Hawaiian Islands weather details & Aloha paragraphs / May 5-6, 2011

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

Lihue, Kauai –                    81
Honolulu airport, Oahu –     84  (Record high temperature for Thursday: 90 – 2005)
Kaneohe, Oahu –                80
Molokai airport –                 81
Kahului airport, Maui –         78 
Kona airport –                     82
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 Thursday evening:

Barking Sands, Kauai – 85
Hilo, Hawaii – 75

Haleakala Crater –     39 (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea summit – 28 (over 13,500 feet on the Big Island)

Here are the 24-hour precipitation totals (inches) for each of the islands as of Thursday evening:

0.66     Mount Waialeale, Kauai
1.64     South Fork Kaukonahua, Oahu
0.26     Molokai
0.00     Lanai
0.09     Kahoolawe
3.75     Puu Kukui, Maui
2.29     Mountain View, Big Island

Marine Winds – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map showing a 1030 millibar high pressure system to the north-northeast of the Hawaiian Islands….moving west. Our local trade winds will be moderately strong…locally strong and gusty through Saturday.

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 13,500 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 shining down during the night at times. Plus, during the nights you will be able to see stars, and the sunrise and sunset 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

Rough seas, gusty trades…showers
Happy Cinco de Mayo! 
 
 
 

Our winds will remain rather strong and gusty through Saturday…then becoming lighter Sunday and turning more southeast into early next week.  Glancing at this weather map, we find a stretched out east to west, 1030 millibar high pressure system, located to the north-northeast of the Hawaiian Islands…moving into the area north of Hawaii tonight. We have a small craft wind advisory active across the entire state of Hawaii now. The computer models continue to show lighter winds arriving later this weekend into early next week…veering to the southeast perhaps. It will likely be a short interruption to the normal trade winds, as they flood back into our area by the middle of next week.

Our local winds will blow from the trade wind direction…the following numbers represent the strongest gusts, along with directions Thursday evening:

32                    Port Allen, Kauai – NE  
30                 Waianae, Oahu – NE 
32                    Molokai – NE   
27                 Kahoolawe – ESE
31                 Kapalua – NE   
m                  Lanai Airport 
32                    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 Thursday night.  Looking at this NOAA satellite picture we find clouds over the ocean around the islands, with the lower shower bearing cumulus out to our northeast and east. At the same time we find towering cumulus, with their heavier showers over the islands in places too…especially to the southwest. We can use this looping satellite image to see a stream of high and middle level clouds just to our south moving quickly eastward. At the same time we find lots of lower level clouds being carried our way on the strong trade winds…from the east.  Checking out this looping radar image shows areas of light to moderately heavy showers over the ocean around the islands…with some good showers moving in over the islands, especially the windward coasts and slopes. The daytime heating of the islands will help to draw those showers inland over the islands again Friday.

Sunset Commentary: The atmosphere is still somewhat unstable, with pockets of moderately heavy showers falling locally. The bulk of these are over the ocean, although the locally strong trade winds are carrying this moisture over the islands in places too. The presence of low pressure aloft will act to enhance the showers, which means that some will continue to be heavier than normal. This enhancement will remain active through Friday. The windward coasts and slopes will be where the most frequent showers fall, although the leeward sides will get some showers at times too.

The computer models continue to suggest that this low pressure aloft, with its cold air, will become more pronounced over the islands later this weekend…into early next week. Thus, we'll see yet another period of unsettled weather returning, with even the chance of more thunderstorms later Sunday into the first day or two of next week. Meanwhile, our trade winds are forecast to weaken Sunday, or at least veer more to the southeast…putting the smaller islands is the wind shadow of the Big Island. There could be some volcanic haze being carried over those smaller islands, from the Big Island vents as well.

For the time being, the trade winds will be the primary weather event, along with their accompanying showers. Wind gusts will be up in the 30+ mph range, with the chance that some of the windiest spots top 40 mph during the days into Friday or even Saturday. These winds will be able to carry some showers to the leeward areas on the smaller islands. Maui and the Big Island may still find some afternoon showers falling in the upcountry leeward areas too. There’s still that chance of a few leftover thunderstorms popping up over the Kona slopes…or even over the Haleakala slopes Friday afternoon too.

As we move into the weekend, things could become even more interesting, as the cold air aloft centers more directly over the islands. This could lead to more locally heavy showers, thunderstorms…and even the remote possibility of isolated hail in a couple of places. Meanwhile, the highest elevations on the Big Island could see a bit more snow falling too. It's late in the spring season for all of this to be happening, edging more and more into the unusual realms as push towards summer!

