Hawaiian Islands Weather details & Aloha paragraphs / August 5-6, 2012

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

Lihue, Kauai –                     83   
Honolulu airport, Oahu –      87  
Kaneohe, Oahu –                 MM
Molokai airport –                  85
Kahului airport, Maui –     89 (record high temperature Sunday 93F / 1951)  
Kona airport –                     87 
Hilo airport, Hawaii –            84

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

Honolulu, Oahu – 84
Hilo, Hawaii – 75

Haleakala Summit –      M  (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea Summit –   46 (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…although this webcam is not always working correctly. 

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.  

 Aloha Paragraphs

 

Trade winds…windward showers 

As this weather map shows, we have moderately strong high pressure systems located far to the north-northwest, north and north-northeast of the islands…with a low pressure system and trough to our northwest. Our local trade winds will remain moderately into the new week ahead. 

The following numbers represent the most recent top wind gusts (mph), along with directions as of Sunday evening:

25            Puu Opae, Kauai – NW
24            Kuaokala, Oahu – NE 
24            Molokai – NE 
31            Kahoolawe – NE
21            Lipoa, Maui – ENE 
29            Lanai – NE
25            Upolu airport, Big Island – NE

We can use the following links to see what’s going on in our area of the north central Pacific Ocean.  Here's the latest NOAA satellite picture – the latest looping satellite image…and finally the latest looping radar image for the Hawaiian Islands.

Here are the latest 24-hour precipitation totals (inches) for each of the islands as of Sunday evening:
 
0.76               Mount Waialeale, Kauai
2.07               Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu
0.21               Molokai
0.00               Lanai
0.00               Kahoolawe
0.34               Puu Kukui, Maui
1.01               Kawaihae, Big Island  

                                        Sunset Commentary: 

There's little change expected in our moderately strong trade wind flow across the Hawaiian Islands…into the new week ahead. We continue to find near 1030 millibar high pressure systems (weather map) located far to the northeast through north-northwest of Hawaii…supporting this wind flow across our islands. The trade winds will carry some windward showers towards us, with generally dry conditions expected along our leeward sides. We can use this satellite image to see an area of low level clouds to our east and northeast…which when they arrive will increase our localized shower activity into early Monday morning. At the same time, there are high and middle level clouds around too, especially near Kauai at the time of this writing…associated with a low pressure system to the west.

Friday evening film:  The film this week is called The Dark Knight Rises, stars Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Michael Cane, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Anne Hathaway, Marion Cotillard, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt …among many others. The synopsis: it has been eight years since Batman vanished into the night, turning, in that instant, from hero to fugitive. Assuming the blame for the death of D.A. Harvey Dent, the Dark Knight sacrificed everything for what he and Commissioner Gordon both hoped was the greater good. For a time the lie worked, as criminal activity in Gotham City was crushed under the weight of the anti-crime Dent Act. But everything will change with the arrival of a cunning cat burglar with a mysterious agenda. Far more dangerous, however, is the emergence of Bane, a masked terrorist whose ruthless plans for Gotham drive Bruce out of his self-imposed exile. But even if he dons the cape and cowl again, Batman may be no match for Bane. ~~~ This was a long 2 hour and 45 minute film, the longest I've seen perhaps ever seen. It was huge, and full of action and high adventure! The grades coming out of the group of friends that I was with included an A, and A-, and a B…while I'm going to weigh-in with an A- myself. It was completely captivating, and kept my attention riveted to the screen throughout. My only complaint was the length, and even that was a minor consideration overall. Here's a trailer in case you're curious.

Here in Kula, Maui at 515pm Sunday evening, it was partly cloudy and near calm…with an air temperature of 77.7F degrees. As mentioned above, the trade winds will continue to blow well into the future. Winds will remain quite breezy, at least in gusts, ranging between 30-35 mph in those windiest places around the state. The NWS forecast office has taken down the small craft wind advisory active for those windiest coasts and channels around Maui County and the Big Island. If we look at this satellite image, providing a larger view than the one above, we see a large area of low pressure to our west and northwest. Despite this low pressure, and the high and middle level clouds that may sweep into the state at times, our normal summertime trade wind weather conditions will prevail. I'll be back with a new sunrise commentary early Monday morning, I hope you have a great Sunday night wherever you happen to be spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn. 

Extra: Youtube video showing what will happen to Curiosity, as it lands on Mars this evening

World-wide tropical cyclone activity:

Central Pacific Ocean:  There are no active tropical cyclones

Eastern Pacific Ocean:  There are no active tropical cyclones

Atlantic Ocean/Gulf of Mexico/Caribbean:  Tropical storm Ernesto (5L) remains active in the Caribbean Sea, located about 405 miles east of Isla Roatan, Honduras. Maximum sustained winds are 65 mph, which is expected to become a hurricane soon. It will impact Belize, and then slip back down to a tropical storm as it crosses the Yucatan Peninsula…into the Gulf of Mexico. Here's the official NHC graphical track map / Here's a satellite image of this storm / Here's the hurricane model output for TS Ernesto.

The 6th tropical cyclone of the 2012 hurricane season is dissipating in the central Atlantic Ocean…now called post-tropical cyclone Florence (6L). It has sustained winds of 35 mph, and located about 1515 miles east of the Northern Leeward Islands. Here's the NHC graphical track map for Florence…along with a satellite view. – Final Advisory

Here's a satellite image showing tropical storms Ernesto and Florence.

Western Pacific Ocean:  Typhoon Haikui (12W) remains active in the western Pacific, located approximately 220 NM northeast of Taipei, Taiwan. Sustained winds were 65 knots, with gusts to near 80 knots. It is expected to strengthen into a typhoon within 24 hours…impacting the eastern China coast later Tuesday. Here's the JTWC graphical track map, along with a NOAA satellite image.

Meanwhile, Tropical storm (13W) is also active in the western Pacific, located approximately 550 NM north-northwest of Wake Island. Sustained winds were 45 knots, with gusts to near 55 knots. It is expected to remain offshore from any islands or land masses during its life cycle. Here's the JTWC graphical track map, along with a NOAA satellite image.


South Pacific Ocean:  There are no active tropical cyclones

South and North Indian Oceans: There are no active tropical cyclones

Interesting: This summer's drought continues to wilt and bake crops from Ohio to the Great Plains and beyond. Under a baking, late-afternoon sun just outside of the tiny east-central Illinois town of Thawville, John Hildenbrand walks down his dusty, gravel driveway toward one of his corn fields. "You can see on the outer edge, these are a lot better-looking ears on the outside rows.

Of course, it's not near as hot as it is inside the field," he says. Walking deeper into the 7-foot-high corn stalks, the temperature — already in the 90s — becomes stifling. Here, the ears are smaller. Peeling back the husks on an undersized ear of corn, Hildenbrand exposes kernels that are drying up.

"It just never really matured," he says. "And [if] we got out in there farther, it's gonna be just that much less." More than 63 percent of the country in the lower 48 states is experiencing drought, leading some to compare the summer of 2012 to the droughts of the 1950s and even the Dust Bowl years of the 1930s.

John's father, Charles Hildenbrand, was born and raised on this land and farmed these fields for decades — as did his father before him. The 84-year-old was too young to remember much about the Dust Bowl droughts of the 1930s — other than he and his father dragged their mattresses outdoors to sleep at night. But he says even though this year's drought is the worst he's ever seen, today's hybrid corn is surviving better than the corn he and his father planted ever could.