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

84  Lihue, Kauai
88  Honolulu, Oahu
84  Molokai
91  Kahului, Maui
85  Kona, Hawaii
84  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 910pm Friday evening:


Kailua Kona – 81
Hilo, Hawaii – 73


Haleakala Summit –   48 (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea Summit – 36 (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



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Trade winds picking up some into this weekend

A few windward showers, although limited…dry
leeward beaches





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

22  Port Allen, Kauai – NE
27  Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu – NNW
25  Molokai – ENE
28  Lanai – NE
29  Kahoolawe – NE
24  Lipoa, Maui – ENE
25  South Point, Big Island – NE


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

0.11  N Wailua Ditch, Kauai
0.10  Wilson Tunnel, Oahu
0.09  Molokai
0.00  Kahoolawe
0.00  Lanai
0.16  Puu Kukui, Maui
0.18  Ahumoa, 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 trade winds will gradually increase this weekend…continuing into the first part of the new work week ahead. Here’s a weather chart showing a couple of near 1020 millibar high pressure systems located to the northeast of the islands. There’s also a weak low pressure system to the south of the state. The models are now showing a reduction in our trade wind speeds by around the middle of the new week. This will occur as an area of low pressure edges towards our area aloft.

A few showers will visit the windward sides…although the next several days will be generally dry most other areas. Satellite imagery shows scattered low clouds over the ocean upstream of the islands, while the leeward sides were mostly clear to partly cloudy. There’s a new area of high clouds out over the ocean to our west. Here’s the looping radar image, showing a few showers falling over the nearby ocean…and over the central islands in places. ~~~ I’ll be back with your next new weather narrative Saturday morning. I hope you have a great Friday night wherever you’re spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.


Glenn on Maui: I was in the Haleakala Crater twice last week, walking down Sliding Sands Trail, with two different friends, it’s such a great place to visit…and just up the hill from me! I’m just heading out on my first two mile fast walk of the day, with a second scheduled for early this afternoon…I enjoy these very much! It’s Friday, so of course I’ll be checking out the latest films showing  in Kahului, and will let you know which one I decide on later in the day. So, it’s summer, full-on summer, and the weather here in the islands sure feels that way. I must admit that I’m already starting to look forward to the upcoming autumn season, for various reasons…which I’ll discuss in more detail at some point. It was another typical partly to mostly cloudy afternoon here in upcountry Maui…at least here in Kula. Glancing over towards the windward and leeward beaches, they look mostly clear in contrast. Interesting, looking at the latest news, it appears that the United States Navy is readying for an attack on Syria!

Friday night film: There are so many good looking films playing now, although several of them are just opening…which can often leave them too crowded. So, I’ll see one, that some of you may roll your eyes over, called The Wolverine. It stars Hugh Jackman, Will Yun Lee, Hiroyuki Sanada, Hal Yamanouchi, Rita Fukushima, and Famke Janssen…among many others. The synopsis: Logan, the eternal warrior and outsider, finds himself in Japan. Out of his depth in an unknown world, he will face a host of unexpected and deadly opponents in a life-or-death battle that will leave him forever changed. Vulnerable for the first time and pushed to his physical and emotional limits, he confronts not only lethal samurai steel but also his inner struggle against his own immortality. ~~~ Looking at what the reviews and critics say, they’re being quite generous with this action/adventure film. It’s a long 2 hours and 6 minutes, although I like long films usually. I know for sure that it’s going to be full of violence, and intense sci-fi action, which I don’t mind typically. If you’re interested in taking a look…here’s a trailer for you.



World-wide tropical cyclone activity:

Atlantic Ocean: There are no active tropical cyclones


TROPICAL CYCLONE FORMATION IS NOT EXPECTED DURING THE NEXT 48 HOURS

Caribbean Sea: There are no active tropical cyclones

THE NORTHERN PORTION OF A TROPICAL WAVE IS PRODUCING DISORGANIZED
CLOUDINESS…SHOWERS…AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE YUCATAN
PENINSULA…PORTIONS OF CENTRAL AMERICA…AND THE NORTHWESTERN
CARIBBEAN SEA. UPPER-LEVEL WINDS APPEAR FAVORABLE WHILE THIS
SYSTEM MOVES WESTWARD OVER THE BAY OF CAMPECHE LATE SATURDAY AND
SUNDAY…BUT SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENT IS UNLIKELY DUE TO ITS
PROXIMITY TO LAND. THIS SYSTEM HAS A LOW CHANCE…10 PERCENT…OF
BECOMING A TROPICAL CYCLONE DURING THE NEXT 48 HOURS…AND A LOW
CHANCE…10 PERCENT…OF BECOMING A TROPICAL CYCLONE DURING THE
NEXT 5 DAYS.


TROPICAL CYCLONE FORMATION IS NOT EXPECTED DURING THE NEXT 48 HOURS.