I'll be back early Friday morning with your next new weather narrative, I hope you have a great Thursday night until then! Aloha for now…Glenn.

Interesting: A comet is an icy small Solar System body that, when close enough to the Sun, displays a visible coma (a thin, fuzzy, temporary atmosphere) and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena are both due to the effects of solar radiation and the solar wind upon the nucleus of the comet. Comet nuclei are themselves loose collections of ice, dust, and small rocky particles, ranging from a few hundred meters to tens of kilometers across. Comet Elenin is coming to the inner-solar system this fall of 2011.

Comet Elenin (also known by its astronomical name C/2010 X1), was first detected on Dec. 10, 2010 by Leonid Elenin, an observer in Lyubertsy, Russia, who made the discovery using the ISON-NM observatory near Mayhill, New Mexico. At the time of the discovery, the comet was about 647 million kilometers (401 million miles) from Earth.

Over the past four-and-a-half months, the comet has — as comets do — closed the distance to Earth's vicinity as it makes its way closer to perihelion (its closest point to the sun). As of May 4, Elenin's distance was about 170 million miles. It is scheduled to come as close as 22 million miles. Comets and other extraterrestrial visitors fairly often come relatively close to the Earth.

For example on Oct. 20, 2010, Comet Hartley 2 passed just over 11 million miles from Earth. At the time of discovery Elenin had an apparent magnitude of 19.5, making it about 150,000 times fainter than the naked eye magnitude of 6.5. The discoverer, Leonid Elenin, estimates that the comet nucleus is 3—4 km in diameter.

As of April 2011, the comet is around magnitude 15 (roughly the brightness of Pluto), and the coma (expanding tenuous dust atmosphere) of the comet is estimated to be about 80,000 km in diameter. "We're talking about how a comet looks as it safely flies past us," said Yeomans. "Some cometary visitors arriving from beyond the planetary region — like Hale-Bopp in 1997 — have really lit up the night sky where you can see them easily with the naked eye as they safely transit the inner-solar system.

But Elenin is trending toward the other end of the spectrum. You'll probably need a good pair of binoculars, clear skies, and a dark, secluded location to see it even on its brightest night." Comet Elenin should be at its brightest shortly before the time of its closest approach to Earth on Oct. 16, 2011. At its closest point, it will be 22 million miles from the Earth. "Comet Elenin will not only be far away, it is also on the small side for comets," said Yeomans.

"And comets are not the most densely-packed objects out there. They usually have the density of something akin to loosely packed icy dirt. "So you've got a modest-sized icy dirtball that is getting no closer than 35 million kilometers," said Yeomans. "It will have an immeasurably miniscule influence on our planet. By comparison, my subcompact automobile exerts a greater influence on the ocean's tides than comet Elenin ever will."

"This comet may not put on a great show. Just as certainly, it will not cause any disruptions here on Earth. But there is a cause to marvel," said Yeomans. "This intrepid little traveler will offer astronomers a chance to study a relatively young comet that came here from well beyond our solar system's planetary region. After a short while, it will be headed back out again, and we will not see or hear from Elenin for thousands of years."

Interesting2: For the last few decades, sea levels of the eastern North Pacific Ocean along the west coast of North America have remained remarkably steady as other sea levels rise around the world. That is due to the dominance of cold surface waters along the coast. According to a new study from the University of California (UC) San Diego, the cold waters on the coast will give way to warmer waters beginning this decade, which will lead to accelerated sea-level rise.

The change in water temperature is related to the climate phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean known as the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). Globally, sea levels rose about two millimeters per year in the 20th century. Starting in the 1990s the rate jumped to 3 millimeters per year, widely believed to be caused by global warming.

The greatest concern for rising sea levels is their effect on beach erosion, and the devastation that can be caused to coastal developments during high tides coupled with storm surges and high waves. Residents of the west coast have escaped that fate until now, according to researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego.

Their study shows a great shift coming in sea temperatures. "There are indications that this is what might be happening right now," said Peter Bromirski, lead author of a study now in press in the Journal of Geophysical Research-Oceans, published by the American Geophysical Union. The Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) is thought to have begun in the 1970s.

The "warm" phase we are currently in is characterized by an upwelling of cold water toward the surface of the west coast. Despite aberrations caused by El Nino, the current trend has held steady. Bromirski and his fellow colleagues believe the cycle is shifting to its opposite "cold" phase, characterized by a decrease in upwelling, causing surface waters to be warmer. Warmer surface water equates to a rise in sea levels.

