Hawaiian Islands Weather details & Aloha paragraphs / November 25-26, 2012

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

Lihue, Kauai –                       80  
Honolulu airport, Oahu –         81  
Molokai airport –                    80
Kahului airport, Maui –           82 
Kona airport     –                 86  
Hilo airport, Hawaii –              80

Air Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level – and on the highest mountain tops around the state…as of 530pm Sunday evening:   

Kailua-kona – 81
Kapalua, Maui  – 73

Haleakala Summit –   M       (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea Summit – 37        (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.

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

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

23            Mana, Kauai – N
46            Kuaokala, Oahu – N 
29            Molokai – ENE    
35            Kahoolawe – NE
18            Lipoa, Maui – NE
35            Lanai – NE
35            Kealakomo, Big Island – NE

Here are the latest 24-hour precipitation totals (inches) for each of the islands as of Sunday evening:
 
0.84               Kilohana, Kauai
0.06               Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu
0.00               Molokai
0.00               Lanai
0.00               Kahoolawe
0.03               Hana airport, Maui
0.13               Kainalui, Big Island  

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.

                                          ~~ Hawaii evening commentary ~~ 

Strong and gusty trade winds through mid-week…veering to the southeast, south and southwest during the second half of the week. We currently have high pressure systems (weather map), located far to the northwest. A cold front will get pushed down through the state this evening into Monday morning…with a resultant increase in windward showers.  As the trade winds gain strength, and especially by Monday into the new work week ahead, showers will fall at times along the windward coasts and slopes for the most part, while the leeward sides will see a shower at times too.

As we look at this satellite image, we see a large area of high cirrus clouds moving over the islands from the west.  A change will take place this evening, as a cloud band gets pushed down through the state. This will bring an increase in showers into Monday morning, some of which could be quite generous in a few places. Brisk winds will fill in behind this frontal band, with trade wind weather conditions remaining in effect through Wednesday. Thereafter, our trade winds will falter again, with much lighter east, or even southeasterly breezes returning during the second half of the work week…bringing back volcanic haze over some parts of the islands. The weather models continue to show our winds turning south and southwest by next weekend, with a cold front bringing widespread showers then.

It was Friday evening, and so…I drove down to Kahului to see a new film. This time saw the new 007 film called Skyfall, starring Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Albert Finney, Ola Rapace, Berenice Marlohe, and Tonia Sotiropoulou…among many others. The synopsis: 007 (Daniel Craig) becomes M's only ally as MI6 comes under attack, and a mysterious new villain emerges with a diabolical plan. James Bond's latest mission has gone horribly awry, resulting in the exposure of several undercover agents, and an all-out attack on M16. Meanwhile, as M (Judi Dench) plans to relocate the agency, emerging Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee Mallory (Ralph Fiennes) raises concerns about her competence while attempting to usurp her position, and Q (Ben Whishaw) becomes a crucial ally. Now the only person who can restore M's reputation is 007. Operating in the dark with only field agent Eve (Naomie Harris) to guide him, the world's top secret agent works to root out an enigmatic criminal mastermind named Silva (Javier Bardem) as a major storm brews on the horizon. Albert Finney also stars in the 23rd installment of the long-running spy series. ~~~ As is almost always the case, I really enjoyed this film, as did the full theater of folks who where there with me. It had all the important aspects of the 007 thrillers, that I've enjoyed over the years. I thought the cast was great and well picked, and who all played their parts with swagger…particularly James Bond of course. As for a grade, a robust B+ is in order here, at least in my opinion. If you have any interest, here's the trailer.
 
In sum, our skies were cloudy, along with much stronger trade winds blowing across our islands today. The clouds consisted of both upper level cirrus, which dimmed our sunshine considerably at times, and lower level cumulus clouds too. The blustery trade winds reached 46 mph at one of our windier places on Oahu, with strong gusts in many areas overall today! It was a day that definitely looked like a late November day, with all the clouds and robust winds in our skies. At the same time, we find a frontal cloud band pushing down towards the state now, from the north. This showery area will increase our windward biased precipitation later this evening into Monday morning. The bulk of these showers will be in the light to moderately heavy category, although a few could be somewhat more generous than that locally.

Monday will be a windy day, with off and on passing showers, again most of which will dampen our north and east facing windward coasts and slopes. This windy weather will last through mid-week, then back off quite a bit thereafter. These trade winds will give way to southeast breezes, carrying volcanic haze, from the Big Island vents, to other areas on the smaller islands Thursday and Friday. These southeast breezes will then turn over duty to south and southwest Kona breezes, ahead of a cold front slated for next weekend. This cold front is forecast to drop quite a bit of rainfall on our islands, with even the chance of some flood producing thunderstorms then too. I'll be bringing more information about the windy weather now, and the wet cold front next weekend, in my upcoming early Monday morning weather narrative. I hope you have a great Sunday night until then! Aloha for now…Glenn.

World-wide tropical cyclone activity:

Atlantic Ocean/Caribbean Sea:  There are no active tropical cyclones

Gulf of Mexico: There are no active tropical cyclones

Eastern Pacific Ocean: There are no active tropical cyclones

Central Pacific Ocean:  There are no active tropical cyclones

Western Pacific Ocean:  Tropical cyclone 26W remains active in the western Pacific…located approximately 345 NM east-southeast of Chuuk. Sustained winds were 35 knots, with gusts to near 45 knots. The JTWC indicates that this system will eventually reach typhoon status 2-3 days, as it moves well south of Guam…towards the small island of Yap. Here's the JTWC graphical track map…along with a satellite image.

South Pacific Ocean:   There are no active tropical cyclones

North and South Indian Oceans:  Tropical cyclone Boldwin (02S) is now dissipating in the south Indian Ocean…located approximately 475 NM south of Diego Garcia. Sustained winds were 35 knots, with gusts to near 45 knots.  Here's the JTWC graphical track map for Boldwin…along with a satellite image. Final Warning

Interesting:  Forests worldwide are at "equally high risk" to die-off from drought conditions, warns a new study published this week in the journal Nature. The study, conducted by an international team of scientists, assessed the specific physiological effects of drought on 226 tree species at 81 sites in different biomes around the world. It found that 70 percent of the species sampled are particularly vulnerable to reduction in water availability.

With drought conditions increasing around the globe due to climate change and deforestation, the research suggests large swathes of the world's forests — and the services they afford — may be approaching a tipping point. Water is critical to trees, transporting nutrients, providing stabilizing, and serving as a medium for the metabolic processes that generate the energy needed for a tree to survive.

Mechanically, water moves through plants via their xylem, a tissue that can be compared to a system of tubes. Transpiration or release of water from a plant's leaves keeps the system moving. But when water availability is insufficient, the process begins to break down, having substantial impacts on the health of a tree.

While this has long been observed, until recently the exact mechanism that triggers drought stress in forests was poorly understood. The new study argues that "hydraulic failure" may be a key factor. Effectively, insufficient water availably leads a tree to start pulling air bubbles — called gas emboli — into its xylem impeding the flow of water. Hydraulic failure is akin to attempting to drink through a broken straw — air bubbles significantly reduce the amount of liquid that reaches the top of the straw.