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

Lihue, Kauai –                         77  
Honolulu airport, Oahu –       83  
Molokai airport –                      82

Kahului airport, Maui –             82
 
Kona airport     –                     81  

Hilo airport, Hawaii –                75

Air Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level – and on the highest mountain tops around the state…as of 630pm Sunday evening:

Barking Sands, Kauai – 78
Kapalua, Maui – 73

Haleakala Summit    43       (near 10,000 feet on Maui)

Mauna Loa Summit –  M      (near 13,800 feet on the Big Island)

Hawaii’s MountainsHere’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…if it's available.

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

http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large/the-realm-of-joy-and-pleasure-sharon-mau.jpg

 
Our winds will be from the trade wind direction, remaining
strong tonight – gradually easing up Monday onwards, although
the models suggest they will increase again greatly by 
the
 upcoming weekend…after they slow down during the week

Clear to partly cloudy, with some cloudy periods, showers,
especially windward sections, although elsewhere at times
 

Small Craft Advisory
for strong and gusty winds…
producing hazardous seas – most marine zones

High Surf Advisoryrough and choppy waves
on the east shores

Wind Advisory for the summit of the Haleakala Crater –
  trade winds 30-35 mph, localized over 45 mph at times


~~~Air temperature at 540am HST Monday morning,
with mostly clear skies, calm winds…at my upcountry
Kula, Maui weather tower: 52.7F degrees~~~

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

32       Lihue, Kauai – ENE
46       Kahuku Trng, Oahu – NE

46       Molokai – NE 
   
52       Kahoolawe – NE

43       Lipoa, Maui – SE 
 

43       PTA Kipuka Alala, Big Island – ESE


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

 

3.09          Mount Waialeale, Kauai
0.52          Pupukea Road, Oahu

0.02          Molokai

0.00          Kahoolawe

1.53          Kaupo Gap, Maui
1.31          Pua Akala, 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 imageand finally the latest looping radar image for the Hawaiian Islands.


                   ~~~ Hawaii Weather Commentary ~~~
 


Our winds will remain active from the trade wind direction…remaining strong into Monday.  Here's a weather chart showing a strong near 1037 millibar high pressure center to the northeast of Hawaii. At the same time, we find a cold front far to the northwest approaching…although it's expected to pass by to our north over the next few days. The trade winds will remain well established, although gradually be mellowing-out moving forward. 

There will continue to be periods of clouds with showers…although dry clear periods too. Here's a satellite image, showing clear skies, although with partly to mostly cloudy skies in places this evening too. There was a small area of high cirrus clouds near Kauai…and a large area of cirrus east and southeast of the Big Island. Here's a larger satellite view of all the clouds that are located over the islands, and in all directions…out over the ocean.   The still blustery trade winds will carry showery clouds our way at times…especially as off and on passing showers along our windward sides.  Some of these windward biased showers will be carried over into the leeward sides…on the smaller islands. 

We still have an unusual array of wind and surf related warnings and advisories…active across the Hawaiian Islands this evening.  Small craft wind advisory flags remain up over all of our marine environment…from Kauai down to the Big Island. We have a gale warning in effect for the Pailolo (between Molokai and Maui) and Alenuihaha Channels (between Maui and the Big Island), and the area south of the Big Island. We also have wind advisories up over parts of Maui County and the Big Island. Finally, we have a high surf advisory posted along our east facing shores statewide. To have a couple of these active isn't too unusual, although to have all of them going off at the same timeis not common. It appears that we will lose some of these long lasting advisories by Monday.

Winds were gusting up into the 35-60+ mph range today, making for very rough and choppy ocean conditions. We do see light at the end of the tunnel however, as the trade winds will begin to ease up slowly and gradually, moving forward from here. The weather models show a cold front passing by to the north of the state over the next couple of days, which will help to bring our gusty wind speeds down a couple of notches. Looking a bit further ahead, the models are showing that we could get back into blustery, and locally wet conditions by Friday, into next weekend…stay tuned. I'll be back early Monday morning with your next new weather narrative, I hope you have a great Sunday night wherever you're spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.