They look at changing wind patterns which suggest a shift in the PDO. In the 1970s just before the current phase begun, the wind stresses reached unprecedented levels. Now it is happening again. The researchers write, "This change in wind stress patterns may be foreshadowing a PDO regime shift, causing an associated persistent change …that will result in a concomitant resumption of sea level rise along the U.S. West Coast to global or even higher rates."

Interesting3: When it comes to fresh produce, establishing brand recognition is a tricky business. Many commercially grown fruits and vegetables are indistinguishable from one company to the next. Bananas are one standout exception largely thanks to the Chiquita company's groundbreaking ad campaign in the 1960's.

The company also has a jump on sustainability marketing, having worked with the Rainforest Alliance since the 1990's. Now there's a new banana vying for attention in that arena: Dole has just announced that it is selling bananas from farms in South America that are certified by the Rainforest Alliance. Dole's South American certified farms are located in Costa Rica, Honduras and Guatemala.

The farms meet the Rainforest Alliance's standards for environmental sustainability, but there is much more to the certification program than that. The Alliance uses standards developed through its work coordinating the Sustainable Agriculture Network, a coalition of local organizations that supports social equity and economic well being in addition to environmental protection.

In the spirit of competition, Dole has stepped sustainability marketing up a notch by using the Internet to create a personal connection between consumers and farmers. Dole Organic's website enables consumers to make an e-visit to the exact farm where their banana was grown, by referencing the farm's code number on the Dole sticker.

The website provides information on the farm's certifications, along with photos and a map. It's a creative strategy that reinforces brand recognition by encouraging more consumers to take a closer look at their fruit stickers, while leveraging the company's Alliance certification. Don't be surprised if Chiquita comes up with its own extra layer of consumer engagement.

The Rainforest Alliance's core constituents are the communities of small farmers and local employers who have come to depend on sustainability strategies for their survival, but the organization also recognizes that industry leaders with high name recognition play a critical role in transitioning the global food supply to more sustainable practices.

In addition to working with Dole and Chiquita. the Alliance is working with Kraft Coffee and Unilever, which is aiming for 100% sourcing from certified farms for its Lipton teas by 2015. Mars, Inc. also plans to transition to sustainable cocoa.

Interesting4: Since the dawn of the space age, humanity has sent 16 robotic emissaries to fly by some of the solar system's most intriguing and nomadic occupants — comets and asteroids. The data and imagery collected on these deep-space missions of exploration have helped redefine our understanding of how Earth and our part of the galaxy came to be.

But this fall, Mother Nature is giving scientists around the world a close-up view of one of her good-sized space rocks — no rocket required. "On November 8, asteroid 2005 YU55 will fly past Earth and at its closest approach point will be about 325,000 kilometers [201,700 miles] away," said Don Yeomans, manager of NASA's Near-Earth Object Program Office at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif.

"This asteroid is about 400 meters [1,300 feet] wide — the largest space rock we have identified that will come this close until 2028." Despite the relative proximity and size, Yeomans said, "YU55 poses no threat of an Earth collision over, at the very least, the next 100 years. During its closest approach, its gravitational effect on Earth will be so miniscule as to be immeasurable.

It will not affect the tides or anything else." Then why all the hubbub for a space rock a little bit wider than an aircraft carrier? After all, scientists estimate that asteroids the size of YU55 come this close about every 25 years. "While near-Earth objects of this size have flown within a lunar distance in the past, we did not have the foreknowledge and technology to take advantage of the opportunity," said Barbara Wilson, a scientist at JPL.

"When it flies past, it should be a great opportunity for science instruments on the ground to get a good look." 2005 YU55 was discovered in December 2005 by Robert McMillan, head of the NASA-funded Spacewatch Program at the University of Arizona, Tucson. The space rock has been in astronomers' crosshairs before. In April 2010, Mike Nolan and colleagues at the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico generated some ghostly images of 2005 YU55 when the asteroid was about 2.3 million kilometers (1.5 million miles) from Earth.

"The best resolution of the radar images was 7.5 meters [25 feet] per pixel," said JPL radar astronomer Lance Benner. "When 2005 YU55 returns this fall, we intend to image it at 4-meter resolution with our recently upgraded equipment at the Deep Space Network at Goldstone, California. Plus, the asteroid will be seven times closer. We're expecting some very detailed radar images."