Hawaiian Islands Weather details & Aloha paragraphs / December 7-8, 2012

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

Lihue, Kauai –                       82  
Honolulu airport, Oahu –         82  
Molokai airport –                    84
Kahului airport, Maui –       85 
Kona airport     –                   84  
Hilo airport, Hawaii –              82

Air Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level – and on the highest mountain tops around the state…as of 930pm Friday evening:

Kailua-kona – 77
Hilo, Hawaii  – 70

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.  The 2012 hurricane season is over in the eastern and central Pacific…resuming on May 15th and June 1st 2013.

Aloha Paragraphs

 
Clear to partly cloudy, some cloudy periods…just
a few showers here and there

High surf advisory for north and west shores of
Kauai and Oahu…north shores of Molokai and Maui…
and the west shores of the Big Island

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

17            Port Allen, Kauai – SE
20            Kahuku Trng, Oahu – SE 
14            Molokai – ESE    
22            Kahoolawe – ENE  
10            Lipoa, Maui – ENE
15            Lanai – NE
21            Kohala Ranch, Big Island – NE

Here are the latest 24-hour precipitation totals (inches) for each of the islands as of Friday evening:
 
0.21          Waiakoali, Kauai
0.04          Poamoho RG 1, Oahu
0.00          Molokai
0.00          Lanai
0.00          Kahoolawe
0.04          Kepuni, Maui
0.01          Kainaliu, 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 weather commentary ~~ 

Generally light breezes…stronger in a few places from the east to southeast.  We currently have a high pressure system (weather map), located far to the northeast of Hawaii, with an associated ridge extending westward…over the central islands. Meanwhile, we find an intense low pressure system to our north-northwest, with its associated cold front being pushed towards our islands to the west. Here's a satellite image, showing an area of clouds approaching from the west and northwest…most of which are of the high cirrus variety. 

Volcanic haze will continue in places, although may leave our skies temporarily…as easterly winds return Saturday.  The winds are light in many areas this evening, although have been a little stronger in others, generally from the southeast. Where the winds are lighter, we'll find offshore flowing land breezes tonight.  If the easterly trade winds return briefly during the first part of this weekend, we could see some windward showers returning…and perhaps less vog then.

As mentioned above, a cold front is approaching from the west, and will get close…although stall and weaken just west of Kauai tonight into Saturday.  The location of this frontal boundary will keep our islands in a southeast to easterly wind flow. The front may get close enough to bring some showers our way however, with a few over the western islands not out of the question. The cold front will get pushed back to the west and northwest Saturday afternoon by the brief return of the trade winds. Later this weekend into the first part of next week, a trough of low pressure will develop over the ocean to our northwest. The expectation remains that some of this trough's precipitation may edge into the state…perhaps quite generously on the Kauai end of the island chain. Looking further ahead, the trade winds are expected to return, with windward sections getting an increase in showers by Tuesday or so. As you can see, there are variations in each days outlook, so stay tuned for more of them. ~~~ I'll be back with more weather updates Saturday morning, I hope you have a great Friday night wherever you're spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn. 

Friday evening film: There are many good films showing, which makes it a little difficult to pick just one. Although, after almost having to flip a coin, I've picked Killing Them Softly, starring Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Sam Rockwell, Mark Ruffalo, Ray Liotta, Linara Washington…among many others. The synopsis: Killing Them Softly is a darkly comic, visceral thriller that doubles as a cautionary tale on capitalism, whose message is delivered with sledgehammer force. ~~~ It's a mixed bag in terms of what the critics are saying about this film, from good to bad. In my way of thinking, there are so many good actors in this film, that I've always liked, how could it be anything but at least good. I'll let you know what I think in the morning, until then, here's the trailer, and by the way…its rough!

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:  Typhoon Bopha (26W) remains active in the South China Sea…located approximately 215 NM northwest of Manila, Philippines. Sustained winds are 85 knots, with gusts to near 105 knots. Bopha will gradual weaken throughout the remainder of its life, although getting very close to the west shore of Luzon Island, Philippines. Here's the JTWC graphical track map…along with a satellite image. Here's morphed integrated microwave imagery from CIMSS…as Bopha spins in the South China Sea…offshore from the Philippine Islands.

