Hawaiian Islands Weather details & Aloha paragraphs / January 30-31, 2012

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

Lihue, Kauai –                     78  
Honolulu airport, Oahu –       81  
Kaneohe, Oahu –                 78
Molokai airport –                  79
Kahului airport, Maui –         82  (Record high temperature on this date – 88F – 1953) 
Kona airport –                     79 
Hilo airport, Hawaii –           76   

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

Honolulu, Oahu – 77
Princeville, Kauai – 73

Haleakala Crater –  48 (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea –         32 (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

 
    Trades becoming lighter – a few windward showers –
large surf north and west shores into Tuesday
 

As this weather map shows, we have a 1029 millibar high pressure system to the northeast of the islands…which is slowly moving eastward. At the same time, we have lots of low pressure systems far to the northwest through north, with a very long cold front extending down into the tropics…part of which is northwest of Kauai. Our winds will be trade winds…gradually becoming lighter during the week.

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

24                 Port Allen, Kauai – NE 
23                 Bellows, Oahu – NE
29                 Molokai – NE 
36                    Kahoolawe – E 
31                 Kahului, Maui – NE
12                 Lanai – NE 
27                 Upolu 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 Monday evening.  Looking at this NOAA satellite picture we see low clouds over the ocean, most notably to the north through southeast, which are stretching over the islands locally.  We can use this looping satellite image to see the lower clouds moving along in the brisk trade wind flow, coming into our windward sides in places. We can also see the next cold frontal cloud band far to the northwest of Hawaii. Checking out this looping radar image we see light showers over the ocean, impacting the islands, especially the central islands at the time of this writing.

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

1.03                 Mount Waialeale, Kauai
0.40               Moanalua Stream, Oahu
0.02               Molokai
0.00               Lanai
0.00               Kahoolawe
0.10               Puu Kukui, Maui
0.74               Kawainui Stream, Big Island

Sunset Commentary:   A fairly typical trade wind weather pattern was in force across the Hawaiian Islands as we began this new work week. A moderately strong near 1029 millibar high pressure system to the northeast is spinning out our brisk trades, although these winds will be easing up soon. This latest weather map shows our next cold front to the northwest, which as it gets closer, will push the high pressure system eastward…and at the same time shove this high's ridge down close to the islands.

All of this will prompt lighter winds across Hawaii, with this process all beginning on Tuesday. Wednesday will find light winds as well, although we'll likely have a temporary increase again Thursday and Friday…before the winds tumble in strength again this weekend. The latest computer models continue to show the cold front, or what's left of it, getting close to Kauai after mid-week. This may or may not bring an increase in shower activity Thursday into Friday, we'll have to fine tune this prospect over the next day or two. At any rate, as we get into the upcoming weekend, we'll find generally dry conditions with lighter winds prevailing.

