Hawaiian Islands Weather details & Aloha Paragraphs / August 21-22, 2013

Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures (F) were recorded across the state of Hawaii Wednesday:

85  Lihue, Kauai
87  Honolulu, Oahu
86  Molokai
91  Kahului, Maui
87  Kona, Hawaii
83  Hilo, Hawaii

Air Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level – and on the highest mountain tops on Maui and the Big Island…as of 830pm Wednesday evening:

Kailua Kona – 81
Hana airport, Maui  – 75

Haleakala Summit –   50 (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea Summit – 37 (13,000+ 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 – if it’s working.

Aloha Paragraphs

Light east to southeast winds through most of Thursday…gradually
increasing thereafter into the weekend and beyond

A few windward showers at night…some afternoon
upcountry showers falling locally

Quite muggyy with locally voggy skies

Still a big just past Full Moon tonight

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

15  Waimea Heights, Kauai – SE
18  Kahuku Trng, Oahu – SE
18  Molokai – E
09  Lanai – SW
28  Kahoolawe – NE
18  Lipoa, Maui -NE
21  South Point, Big Island – NE

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

0.52  Mount Waialeale, Kauai
3.42  Kahana, Oahu
0.00  Molokai
0.00  Kahoolawe
0.00  Lanai
0.02  Hana airport, Maui
0.20  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 Narrative ~~~

The winds remain quite light and locally from the southeast, which is unusual for our summer season…then gradually increasing in speed from the trade wind direction Friday into the weekend. Here’s a weather chart showing high pressure systems located far to the northwest and northeast of the islands. There’s also tropical disturbances and troughs to the northwest and southwest and south of the islands. Our winds will remain lighter than usual from the east to southeast through Thursday…then gradually become stronger and gusty by the weekend.

Generally favorable weather prevails, with a few windward showers at night...and a few upcountry afternoon showers locally on Thursday. Satellite imagery shows scattered low cloud patches over the ocean surrounding the islands, and especially east of Maui and the Big Island….and around Kauai. The leeward sides will be mostly clear to partly cloudy during the mornings…with cloudy areas and localized showers in the upcountry areas during the afternoon hours Thursday. Here’s the looping radar image, showing a few showers falling over the nearby ocean…especially south of Kauai at the time of this writing.  ~~~ I’ll be back with your next new weather narrative early Thursday. I hope you have a great Wednesday night from wherever you’re spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.

 

World-wide tropical cyclone activity:

Atlantic Ocean: There are no active tropical cyclones

Interesting: Warning Labels for Gasoline Pumps? – Tobacco packaging warning messages have recently been required on cigarettes and other tobacco products in many countries worldwide, in an effort to enhance the public’s awareness of the harmful effects of smoking.

In a similar fashion, a Canadian campaign is calling for all gasoline pumps to have warming labels on nozzles to inform consumers on the effects fuels have on climate change.

Michelle Reeves at Our Horizon, the non-profit executing the campaign, states, “It’s a cheap, simple idea that has the potential to change the way we think about, and address, climate change. They are modeled after cigarette package warning labels, which have been proven to work. Some people’s behavior might change, but our ultimate goal is to create a shift in the political will to demand for alternatives, and create a space in the market for affordable alternative mobility solutions.”

Images featured on the mock-up labels include a drought-stricken landscape, at-risk species, and a vibrant coral reef contrasted with a dead ocean floor, to name a few.

The images are accompanied by a simple “warning” in red and white text on a black background. Sample messages include: “Use of this fuel product contributes to smog which may cause asthma and other respiratory problems in children” and “Demand for this fuel product may harm wildlife and damage ecosystems”.

Climate change is a very real threat and the campaign hopes to “create a shift in the social environment to facilitate action on climate change.”

For those of us who don’t pump our own gas (New Jerseyans and Oregonians), the labels won’t have much of an effect. But if the fuel dispenser labels follow the same trends as the cigarette labels, there seems to be promise for creating awareness in the rest of the United States and Canada. Once there is some traction in North America, Our Horizon plans on taking this idea global.

The success of the gas-pump labeling campaign hopes to parallel the success of tobacco warning labels. A 2009 review on the effects of tobacco warning labels summarizes that “There is clear evidence that tobacco package health warnings increase consumers’ knowledge about the health consequences of tobacco use.” The warning messages “contribute to changing consumers’ attitudes towards tobacco use as well as changing consumers’ behavior.”

Being reminded at the pump of what small things we do that may contribute to pollution and indirectly to climate change will allow us to connect our daily activities to a bigger picture. Similarly, gas pump warnings will be a means to educate the public on climate change.