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

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

Lihue, Kauai –                   78
Honolulu airport, Oahu –    81  (record high temperature for the date…88F degrees – 1995)
Kaneohe, Oahu –               77
Molokai airport –                77
Kahului airport, Maui –       81 (record high temperature for the date…89F degrees – 1971)
Kona airport –                   81
Hilo airport, Hawaii –         79

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

Barking Sands, Kauai – 80
Kaneohe, Oahu – 74

Haleakala Crater – 36 (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea –        28 (near 13,800 feet on the Big Island)

Hawaii’s Mountains – Here’s a link to the live web cam on the summit of near 13,800 foot Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii. This web cam is 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. Here's the Haleakala Crater webcam on Maui…which is working only sometimes lately.

 Aloha Paragraphs

Strong and gusty trade winds, windward
showers, some locally heavy…
possible thunderstorms eastern islands 
 

As this weather map shows, we have high pressure systems located to the northeast of the Hawaiian Islands Sunday evening. At the same time we have a weak and dissipating cold front a short distance to the northeast of Hawaii. The trade winds will remain locally strong and gusty Monday into Tuesday.

The following numbers represent the strongest wind gusts (mph), along with directions Sunday evening:

31                 Lihue, Kauai – NE
32                 Waianae Valley, Oahu – NW
30                 Molokai – NE
38                    Kahoolawe – E
31                 Kahului, Maui – NE
37                 Lanai – NE
36                 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 Sunday evening. Looking at this NOAA satellite picture we find that the high and middle level clouds are located just to the south through northeast of the Big Island at this hour. We can use this looping satellite image to see towering cumulus and thunderstorms developing to the south, east through northeast of the eastern islands. Checking out this looping radar image we see showers over the ocean, most of which are light to moderately heavy, although some are heavy with thunderstorms to the south and north of the islands…arriving along our windward sides in places at the time of this writing.

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

1.48                  Kilohana, Kauai
0.85               Waiawa, Oahu
0.07               Molokai
0.00               Lanai
0.00               Kahoolawe
0.81               Puu Kukui, Maui
0.46               Waiakea Uka, Big Island

Sunset Commentary:  The Hawaiian Islands will continue to find locally strong and gusty trade winds again into the new work week ahead. Small craft wind advisories remain up locally, although have been pared back to just around the eastern islands at the time of this writing. The strongest gusts will be up into the 30-40 mph range for the next few days. As we move into Wednesday or so, we are apt to see a rather significant increase in winds. These stronger trade winds will extend the small craft wind advisories back over the entire state, with possible gale warnings in the eastern channels…and perhaps even wind advisories in those windiest island sections through Thursday. Winds should begin to pull back Friday into the weekend, as a weak cold front approaches the state then.

As far as precipitation goes, there will continue to be the threat of more windward biased showers. There is still that good chance that some of these showers will be heavy, with the chance of a few thunderstorms popping-up over or near the Big Island. Some of these showers may stretch over in the leeward sides on the smaller islands. Looking into the new week, these strong and gusty winds, and locally heavy showers will stick around into the first several days of the week at least….especially around the Big Island and Maui. The chance of localized flooding isn't out of the question, so drive carefully if you find yourself in one of those downpours. The cold front mentioned above, arriving or coming close by the weekend, shouldn't be an overbearing rain producer, at least not the way it looks from here.

This past Friday evening I saw a new film called Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, starring Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, and Noomi Repace…among many others. I'd seen the trailer for this film several times over the last month or so, and each time I thought to myself, that looks like a good film. The synopsis: London's greatest detective investigates the evil plot of a new criminal mastermind.  The film rating website rotten tomatoes is giving this film a 64% on a scale of 1-100, which isn't bad, while the viewers are providing a high A- grade. The film is a long one, lasting over two hours, which was a bit too long for my liking. Nonetheless, it was very engaging, and although a bit fast paced at times, was entertaining. I enjoyed the film, although I was a bit tired, and thus it felt a bit tediuous at times, almost like an overload of activity coming at me. I would give this film a B+, and could recommend it to most of you. Here's a trailer for this great film.

Here in Kula, Maui at around 515pm Sunday evening, it was mostly clear to partly cloudy, with an air temperature of 66.9F degrees, with generally light breezes. As noted above, the trade winds will prevail, and in the process, be quite strong and gusty…becoming even more so by mid-week. Meanwhile, an upper trough of low pressure over the state, with its cold air aloft, will keep a good degree of instability present in our atmosphere. This will enhance showers wherever they fall, and give us the chance of localized heavy rainfall at times. There's even that chance of a few thunderstorms flaring-up into Monday and Tuesday, especially over the east side of the island chain. Up high, the summits on the Big Island may see more snow falling at times through into Monday and Tuesday as well. ~~~ I kept waiting to see evidence of those heavier showers, and even some towering cumulus clouds during the day, but alas, it turned out to be quite nice here on Maui. Looking at this looping radar image, we see no lack of showers around, some of which look like heavy ones….especially to the southeast and south of the Big Island at this hour. So, be prepared for those to move onto the islands, and stick around, in an off and on manner, into the new week. It wouldn't be surprising to hear from thunder and to see lightning before this inclement weather comes to an end. ~~~ I'll be back early Monday morning with your next new weather narrative, I hope you have a great Sunday night until then! Aloha for now…Glenn.

