to reach the United States, whether it's the West Coast, Hawaii, Alaska or U.S. territories."

In Hawaii, Gov. Neil Abercrombie issued a statement Thursday that echoed the president's comments. "I want to reassure residents and visitors that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the highest authority on radiation in the nation, has indicated Japan's nuclear emergency presents no danger to Hawaii," he said.

"Our state and county monitoring systems have not detected any increase in radiation levels, and based on all available information, state and federal experts do not anticipate any risk of harmful radiation exposure to our islands. We are open for business. Hawaii continues to be the world's paradise. The governor also said "residents do not need to take protective measures at this time."

The radiation stations will send real time data via satellite to EPA officials, who will make the data available to the public online. The monitors also contain two types of air filters that detect any radioactive particles and are mailed to EPA's data center in Alabama.

That information, as well as samples that numerous federal agencies are collecting on the ground and in the air in Japan, also will be sent to the Department of Energy's atmospheric radioactivity monitoring center in California, where teams are creating sophisticated computer models to predict how radioactive releases at Fukushima could spread into the atmosphere.

Inside Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory near San Francisco, scientists, engineers, and meteorological experts were analyzing those charts and maps to help policymakers predict where radioactive isotopes could travel.

"The models show what happens if the situation gets worse, if the winds change, or if it rains to predict what could happen," National Nuclear Security Administration spokesman Damien LaVera said. "The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has said they see no radiation at harmful levels reaching the United States, and we're not seeing anything that is inconsistent with that."

Interesting2: The oldest segment of Japan's population will likely be the hardest hit as a result of the recent earthquake and subsequent tsunami, based on data from previous catastrophic events. Approximately 23 percent of Japanese citizens currently are age 65 and above. "Japan's population — with the highest proportion of older people in any country — gives us an indicator of where the world as a whole is headed," said James Appleby, RPh, MPH, executive director of The Gerontological Society of America.

"The significance of this demographic shift and the severity of the tsunami's effects are highlighted by the numerous reports showing that seniors suffer disproportionately during natural disasters."

For example, the May 12, 2008, earthquake in Wenchuan, China, was associated with a twofold increase in the one-year mortality among a group of nonagenarians that lived nearby, according to a study published in March 2011 issue of The Journal of Gerontology Series A: Biological and Medical Sciences.

Similarly, the spring 2006 edition of Public Policy & Aging Report reported that three quarters of those who perished in Hurricane Katrina were over the age of 60. "Our thoughts are with the people of Japan as this time. Many people have limited access to food and water, and there is concern that lifesaving medicines could soon be in short supply.

A number of the tragic news stories we see call attention to the needs of older people and other at-risk populations," Appleby said. There also is a growing field of literature that outlines necessary steps for elder disaster preparedness in the face of an emergency.

The Public Policy & Aging Report demonstrated that geographic information systems are able to map patterns of vulnerability in advance, allowing policymakers and first-responders to intervene both effectively and efficiently when disaster strikes. Additionally, multi-tiered evacuation plans, pre-existing social networks, and "go-kits" can be used to assist elders at critical moments.

These kits may include detailed contact information for family members; contact information for relevant health care providers; high-nutrient foods; and a week's supply of all prescription and over-the-counter medications, including a list of medications, the required dosage, and times of administration.

Interesting3: Banana peels can be used to purify drinking water contaminated with toxic heavy metals such as copper and lead, according to a study. Researchers from the Bioscience Institute at Botucatu, Brazil, said that the skins can outperform even conventional purifiers such as aluminium oxide, cellulose and silica.

These have potentially toxic side effects and are expensive. The team's method follows previous work that showed that plant parts, such as apple and sugar cane wastes, coconut fibers and peanut shells, can remove toxins from water. These natural materials contain chemicals that have an affinity for metals.

"I was at home eating bananas when I had the idea: 'Why not make something with this?'" Gustavo Rocha de Castro, a researcher at the institute and co-author of this study, told SciDev.Net.

De Castro and colleagues dried the peels in the sun for a week, ground them and added them to river water containing known concentrations of copper and lead. They found that the peels absorbed 97 per cent of the metals after just one hour.