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

79  Lihue, Kauai
82  Honolulu, Oahu
80  Molokai
82  Kahului, Maui
86  Kona, Hawaii
81  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 743pm Saturday evening:

 

Kailua Kona – 80
Hana, Maui – 72


Haleakala Summit –   43  (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea Summit – 32 (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://images.placesonline.com/photos/19687_molokai_dixie_maru_beach.jpg

Returning trade winds, an occasional windward shower…
quite dry leeward areas – chilly into Sunday morning

 





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

23  Mana, Kauai – NNW
28  Kuaokala, Oahu – NNE
20  Molokai – SW
30  Lanai – NE
31  Kahoolawe – NE
15  Lipoa, Maui – NE
30  Kona Intl AP, Big Island – NNE


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

0.55  Kilohana, Kauai
0.40  Hakipuu Mauka, Oahu
0.81  Molokai
0.00  Lanai
0.00  Kahoolawe
1.02  Hana airport, Maui
0.72  Honokaa, 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 ~~~



Our local winds will gradually swing around from the northeast and east-northeast trade wind direction…prevailing through about Tuesday. Here’s the latest weather map, showing the Hawaiian Islands, and the rest of the Pacific Ocean. These trade winds will begin to strength some Sunday into Monday. Weather models suggest that the trades will turn back to the southeast or south by mid-week, and become quite gusty…as a new cold front approaches the state next Thursday into Friday.

Skies will be Clear to partly cloudy along our windward sides…and generally clear in the leeward areas. Satellite imagery shows a few clouds being carried to the windward coasts and slopes, while the leeward beaches were generally quite nice. Here’s the looping radar image, showing just a few showers falling along the north and northeast sections of the islands from Maui County to the Big Island. Favorably inclined weather conditions, although slightly cooler weather will prevail into Sunday morning. As we get into later Sunday, typical trade wind weather conditions will prevail for several days. Later in the new week ahead we will see increasing showers, some locally heavy, as the next cold front arrives later Thursday into Friday. I’ll be back Sunday morning with your next new weather narrative. I hope you have a great Saturday night wherever you’re spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.

Friday evening film: This time around I’ll be seeing a new film, just one among many that are looking pretty good to me now. This one is called Captain Phillips, starring Tom Hanks and Barkhad Abdi, among many others. The synopsis: Captain Phillips is a multi-layered examination of the 2009 hijacking of the U.S. container ship Maersk Alabama, by a crew of Somali pirates. It is – through director Paul Greengrass’s distinctive lens – simultaneously a pulse-pounding thriller, and a complex portrait of the myriad effects of globalization. The film focuses on the relationship between the Alabama’s commanding officer, Captain Richard Phillips (two time Academy Award winner Tom Hanks), and the Somali pirate captain, Muse (Barkhad Abdi), who takes him hostage. Phillips and Muse are set on an unstoppable collision course, when Muse and his crew target Phillips’ unarmed ship; in the ensuing standoff, 145 miles off the Somali coast, both men will find themselves at the mercy of forces beyond their control. ~~~ The critics are giving this film a double thumbs up rating across the board, and I will chime in likewise. There’s just a couple of things I want to say about this film, the first is that it was so intense, and the second was that I liked it very much, and finally it was thoroughly entertaining. In my book, it deserves a solid B+ grade…here’s the trailer if you’re interested.



World-wide tropical cyclone activity:


Atlantic Ocean: There are no active tropical cyclones


Here’s a satellite image of the Atlantic Ocean

Caribbean Sea: There are no active tropical cyclones

Gulf of Mexico: There are no active tropical cyclone

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 cyclone


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: There are no active tropical cyclones


South Pacific Ocean: There are no active tropical cyclones


North and South Indian Oceans: Tropical Cyclone 02S (Alessia) remains active in the south Indian Ocean. Here’s the JTWC graphical track map, along with a satellite image.


Tropical Cyclone 05B is now active in the northern Indian Ocean. Here’s the JTWC graphical track map, along with a satellite image.


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


Interesting:  Plastic Bags – Recycle them or ban them?  California has become an interesting test-case for both approaches to one plastic problem.


Back in 2006, California passed a law that mandated a system for recycling plastic shopping bags. Today, supermarkets and other large stores have receptacles where plastic bags can be returned for recycling.


However, a recent report from the Associated Press found that it’s difficult to measure how successful this program has been. They found that the data collected by the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery has not been analyzed since 2009, when about 3 percent of bags made it to recycling. The department did provide reporters with the raw data:


“Retailers reported purchasing 62.3 million pounds of bags in 2012, down from 107.4 million in 2008. They reported 4 million pounds of bags and 27 million pounds of mixed bags and plastic film were returned for recycling in 2012.


But those figures don’t reveal how many bags were recycled. A study by California State University, Sacramento, which calculated previous recycling rates, showed the store-submitted totals for collected bags often included other materials. Without verifying the stores’ totals, it’s impossible to say how much was from bags, plastic film or general garbage.”


Spokesman Mark Oldfield said the recycling department doesn’t have enough funding to do the proper analysis.


The recycling program stands in contrast to plastic bag bans, which have been passed in over 80 California cities and municipalities. Los Angeles will have a ban going into effect in January.


Eric Bradley, reporting for the Press-Telegram, spoke with Environmental Services Bureau Manager Jim Kuhl about the success of Long Beach’s ban. Kuhl says that the community now has 100 percent compliance, and has only had one infraction since the ban was introduced two years ago.