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

85  Lihue, Kauai
86  Honolulu, Oahu
85  Molokai
89  Kahului, Maui 
85  Kona, Hawaii
86  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 – 74


Haleakala Summit –   48 (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea Summit – 39 (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



http://ocean.si.edu/sites/default/files/photos/QuincyDein_BoogieBoardMakena.jpg

Our trade winds will remain active…with fewer showers
into the weekend…high cirrus clouds – good sunset
and sunrise colors

Small Craft Wind Advisory…parts of Maui County and the
Big Island’s coastal and channel waters




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

18  Port Allen, Kauai – ENE
27  Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu – NNE
28  Molokai – SW
27  Lanai – NE
31  Kahoolawe NE
22  Kahului, Maui – NE
31  South Point, Big Island – NE


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

1.05  Mount Waialeale, Kauai
0.25  Punaluu Stream, Oahu
0.02  Molokai
0.00  Kahoolawe
0.00  Lanai
0.16  Puu Kukui, Maui
0.45  Piihonua, 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 be moderately strong for the most part, through the weekend…then becoming lighter going into the new week. Here’s a weather chart showing high pressure centers to the northwest and northeast of the state. At the same time, we see the tail-end of a cold front, which is a trough of low pressure to the northwest and west of Kauai. The forecast has our trades continuing, becoming a bit stronger this weekend…then lighter starting Monday.

There will be a few windward showers…although drier into the weekend. Satellite imagery shows only high cirrus clouds continuing to move over the entire state. The lower level clouds below these cirrus, aren’t visible at the time of this writing. Here’s the looping radar image, showing just a few light showers moving by, mostly over the offshore waters, arriving over the windward coasts and slopes in a few spots. Showers will be limited this weekend, although should increase near Kauai and Oahu by Monday and Tuesday.


In sum: The trades have increased a touch, and will remain gusty through the first half of the weekend…then begin calming down later Sunday for few days. The NWS forecast office in Honolulu issued a small craft wind advisory, to address this quickening trade wind flow. Conditions should continue to be rather dry into the weekend however, there will be a few along our windward sides. The high clouds which we’ve seen lately, will stick around, which will dim and filter our Hawaiian sunshine during the day, and provide nice colors at sunset and sunrise. As we push into the new work week ahead, our winds will drop a notch or two, along with a possible increase in showers…especially around the western side of the island chain. ~~~ I’ll be back with many more weather updates a little later this evening, I hope you have a great Friday wherever you’re spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.

Friday evening film: This week I’m going to see a film that has garnered a low rating from the critics, although lots of viewers seem to have enjoyed sitting through it. It’s called The Chronicles of Riddick, starring Vin Diesel, Judi Dench, Karl Urban, Thandie Newton, Colm Feore, and Alexa Davalos…among others. The synopsis: Vin Diesel returns as the nocturnally gifted antihero Riddick in this sequel to the 2000 cult item Pitch Black. Riddick, on the run from the law and evading mercenaries eager to claim the price on his head, seeks refuge on the planet of Helion, only to discover he’s walked into a world in chaos. Helion has been seized by the Lord Marshall (Colm Feore), leader of the Necromongers, a race of blood-thirsty warriors determined to wipe out humanity throughout the universe. Aereon (Judi Dench), leader of Helion’s “elementals,” pleads with Riddick to join them in their fight for survival; Riddick agrees, hoping to fill out some of the blank chapters in his history along the way. As he plots his battle strategy against the Necromongers, Riddick becomes reacquainted with Kyra (Alexa Davalos), whom he knew as a girl but has since grown into a strong and beautiful woman eager to join him in the fight against the Lord Marshall.


This film is being billed as an action adventure, and a sci-fi fantasy. This kind of film will have all the trouble that one could possibly bring to the screen, pulling me into it as usual! I’ll be sure to let you know what I thought early Saturday morning…not that that many of you will want to know! Here’s the trailer, in case you have the slightest interest in viewing it.


