Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures were recorded across the state of Hawaii Tuesday:
Lihue, Kauai – 80
Honolulu airport, Oahu – 85 (record for Tuesday – 90 in 1979, 1989, 1996)
Kaneohe, Oahu – 79
Molokai airport – 83
Kahului airport, Maui – 85 (record for Tuesday – 94 in 1951)
Kona airport 83
Hilo airport, Hawaii – 82
Air Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level – and on the highest mountain tops…as of 5pm Tuesday evening:
Barking Sands, Kauai – 83
Lihue, Kauai – 77
Haleakala Crater – 46 (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea Summit – 43 (over 13,500 feet on the Big Island)
Here are the 24-hour precipitation totals (inches) for each of the islands as of Tuesday evening:
1.60 Mount Waialeale, Kauai
1.43 Moanalua RG, Oahu
0.09 Molokai
0.03 Lanai
0.18 Kahoolawe
2.13 Puu Kukui, Maui
1.00 Ahumoa, Big Island
Marine Winds – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map showing a 1025 millibar high pressure system to the north of our islands. Our local winds will remain breezy Wednesday and 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 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. 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. A satellite image, which shows the entire ocean area between Hawaii and the Mexican coast…can be found here. Here's a tropical cyclone tracking map for the eastern and central Pacific.
Aloha Paragraphs
Large surf along the south and west facing
beaches…be careful the next several days!
The trade winds will remain active through the rest of this week….increasing Friday into the weekend. Glancing at this weather map, we find a 1025 millibar high pressure system located to our north. The placement of this area of high pressure center, and its associated ridge to the west-southwest…will keep our trade winds blowing in the moderately strong realms. We may see another wind advisory going up again this coming weekend…when the trades increase again into early next week.
Our trade winds will remain active…the following numbers represent the strongest gusts, along with directions Tuesday evening:
29 Port Allen, Kauai – NE
22 Kahuku, Oahu – ENE
27 Molokai – NE
21 Kahoolawe – SE
27 Kahului, Maui – NE
09 Lanai – NE
24 South Point, Maui – NE
We can use the following links to see what’s going on in our area of the north central Pacific Ocean Tuesday night. Looking at this NOAA satellite picture we find clear to partly cloudy skies over the state, with low level cumulus and stratocumulus clouds in most directions over the ocean. We can use this looping satellite image to see low clouds moving west and southwest towards our windward sides, with high cirrus potentially approaching from the southwest. Checking out this looping radar image we see a few showers being carried along in the trade wind flow, approaching from the east and northeast…a couple of which are beginning to be locally heavier.
Sunset Commentary: Today was the first day of summer 2011, a day characterized by moderately strong trade winds, and rising south swell from the southern hemisphere. This south-southwest swell will be substantial, perhaps with 8-10 foot faces. This of course is amply large enough to be dangerous, especially to our visitors from inland areas around the world. Our local surf community will know exactly what to do with these waves though! This long lasting swell will continue to bring breaking waves to our leeward beaches through the rest of this week.
Also in the marine environment, we have the trade winds blowing, nothing unusual about that, or for that matter…the rising swell either. A moderately strong high pressure cell to our north will be the source of these very early summer breezes. The computer forecast models continue to suggest that these winds will begin to accelerate again by about Friday, which will continue on through the weekend…well into next week. We could start to see small craft wind advisories going back up by Saturday or so.
As for rainfall, there will be some, and perhaps more than we’re used to seeing during June…at least locally. This will depend upon an upper level low pressure, which is edging over the islands now. This should have the effect of enhancing our incoming windward biased showers. At the same time, we may see some heavier showers too along the slopes of leeward Big Island. The NWS forecast office has been intimating that we could even find a few thunderstorms during the afternoons or evenings there through Thursday…although has backed-off on that prospect now.
Finally, here in Kihei, Maui this evening at 6pm, it was partly cloudy, although more cloudy over the Haleakala Crater and the West Maui Mountains. The leeward slopes of the Crater have had off and on showers falling up that way all afternoon…at least locally. I'm pretty sure those clouds will dissipate after dark, although that's about when the windward sides may find more showers arriving. I'm about to take the drive back upcountry to Kula now, and it will be good to arrive home, after a very long day of weather work. I'll be back with your next new weather narrative early Wednesday morning, I hope you have a great Tuesday night until then! Aloha for now…Glenn.
Interesting: The summer solstice occurs exactly when the Earth's and the moon's[clarification needed] axial tilt is most inclined towards the sun, at its maximum of 23° 26'. The summer solstice occurs in June in the Northern Hemisphere north of the Tropic of Cancer (23°26'N) and in December in the Southern Hemisphere south of the Tropic of Capricorn (23°26'S).
The Sun reaches its highest position in the sky on the day of the summer solstice. For the northern hemisphere this year solstice will occur June 21 at 5.16 PM UTC. This is also the longest day. For millenia it has been celebrated as a key event of the seasons. The exact moment of summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere is also the exact moment of winter solstice in the Southern Hemisphere.
So in the north is is the longest day but in the south it is the shortest day due to the axial tilt of the Earth. Between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, the highest sun position does not occur at the summer solstice, since the sun reaches the zenith here and it does so at different times of the year depending on the latitude of the observer.
The cause of the seasons is that the Earth's axis of rotation is not perpendicular to its orbital plane (the flat plane made through the center of mass (barycenter) of the solar system (near or within the Sun) and the successive locations of Earth during the year), but currently makes an angle of about 23.44°, and that the axis keeps its orientation with respect to an inertial frame of reference.