The north and west facing shores continue to have an unusual High Surf Warning, as very large waves will be breaking through the next couple of days there. This warning may be downgraded to a more common high surf advisory at some point Tuesday. Please be very careful if you're beaching along these coasts, or better yet…head to the south shores where waves won't be an issue this week. Small Craft Wind Advisories cover all our marine environment, due to the currently gusty trades and the large surf.

~~~ Here in Kula, Maui at 530pm HST, it was partly cloudy with a light breeze blowing, and an air temperature of 65.5F degrees. At noted above, we're moving into a short period where we'll find softer trades into mid-week. Our weather will remain dry today for the most part, although the windward sides will pick up a few showers, especially on Oahu and Kauai.  I'll be back early Tuesday with your next new weather narrative,  I hope you have a great Monday night until then! Aloha for now…Glenn.

Interesting: A new study recently published suggests that attentiveness in kindergarten can accurately predict the child's work-oriented behavior throughout the rest of their school years and throughout their entire lives. This conclusion came after years of analysis and observation from elementary school homeroom teachers. For a young child, the classroom is the work place, so skills obtained there are translated directly to their adult workplaces.

This study places even more focus on the importance of early education in shaping a more productive society. The multi-year study was published by Dr. Linda Pagani, professor from the University of Montreal and CHU Sainte-Justine. The children who were observed for the study all attended kindergarten in Montreal's poorest neighborhoods. This was to ensure that socio-economic factors could be minimized in the final analysis.

The study began with observations made by kindergarten teachers for over one thousand students. Observations continued every year up to 6th grade by the students' homeroom teachers. These teachers would rate the kids by how well they worked on their own and with their classmates. They also rated their levels of self-control, self-confidence, and their ability to follow rules and directions.

"Children who are more likely to work autonomously and harmoniously with fellow classmates, with good self-control and confidence, and who follow directions and rules are more likely to continue such productive behaviors into the adult workplace," said Dr. Pagani. "In child psychology, we call this the developmental evolution of work-oriented skills, from childhood to adulthood."

After analysis of all the teacher observations, the researchers could split up the children into three groups: those with high, medium, and low classroom engagement. They found that children in the low category were predominantly boys, aggressive children, and children with cognitive difficulties. "There are important life risks associated with attention deficits in childhood, which include high-school dropout, unemployment, and problematic substance abuse." Pagani said.

"Our findings make a compelling case for early identification and treatment of attention problems, as early remediation represents the least costly form of intervention. Universal approaches to bolstering attention skills in kindergarten might translate into stable and productive pathways toward learning."

Interesting2: The U.S. Forest Service today released a new proposal for the nation's 193-million-acre national forest system that will weaken rules protecting fish and wildlife from logging, livestock grazing, mining and off-road vehicles. The new proposal, which was released as part of the final environmental impact statement for the rule, is the Forest Service's fourth attempt since 2000 to revise nationwide regulations governing national forests. All three previous attempts were challenged in court by the Center for Biological Diversity and allies, and all three prior attempts were found unlawful.

Like the 2000, 2005 and 2008 rules, the Obama administration's planning rule would decrease longstanding protections for wildlife on national forests. "Today's rule is a step up from the Bush administration’s rule, but its protections are still a far cry from Reagan-era regulations that the Forest Service has been trying to weaken for 12 years," said Taylor McKinnon, public lands campaigns director at the Center.

"Our publicly owned national forests should be a safe haven for wildlife. In the face of unprecedented global climate change and other threats to species, the Forest Service should be trying to strengthen, not weaken, protections for wildlife on our public lands." Congress enacted the National Forest Management Act in 1976 to guide management of the national forest system, which consists of 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands.

In 1982, the Forest Service adopted national regulations to provide specific direction for activities such as logging, mining, livestock grazing and recreation. That rule included strong, mandatory protections for fish and wildlife, requiring the Forest Service to monitor and maintain viable populations. The Clinton administration in 2000, and the Bush administration in 2005 and 2008, issued new rules to revise the 1982 regulation.

Each of these efforts was found unlawful and were not implemented. The Obama administration is again trying to weaken the long-standing 1982 regulations by requiring that the Forest Service only maintain viable populations for species "of conservation concern," and only at the discretion of local forest supervisors.

Interesting3: Killer whales (Orcinus orca) are the top marine predator, wherever they are found, and seem to eat everything from schools of small fish to large baleen whales, over twice their own size. The increase in hunting territories available to killer whales in the Arctic due to climate change and melting sea ice could seriously affect the marine ecosystem balance.

New research published in BioMed Central's re-launched open access journal Aquatic Biosystems has combined scientific observations with Canadian Inuit traditional knowledge to determine killer whale behaviour and diet in the Arctic. Orca have been studied extensively in the northeast Pacific ocean, where resident killer whales eat fish, but migrating whales eat marine mammals.

Five separate ecotypes in the Antarctic have been identified, each preferring a different type of food, and similar patterns have been found in the Atlantic, tropical Pacific, and Indian oceans. However, little is known about Arctic killer whale prey preference or behaviour.

Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) is increasingly being used to supplement scientific observations. Researchers from Manitoba visited 11 Canadian Nunavut Inuit communities and collated information from over 100 interviews with hunters and elders.

The Inuit reported that killer whales would 'eat whatever they can catch', mainly other marine mammals including seals (ringed, harp, bearded, and hooded) and whales (narwhal, beluga and bowhead). However there was no indication that Arctic killer whales ate fish. Only seven of the interviewees suggested that killer whales ate fish, but none of them had ever seen it themselves. The type of reported prey varied between areas.

Most incidents of killer whales eating bowhead whales occurred in Foxe Basin and narwhal predation was more frequent around Baffin Island. Inuit were also able to describe first-hand how killer whales hunted, including several reports of how killer whales co-operated to kill the much larger bowhead. During the hunt some whales were seen holding the bowhead's flippers or tail, others covering its blowhole, and others biting or ramming to cause internal damage.

Occasionally dead bowheads, with bite marks and internal injuries but with very little eaten, are found by locals. 'Aarlirijuk', the fear of killer whales, influenced prey behaviour with smaller mammals seeking refuge in shallow waters or on shore and larger prey running away, diving deep, or attempting to hide among the ice.

Even narwhal, which are capable of stabbing a killer whale with their tusks (although this is likely to result in the deaths of both animals), will run to shallow waters and wait until the whales give up. Killer whales are seasonal visitors to the area and have recently started colonising Hudson Bay (possibly due to loss of summer sea ice with global warming).

Local communities are reliant on the very species that the orcas like to eat. Dr Steven Ferguson from the University of Manitoba who led this research commented, "Utilising local knowledge through TEK will help scientists understand the effects of global warming and loss of sea ice on Arctic species and improve collaborative conservation efforts in conjunction with local communities."