Gulf of Mexico: There are no active tropical cyclones

A TROUGH OF LOW PRESSURE IS PRODUCING DISORGANIZED SHOWERS AND
THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE NORTHERN GULF OF MEXICO. THIS ACTIVITY HAS
BEEN DIMINISHING DURING THE PAST FEW HOURS…AND THERE ARE NO
INDICATIONS OF A SURFACE CIRCULATION. THE TROUGH SHOULD REACH THE
TEXAS AND MEXICO COAST BY SATURDAY NIGHT…AND ANY DEVELOPMENT
BEFORE THEN IS BECOMING LESS LIKELY. THIS SYSTEM HAS A LOW
CHANCE…10 PERCENT…OF BECOMING A TROPICAL CYCLONE DURING THE
NEXT 48 HOURS…AND A LOW CHANCE…10 PERCENT…OF BECOMING A
TROPICAL CYCLONE DURING THE NEXT 5 DAYS.


ELSEWHERE…TROPICAL CYCLONE FORMATION IS NOT EXPECTED DURING THE NEXT 48 HOURS.

Here’s a satellite image showing this area of disturbed weather under investigation

Here’s the link to the National Hurricane Center (NHC)


Eastern Pacific: Tropical storm Ivo (09E) remains active in this part of the Pacific. Here’s a NHC graphical track map…along with a satellite image.

OTHER SYSTEMS WITH FORMATION POTENTIAL BEYOND 48 HOURS…

 

A TROPICAL WAVE IS MOVING ACROSS CENTRAL AMERICA AND ENTERING THE
EASTERN PACIFIC OCEAN.  ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS APPEAR CONDUCIVE
FOR DEVELOPMENT OF AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE SOUTH OF THE SOUTHERN
COAST OF MEXICO BY THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK.  THIS SYSTEM HAS A LOW
CHANCE...NEAR 0 PERCENT...OF BECOMING A TROPICAL CYCLONE DURING THE
NEXT 48 HOURS...AND A HIGH CHANCE...60 PERCENT...OF BECOMING A
TROPICAL CYCLONE DURING THE NEXT 5 DAYS.


Here’s a wide satellite image that covers the entire area between Mexico, out through the central Pacific…to the International Dateline.


Central Pacific Ocean: There are no active tropical cyclones


An area of thunderstorms about 800 miles south of Honolulu Hawaii moved west at around 15 mph. Convection associated with this feature pulsed irregularly, but satellite estimates of wind data suggested the presence of a low-pressure center. Excessive shear in the environment will only permit this feature to intensify slowly at most. The feature has a low chance, 10 percent, of becoming a tropical cyclone during the next 48 hours.


Here’s a link to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC)


Western Pacific Ocean: Tropical depression Pewa (01C) remains active in the western Pacific. Here’s the JTWC graphical track map…along with a NOAA satellite image


South Pacific Ocean: There are no active tropical cyclones

 

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


Here’s a link to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC)


Interesting: Refrigerated Trucks To Use Fuel Cell Technology – In order to transport our favorite ice creams, frozen foods, and fresh produce, certain trucks are equipped with powerful refrigeration systems often powered by small diesel engines. These engines are constantly running all the way from the manufacturers of these frozen goods to the market in order to keep these groceries frozen or cool. As a result, refrigeration trucks tend to use more energy and resources to run.


In an effort to reduce some reduce emissions and use a quieter, more efficient alternative to these refrigeration units, researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory are overseeing a project that will use an alternative energy source: fuel cells.


A project using trucks whose refrigeration units are powered by this clean technology will be conducted in Texas, California and New York.


The fuel cells will do the work normally done by a small diesel engine, which keeps the cargo at the proper temperature while the trucks are making deliveries. Each of the four trucks will still be equipped with a main diesel engine that actually powers the truck.


Researchers conducting the experiment believe this will be the first time that refrigerated trucks making deliveries have been equipped with a fuel cell — a device that creates electricity by driving chemical reactions using hydrogen and air. The only byproducts are heat and water.


“This is a great application for a fuel cell,” said Kriston Brooks, the PNNL researcher leading the project. “A trailer refrigeration unit traditionally is powered by a small diesel engine or electric motor that drives compressors to provide cooling to the cargo. A fuel cell can potentially provide a clean, quiet and efficient alternative by powering the electric motor.”


Industry officials estimate that approximately 300,000 refrigerated trucks with auxiliary power units are on the road in the United States. By replacing the small diesel engines with the more efficient fuel cell, users will see fuel savings of approximately 10 gallons a day per unit, in addition to reduced emission of pollutants and significantly quieter operation.


“Accelerated fuel cell use in this application is also expected to create jobs in the energy sector, increase fuel cell manufacturing volume, decrease costs, and catalyze a stronger domestic supplier base,” said Jamie Holladay, PNNL’s sector manager for fuel cell technologies.


Fuel cells are becoming more common as energy sources in buildings and in vehicles such as buses. While the devices are generally more expensive than traditional forms of energy generation, many scientists and product developers expect that as they become more widely adopted and production levels increase, their cost will come down, similar to what has happened to products like cell phones.