South Pacific Ocean:   There are no active tropical cyclones

North and South Indian Oceans:  Typhoon Claudia (03S) remains active in the South Indian Ocean…located approximately 450 NM south-southeast of Diego Garcia. Sustained winds have increased significantly over the last 12 hours, and are now 100 knots, with gusts to near 125 knots. 03S will increase in strength during the next 12 hours. Here's the JTWC graphical track map…along with a satellite image.

Interesting:  The 2012 Arctic Report Card is an annual description of the state of the Arctic that is sponsored by NOAA. The first Arctic Report Card was published in in 2006. Nearly 150 scientists from 15 countries contributed to this year's report. A major finding of the Report Card 2012 is that numerous record-setting melting events occurred, even though, with the exception of a few limited episodes, Arctic-wide it was an unremarkable year, relative to the previous decade, for a primary driver of melting – surface air temperatures.

From October 2011 through August 2012, positive (warm) temperature anomalies were relatively small over the central Arctic compared to conditions in recent years (2003-2010). Yet, in spite of these relatively moderate conditions, new records were set for sea ice extent, terrestrial snow extent, melting at the surface of the Greenland ice sheet, and permafrost temperature.

The Arctic is a polar region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Denmark (Greenland), Norway, the United States (Alaska), Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost.

The area can be defined as being north of the Arctic Circle, the approximate limit of the midnight sun and the polar night. Large changes are affecting Arctic climate and ecosystems, and, combined, these changes provide strong evidence of the overall momentum that has developed in the Arctic environmental system due to the impacts of a persistent warming trend that began over 30 years ago.

A major source of this momentum is the fact that changes in the sea ice cover, snow cover, glaciers and Greenland ice sheet all conspire to reduce the overall surface reflectivity of the region in the summer, when the sun is ever-present. In other words, bright, white surfaces that reflect summer sunlight are being replaced by darker surfaces, e.g., ocean and land, which absorb sunlight.

These conditions increase the capacity to store heat within the Arctic system, which enables more melting – a positive feedback. Thus, we arrive at the conclusion that it is very likely that major changes will continue to occur in the Arctic in years to come, particularly in the face of projections that indicate continued global warming.

A second key point in Report Card 2012 is that changes in the Arctic marine environment are affecting the terrestrial and marine ecosystems. During 2012, a number of record or near-record events occurred in relation to the Arctic terrestrial snow cover. Snow cover duration was the second shortest on record and new minimums were set for snow cover extent in May over Eurasia and in June (when snow still covers most of the Arctic region) over the Northern Hemisphere.

On land, new record high temperatures were measured at most permafrost observatories on the North Slope of Alaska and in the Brooks Range, Alaska, where measurements began in the late 1970s. In Greenland, surface melting on the ice sheet set new records, with melting in some locations lasting up to ~2 months longer than the average (1979-2011) and melting being detected by satellite instruments over ~97 % of the surface in July.

Sea ice extent in September 2012 reached the lowest observed in the satellite record (1979-present), with a related continued decline in the extent of thick multi-year ice that forms in the central Arctic Basin. This record was set despite a relatively high maximum sea-ice extent in March 2012, which was due to extensive ice in the Bering Sea.

March to September 2012 showed the largest seasonal decline in sea ice between the maximum and minimum extents during the satellite record. August 2012 was a period of exceptionally rapid ice loss, with accelerated decline during an intense storm in early August in the East Siberian and Chukchi seas. Observations of the Arctic marine ecosystem provide evidence of the impacts on the abundance and composition of phytoplankton communities.

For instance, new satellite remote sensing observations show ice-edge blooms throughout the Arctic and the importance of seasonal sea ice variability in regulating primary production. Changes in the terrestrial ecosystem are shown by vegetation and mammals. The tundra continues to become more green and in some locations above-ground plant biomass has increased by as much as 26% since 1982.

The length of the growing season increased throughout much of the Arctic, e.g., by ~30 days in Eurasia, between 2000 and 2010. In Europe, the Arctic fox population has declined to near extinction due to failure to recover from over-harvesting at the start of the 20th Century and the recent absence of lemming peaks populations. In contrast, the Arctic fox is abundant in North America. However, in both regions, the larger Red fox has been expanding northwards.