Interesting:   Parents of some obese children could save up to about $10 each week by changing their shopping habits and opting for a healthier diet, according to research published in the latest issue of the British Journal of General Practice. The study on the theme of obesity shows that healthier eating does not have to be more expensive, challenging one of the commonly cited barriers to dietary change.

The figures showed that healthier eating could cost no more than $4 extra a week, and that in some cases, savings of up to $10 a week could by made by switching. The research tests the perception of both parents and some health professionals that healthy eating is, by necessity, more expensive.

It demonstrates that it is possible to switch from an unhealthy to a healthy diet, and still reduce food costs. Professor Julian Hamilton-Shield, from the University of Bristol’s School of Clinical Sciences and Bristol Royal Hospital for Children, said: "Food cost is frequently cited as a reason for failure to address eating behaviors in clinical practice, and this study demonstrates that for many this is a perceived rather than real barrier."

The food diaries of obese children were analyzed for various aspects of nutritional content then converted by qualified dieticians into healthier option daily menus, following the guidelines of the Eatwell plate. The eat well plate is a pie chart that shows you how much of different types of food you should eat in your daily life. Chocolate and sugars are not a huge part of the eat well plate and the fruit and vegetable part is bigger because they are better for you.

Junk foods are typically ready-to-eat convenience foods containing high levels of saturated fats, salt, or sugar, and little or no fruit, vegetables, or dietary fiber; and are considered to have little or no health benefits. Common junk foods include salted snack foods like chips (crisps), candy, gum, most sweet desserts, fried fast food and carbonated beverages (sodas) as well as alcoholic beverages.

A healthy diet is one that helps maintain or improve general health. It is important for lowering many chronic health risks, such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and cancer. A healthy diet involves consuming appropriate amounts of all essential nutrients and an adequate amount of water.

The participants’ diaries showed that on average they consumed 221 calories per day more than the estimated average requirements (EAR). The adjusted healthier menus reduced this to just seven calories per day above the EAR. Comparing the cost of the two menus if bought from budget supermarkets, mid-range supermarkets and local street stores showed that shoppers at a mid-range supermarket who ate a diet of low nutritional quality could switch to a healthy diet by shopping in a budget supermarket and still save money.

While recognizing that other factors play a part in diet — taste preferences, the time people are able to spend cooking, cooking skills, and other family circumstances — the results do suggest that as pressure grows on family finances, there are healthy eating options that will not break the bank.

Interesting2: Japan declared its tsunami-stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant to be in cold shutdown on Friday in a major step toward resolving the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years. The Fukushima Daiichi plant, 240 km (150 miles) northeast of Tokyo, was wrecked on March 11 by a huge earthquake and a towering tsunami which knocked out its cooling systems, triggering meltdowns, radiation leaks and mass evacuations.

In making the much-anticipated announcement, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda drew a line under the crisis phase of the emergency at the plant and highlighted the next challenges: post-disaster clean-up and the safe dismantling of the plant, something experts say could take up to 40 years. "The reactors have reached a state of cold shutdown," Noda told a government nuclear emergency response meeting. "A stable condition has been achieved.

It is judged that the accident at the plant itself has ceased," he added, noting radiation levels at the boundary of the plant could now be kept at low levels, even in the event of "unforeseeable incidents." "The government is due to set a clear road map and will do the utmost to decommission the plant," Noda later told a news conference. A cold shutdown is when water used to cool nuclear fuel rods remains below boiling point, preventing the fuel from reheating.

One of the chief aims of the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), had been to bring the reactors to cold shutdown by the year-end. After months of efforts, the water temperature in all three of the affected reactors fell below boiling point by September, but Tepco has been cautious about declaring a cold shutdown, saying it had to see if temperatures and the amount of radiation emitted from the plant remained stable.

The declaration of a cold shutdown could have repercussions well beyond the plant. It is a government pre-condition for allowing about 80,000 residents evacuated from within a 12 mile radius of the plant to go home. But Kazuhiko Kudo, professor of nuclear engineering at Kyushu University, said authorities still needed to determine exactly the status of melted fuel inside the reactors and stabilize a makeshift cooling system, which handles the tens of thousands of tons of contaminated water accumulated on-site. "What is more important is the next steps the government and Tepco decide to take," Kudo said.

Sean asked me the following question: Glenn- it seems like we have had an above average number of upper level low pressure systems here in the islands since last summer.  any thoughts about why this may be, or if these are even out of the ordinary? ~~~ Hi Sean, this was the case last winter too, and I think can be attributed to the current La Nina phase that we have here in the Pacific now. I believe that we’ll end up having quite a bit of precipitation this winter as a result. Upper level low pressure systems consist of cold air aloft, and act to enhance rainfall, and likely we also see more than the normal amount of thunderstorms here in the islands too. Good question Sean, Aloha…Glenn