Friday night film: This week there were so many new, and great looking films that have hit our local theaters here on Maui. My neighbors Jeff and Svetlana, some friends Jill and Clive, and I, went down to Kahului for dinner and to see a film that we figured might be a bit challenging, although good. This week it was the new one called Django Unchained, directed by Quentin Tarantino, and starring Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Samuel L. Jackson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kurt Russell, Laura Cayouette, Don Johnson, Misty Upham, Catherine Lambert…among many others.

The synopsis: Django is a slave whose brutal history with his former owners lands him face-to-face with German-born bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz. Schultz is on the trail of the murderous Brittle brothers, and only Django can lead him to his bounty. The unorthodox Schultz acquires Django with a promise to free him upon the capture of the Brittles — dead or alive. Success leads Schultz to free Django, though the two men choose not to go their separate ways. Instead, Schultz seeks out the South's most wanted criminals with Django by his side. Honing vital hunting skills, Django remains focused on one goal: finding and rescuing Broomhilda, the wife he lost to the slave trade long ago. Django and Schultz's search ultimately leads them to Calvin Candie, the proprietor of "Candyland," an infamous plantation. Exploring the compound under false pretenses, Django and Schultz arouse the suspicion of Stephen, Candie's trusted house slave. Their moves are marked, and a treacherous organization closes in on them. If Django and Schultz are to escape with Broomhilda, they must choose between independence and solidarity, between sacrifice and survival.

If you know Quentin Tarrantino films, they are anything but gentle and mild! This film is being given an R rating, for strong language, graphic violence throughout, vicious fighting, and some nudity. This is not for the faint of heart, and I must admit…I had to advert my eyes at least once! It has been given high rankings by most of the critics, so we were open to exposing ourselves to this kind of hard core stuff on the screen. It was a long film, lasting 2 hours and 45 minutes, although that wasn't a problem. We all knew what we were getting ourselves into, and we all had smiles on our faces as we left the theater. I took the pulse of all five of us, as we gathered afterwards, and the grades reeled off our tongues easily: A, A-. A, A, A-. It was a very well done film, and was captivating in many, many ways. Could I recommend this film to any of you? Absolutely not, not in good conscious, although was it a great film…absolutely!  Here's the trailer for Django Unchained.

Saturday night dancing excursion: My neighbors Jeff and Svetlana and I…had a wild idea to go dancing last night. We left upper Kula at around 930pm after having late espressos, and took the 40 minute drive down the mountain to south Kihei. We found this one area, where there were 4-5 small dance clubs all close together, with either a small band, or a DJ playing in each. It was really a lot of fun, with good music playing, and plenty of room on the dance floors. It was a long ways to go, and we didn't get back home until after 1am this morning. However, we all three said we would be going back again soon, maybe again this next Saturday night already!

Music note: Many of you regular readers know that I add youtube music videos here sometimes. It's fun to share them with you, I enjoy it. At any rate, as part of a few new things in 2013…I'd like to invite you to submit a music video yourself. I'll post it here, along with your name and where you live (please include that). Does that sound like fun? Who doesn't like music, and sharing a favorite song! So, send me one, or let me know one of your favorite ones, and I'll try to find it on youtube.com. Use the comment box on the bottom of this page, or email me using the address down there too.

>Nancy Lorenz, Sebastopol, CaliforniaRy Cooder, Gabby Pahinui and Atta Isaacs – Yellow Roses

>Glenn James, Kula, Maui…Bread – Make It With You

>Bob Earle, Placerville, California…Carrie Rodrigues – Big Love / full screen please

>Blue Smith, Kaneohe, Oahu…Golden Silvers – Another Universe

>Dorothy James, Long Beach, California…Barbra Streisand – The Way We Were

>Or something like this…which is very cool! – full screen please

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 01W (Sonamu) remains active in the South China Sea…located approximately 290 NM south-southeast of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Sustained winds were 30 knots, with gusts to near 40 knots. This tropical depression will be showing a steady decrease in strength…as it moves across the open ocean. 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:  There are no active tropical cyclones