World-wide tropical cyclone activity:


Atlantic Ocean: There are no active tropical cyclones

A SMALL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM LOCATED ABOUT 800 MILES EAST-NORTHEAST
OF THE NORTHERN LEEWARD ISLANDS IS PRODUCING WINDS TO NEAR GALE
FORCE.  HOWEVER...THE ASSOCIATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE
CURRENTLY DISORGANIZED AND DISPLACED NORTH OF THE CENTER OF THE
LOW.  UPPER-LEVEL WINDS COULD BECOME MORE CONDUCIVE FOR DEVELOPMENT
OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS WHILE THE LOW MOVES NORTHWARD AND THEN
NORTHEASTWARD AT 10 TO 15 MPH...AND THIS SYSTEM HAS A MEDIUM
CHANCE...40 PERCENT...OF BECOMING A TROPICAL CYCLONE DURING THE
NEXT 48 HOURS.  AFTER THAT TIME...ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS APPEAR
MARGINALLY CONDUCIVE FOR DEVELOPMENT...AND THE SYSTEM HAS A MEDIUM
CHANCE...50 PERCENT...OF BECOMING A TROPICAL CYCLONE DURING THE
NEXT 5 DAYS.  ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS SYSTEM CAN BE FOUND IN
HIGH SEAS FORECASTS ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE.


Here’s a satellite image showing this area to the east of the Leeward Islands


Here’s a satellite image of the Atlantic Ocean


Caribbean Sea: There are no active tropical cyclones

A BROAD AREA OF LOW PRESSURE IS EXPECTED TO FORM OVER THE
SOUTHWESTERN CARIBBEAN SEA DURING THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS…AND
CONDITIONS COULD BE CONDUCIVE FOR SOME DEVELOPMENT NEXT WEEK WHILE
THE SYSTEM MOVES TOWARD THE NORTHWESTERN CARIBBEAN SEA AND
SOUTHEASTERN GULF OF MEXICO. THIS SYSTEM HAS A LOW CHANCE…NEAR 0
PERCENT…OF BECOMING A TROPICAL CYCLONE DURING THE NEXT 48 HOURS
AND A LOW CHANCE…20 PERCENT…OF BECOMING A TROPICAL CYCLONE
DURING THE NEXT 5 DAYS.


Gulf of Mexico: There are no active tropical cyclones


Here’s a satellite image of the Caribbean Sea…and the Gulf of Mexico.


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


Eastern Pacific: There are no active tropical cyclones

A WEAK AND ELONGATED AREA OF LOW PRESSURE LOCATED OFF THE
WEST-CENTRAL COAST OF MEXICO IS PRODUCING LIMITED SHOWER AND
THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY.  ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO
BECOME LESS CONDUCIVE FOR DEVELOPMENT OVER THE WEEKEND...AND THE
POTENTIAL FOR TROPICAL CYCLONE FORMATION APPEARS TO BE DECREASING. 
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 WHILE MOVING
GENERALLY WESTWARD AT 5 TO 10 MPH.  LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS ARE STILL
POSSIBLE NEAR THE WEST-CENTRAL COAST OF MEXICO THROUGH SATURDAY.


Here’s a satellite image showing this area just off the south south coast of Mexico.


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


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


Western Pacific Ocean: Tropical storm 20W (Wutip) remains active over the South China Sea. Here’s a 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: Earlier this week, the government of Norway pledged US$23.7 million to conserve and sustainably manage some of the world’s most important food crops, citing the critical need for crop diversity at a time when populations are soaring and climate change is threatening staples like rice and maize, according to the Global Crop Diversity Trust (GCDT).


“In just 10 years we will have a billion more people at the global dinner table, but during that same time we could see climate change diminish rice production by 10 percent with a one-degree increase in temperature,” said Marie Haga, executive director of the GCDT. “Our best hedge against disaster is to make sure we have a wide array of food crops at our disposal to keep harvests healthy in the bread baskets of the world.”


Crop diversity, which is conserved in farmers’ fields and genebanks around the world, has dwindled as farmers have steadily cultivated a narrower range of crop varieties and as genebanks have suffered from insufficient funding. Meanwhile, a recent study of the 29 most important food crops revealed severe threats to over half of their wild relatives – species that can hold valuable traits for plant breeders.


Worldwide, agriculture depends on a relatively small number of crops; only about 150 are used on a significant scale. Individual crops, such as the 20,000 varieties of wheat, have different traits for drought or heat tolerance, nutritional quality, disease resistance, and other characteristics. Today, much of the world’s crop diversity is neither safely conserved nor readily available to scientists and farmers who rely on it to safeguard agricultural productivity, according to the GCDT.

Limited crop diversity could prove dangerous in the context of climate change, as extreme and unpredictable weather events place unprecedented pressures on our ability to grow the food we need. Diversity is being lost, according to the GCDT, and with it the biological basis of our food supply.


The announcement of Norway’s new investment in crop diversity came at the opening of the fifth session of the Governing Body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. The meeting drew more than 450 participants from governments, science, and civil society to Muscat, Oman, where they discussed plans for sharing food crop varieties among farmers and plant breeders around the world.