As a consequence, for half the year (from around 20 March to 22 September) the northern hemisphere is inclined toward the Sun, with the maximum around 21 June, while for the other half year the southern hemisphere has this distinction, with the maximum around 21 December.
The two moments when the inclination of Earth's rotational axis has maximum effect are the solstices. UTC stands for "Coordinated Universal Time" and it is the standard that all global clocks set themselves by. London England is the where UTC "begins". 5:16 PM in London is 12:16 PM in New York City as an example.
The solstices, together with the equinoxes, are connected with the seasons. In some languages they are considered to start or separate the seasons; in others they are considered to be center points (in England, in the Northern hemisphere, for example, the period around the June solstice is known as midsummer, and Midsummer's Day is 24 June, about three days after the solstice itself).
Interesting2: The rate of sea level rise along the U.S. Atlantic coast is greater now than at any time in the past 2,000 years — and has shown a consistent link between changes in global mean surface temperature and sea level. The findings are published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
The research, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), was conducted by Andrew Kemp, Yale University; Benjamin Horton, University of Pennsylvania; Jeffrey Donnelly, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; Michael Mann, Pennsylvania State University; Martin Vermeer, Aalto University School of Engineering, Finland; and Stefan Rahmstorf, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Germany.
Kemp and colleagues developed the first continuous sea-level reconstruction for the past 2,000 years, and compared variations in global temperature to changes in sea level over that time period. The team found that sea level was relatively stable from 200 BC to 1,000 AD. Then in the 11th century, sea level rose by about half a millimeter each year for 400 years, linked with a warm climate period known as the Medieval Climate Anomaly.
Then there was a second period of stable sea level during a cooler period called the Little Ice Age. It persisted until the late 19th century. Since the late 19th century, sea level has risen by more than 2 millimeters per year on average, the steepest rate for more than 2,100 years.
Interesting3: Asbestos pollution may be a waning issue in Europe and the US but it still remains a big problem in India. Richer nations like the UK and Germany banned asbestos decades ago after it was discovered that it leads to a condition called asbestosis which was first identified in 1906. Asbestos consists of six natural fibers about 1,200 times smaller than a strand of human hair that can be woven like fabric.
The material is resistant to fire, heat and chemicals and is therefore well-suited to construction and auto industries. It has been used for the last 140 years in construction and national bans were first enacted in the 1970s after harmful effects were noticed.
When asbestos fibers are inhaled, they bruise the lung tissue. This leaves scars that accumulate and cripple the organ's ability to process oxygen. This damage can also lead to the development of lung cancers, shortness of breath and chest pains. There is no minimum safe level for asbestos exposure and sometimes it can take up to 20 years for symptoms to manifest.
Supply and Demand According the United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database, India is the largest importer of asbestos. Most of it goes into making corrugated roofing sheets that sell for as little as $7. More than 100,000 people are employed by companies producing the material, according to the Asbestos Cement Producers Association, an industry lobby group.
Canada was India's second-largest overseas supplier of asbestos in 2009, trailing Russia, according to the United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics database. According to Bloomberg, the Quebec government approved a $60 million loan guarantee to a group of Canadian and Indian investors, enabling them to expand production at the last remaining asbestos mines. It produces 250,000 metric tons annually, of which 40% may end up in India and sales will generate $130 million in revenue.
Interesting4: The Obama administration on Monday extended its ban on mining on 1 million acres of federal lands near the Grand Canyon by six months, as it heads toward a possible long-term moratorium on mining in the area. Concerns that uranium mining near the Grand Canyon could hurt water quality and tourism prompted the decision, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said.
"When you think about the millions of jobs that are created across America through our natural wonders, as well as through other aspects of our heritage (and) tourism, that ought to be what carries the day," Salazar said at a press conference.
In 2009, the department declared a two-year time-out on new mining claims in the area, which holds substantial uranium deposits, as the agency studied its options. The six-month extension of the ban will ensure that no new mining projects are started in the area while the department finishes its final environmental review, the department said.
That environmental assessment is scheduled to be completed in the fall and then Salazar will make a decision on the long-term status of the federal lands. The department said its preferred alternative would keep the entire area off-limits for new mining claims for 20 years. By law, the department can withdraw these lands for no more than 20 years, while only Congress can permanently withdraw them.
Interesting5: Researchers from the Smithsonian Institution and the University of Florida have announced the discovery of a bone fragment, approximately 13,000 years old, in Florida with an incised image of a mammoth or mastodon. This engraving is the oldest and only known example of Ice Age art to depict a proboscidean (the order of animals with trunks) in the Americas.
The team's research is published online in the Journal of Archaeological Science. The bone was discovered in Vero Beach, Fla. by James Kennedy, an avocational fossil hunter, who collected the bone and later while cleaning the bone, discovered the engraving. Recognizing its potential importance, Kennedy contacted scientists at the University of Florida and the Smithsonian's Museum Conservation Institute and National Museum of Natural History.
"This is an incredibly exciting discovery," said Dennis Stanford, anthropologist at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History and co-author of this research. "There are hundreds of depictions of proboscideans on cave walls and carved into bones in Europe, but none from America — until now."
The engraving is 3 inches long from the top of the head to the tip of the tail, and 1.75 inches tall from the top of the head to the bottom of the right foreleg. The fossil bone is a fragment from a long bone of a large mammal — most likely either a mammoth or mastodon, or less likely a giant sloth. A precise identification was not possible because of the bone's fragmented condition and lack of diagnostic features.
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