Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures were recorded across the state of Hawaii Wednesday:
Lihue, Kauai – 85
Honolulu airport, Oahu – 88 (record for Wednesday – 92 in 1987, 1994)
Kaneohe, Oahu – 83
Molokai airport – 86
Kahului airport, Maui – 87
Kona airport 86
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 Wednesday evening:
Port Allen, Kauai – 86
Hilo, Hawaii – 80
Haleakala Crater – 50 (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea Summit – 37 (over 13,500 feet on the Big Island)
Here are the 24-hour precipitation totals (inches) for each of the islands as of Wednesday evening:
0.26 Mount Waialeale, Kauai
0.16 Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu
0.01 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 1028 millibar high pressure system to the north of our islands. Our local trade winds will remain active through Friday…becoming lighter.
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
Trade winds becoming gradually lighter…less chance
of significant showers later Thursday into the
weekend…variable high cirrus clouds at times
Does this water look inviting – or what!
The trade winds will continue to blow, gradually easing through Saturday…then increasing again Sunday into next week. Glancing at this weather map, we find a moderately strong 1028 millibar high pressure system to the north of the islands Wednesday night. This high pressure cell and its associated ridges will provide our moderately strong trade winds over the islands for the time being. Our local winds however will ease up some, perhaps quite a bit at times…especially between Friday and Saturday. As we move into Sunday, the trade winds will return to normal into next week.
Our trade winds will remain active…the following numbers represent the strongest gusts (mph), along with directions Wednesday evening:
30 Port Allen, Kauai – ENE
24 Kahuku, Oahu – NE
24 Molokai – NNE
28 Kahoolawe – ESE
30 Kahului – NE
23 Lanai – NE
31 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 Wednesday night. Looking at this NOAA satellite picture we find low level cumulus and stratocumulus clouds coming into our windward sides…with several streaks of high cirrus clouds moving through the islands…with more to come in from the west. We can use this looping satellite image to see lots of high cirrus clouds well offshore to our west…the larger portion of which are taking aim on the southern part of the state, although there's more heading towards Kauai and Oahu soon too. Checking out this looping radar image we see just a few light showers here and there, although there will likely be the usual increase along our windward sides during the night.
Sunset Commentary: The trade winds will keep blowing, generally in the moderately strong realms today, and then lighter through Saturday. There will be a few windward showers for the time being, and some high cirrus clouds streaming through the island chain at times too.
The bulk of the showers associated with the remains of former tropical cyclone Eugene, look like they will pass just south of the state…rather than bringing us all that much rainfall. This satellite image shows this area of low clouds out to the east and now southeast of the Big Island. What’s even more substantiating about this area of showers sliding by just to our south, is this looping version of that satellite picture…suggesting it is moving southwest. Nonetheless, the northern fringe should clip parts of the state eventually, most notably Friday into Saturday perhaps.
Meanwhile, the trade winds will be backing-off over the next 2-3 days. This will prompt rather warm and humid conditions Friday into the weekend. As the trade winds fade, we will grade from a trade wind weather pattern…into a convective one. This often triggers afternoon clouds, and showers over and around the mountains, especially along the leeward slopes. As the trade winds strengthen again later Sunday into early next week, our weather should shift right back into a normal summer trade wind weather pattern again.
~~~ Here in Kihei, Maui at around 530pm Wednesday evening, skies were partly cloudy, with the trade winds blowing, and wisps of cirrus flying overhead too. Keep an eye out for a nice colorful sunset this evening, and again Thursday morning, at least in those areas that have those icy high clouds around. Meanwhile, those showers out to our east and southeast, will likely bring some showers to the state, although not as many as previously considered. The problem lies in the fact that the main part of this moisture field may move by too far south, just below the Big Island perhaps. We can fine tune this prospect during the day Thursday. I'm heading out to Kula now, although will pick up this thread again early Thursday morning. I hope you have a great Wednesday night until then! Aloha for now…Glenn..
Interesting: People like tuna. (Tuna may not like people of course.) However, natural wild populations are in sharp decline. One answer may be a tuna farm. The experiment took place at Umami Sustainable Seafood Inc.'s commercial fish farming facility Kali Tuna, based on the Croatian island of Uglian in the Adriatic sea.
Umami also claimed to breed the five-year-old tuna without adding artificial hormones. Because the fish naturally spawn in deep, open waters, many have tried with limited success to breed tuna in captivity. Others have questioned whether a tuna breeding program could even work without large amounts of hormones regulating the life cycle of the fish.
The most common is Skipjack Tuna, mostly used for canning. Skipjack accounts for about 60% of all Tuna caught each year. Yellowfin is the second largest at about 24%. Bigeye Tuna is at about 10% and Albacore 5%.
The species most commonly used for Sashimi and Sushi are Yellowfin, Bigeye and Albacore tuna.
The remaining 1% is Blue Fin Tuna; the giant of the Tuna family. It is the world’s most sought after and the most delicious Tuna for sashimi and sushi. It is traditionally consumed raw for sashimi or sushi but is a fantastic tasting and healthy as seared steak.
Two major species of Blue Fin Tuna exist, Southern Blue Fin Tuna, found in oceans in the Southern hemisphere and Northern Blue Fin Tuna, found in the Northern hemisphere.
Blue Fin Tuna is especially sought after by the Japanese who traditionally consume over 80 — 90% of all supply.
Genetic testing showed that the tuna fry hatched from the captive spawning project in Croatia matched the genetics of the maternal population. Which means the young fish came from eggs and sperm that came together in Umami's facility.
Increasing quantities of high-grade tuna are reared in net pens and fed bait fish. In Australia, former fishermen raise southern bluefin tuna, Thunnus maccoyii, and another bluefin species. Farming its close relative, the northern bluefin tuna, Thunnus thynnus, is beginning in the Mediterranean, North America and Japan. Hawaii just approved permits for the first U.S. offshore farming of bigeye tuna in water 1,300 feet (400 m) deep.
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