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

79  Lihue, Kauai
81  Honolulu, Oahu
82  Molokai
83  Kahului, Maui
83  Kona, Hawaii
80  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 Thursday evening:

 

Kailua Kona – 78
Hilo, Hawaii – 69


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://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MOEdc0c6784/UlBAbOgifLI/AAAAAAAAaHM/zEIldDeARf0/s1600/Incredible_Cliff_House_Property_On_Big_Island_Hawaii_world_of_architecture_02.jpeg

East to east-southeast winds…generally on the light side

Clear to partly cloudy, with some cloudy periods…
with a few showers through Saturday


Becoming locally voggy

Nice sunrise colors Friday morning…locally


The tail-end of a cold front will bring showers to Kauai and
perhaps Oahu later Friday into Saturday…followed by an
increase in showers on the Big Island end of the chain
Sunday into early next week





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

17  Mana, Kauai – NW
16  Kuaokala, Oahu – NNE
16  Molokai – ESE
13  Lanai – SW
22  Kahoolawe – ENE
15  Lipoa, Maui – SE
24  Upolu airport, Big Island – NE


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

0.03  Hanapepe, Kauai
0.01  Kalaeoloa airport, Oahu
0.00  Molokai
0.00  Lanai
0.00  Kahoolawe
0.18  Hana airport, Maui
0.56  Glenwood, 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 winds will come in from the east to east-southeast through the next several days. Here’s the latest weather map, showing the Hawaiian Islands, and the rest of the Pacific Ocean. We find a strong near 1034 millibar high pressure system far to the northeast of the state, with the tail-end of its associated ridge offshore to the northeast of the central islands. At the same time, we see a storm low pressure system to the north of the state, with the low’s cold front offshore to the northwest. We’ll continue to see our winds coming in from the east to east-southeast across the state. Wind speeds will vary, although be light for the most part. There will however be times when the winds become a bit stronger here and there.

The islands remain quite dry, with just a few showers falling here and there…increasing on Kauai and perhaps Oahu later Friday into Saturday. Satellite imagery shows low level clouds over parts of Maui County and the Big Island, with those bright white areas of high cirrus clouds, oriented from southwest to northeast over the islands from Kauai down into Maui County. The low clouds around early this evening will evaporate quickly as the sun goes down. Here’s the looping radar image, showing a few showers falling, mostly over the nearby ocean, although some of which are being carried over the islands in places…especially Maui County and the Big Island at the time of this writing.

Most of whatever showers that are around, will fall along our windward sides through Saturday. Although, there will be a few light showers over the leeward slopes during the afternoon hours locally at times too. The tail-end of a weak cold front will brush Kauai and perhaps Oahu later Friday into Saturday morning, bringing an increase in showers then. As we get into later Sunday or early next week, we could see some changes…with our weather turning wetter then, especially around the Big Island and perhaps Maui. If the models are right about this shift in our winds towards the southeast, we could see thickening volcanic haze too, stay tuned…as this is not a sure thing. Taking an even further look ahead, the models show another cold front approaching the state during the second half of next week. I’ll be back early Friday morning with your next new weather narrative, I hope you have a great Thursday night wherever you’re spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.


 
World-wide tropical cyclone activity:


Atlantic Ocean: The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1st through November 30th…and has now ended


Here’s a satellite image of the Atlantic Ocean

Caribbean Sea:

Gulf of Mexico:

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: The Eastern Pacific hurricane season runs from May 15th through November 30th…and has now ended. Here’s the 2013 hurricane season summary


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: The Central Pacific hurricane season runs from June 1st through November 30th…and has now ended. Here’s the 2013 hurricane season summary


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 06B has formed in the north 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: A whale of a tale in the North Pacific – Five distinct humpback whale populations have been identified in the North Pacific clearing the way for these great mammals to be designated as distinct populations segment by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The study is an internationally collaborative effort including United States, Japan, Russia, Mexico, Canada, the Philippines, Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua and Guatemala under the byline SPLASH (Structure of Populations, Levels of Abundance and Status of Humpbacks).


Led by Scott Baker, associate director at the Marine Mammal Institute at Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center the team examined nearly 2,200 tissue biopsy samples collected from humpback whales in 10 feeding regions and eight winter breeding regions during a three-year international study.


They used sequences of maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA and “microsatellite genotypes,” or DNA profiles, to both describe the genetic differences and outline migratory connections between both breeding and feeding grounds.


“Though humpback whales are found in all oceans of the world, the North Pacific humpback whales should probably be considered a sub-species at an ocean-basin level — based on genetic isolation of these populations on an evolutionary time scale,” says Baker.


“Within this North Pacific sub-species, however, our results support the recognition of multiple distinct populations,” Baker added. “They differ based on geographic distribution and with genetic differentiations as well, and they have strong fidelity to their own breeding and feeding areas.”


While humpback whales are listed as endangered in the United States under the Endangered Species Act, they have been downlisted by the IUCN globally. However, the IUCN recently added two population segments as endangered: one in the Sea of Arabia, and the other in Oceania. Baker says this sets a precedent for the newly identified populations in the North Pacific to be listed as endangered too.


How management authorities respond to the study identifying the distinct populations remains to be seen, Baker said, but the situation “underscores the complexity of studying and managing marine mammals on a global scale.”


The five populations identified in the study are: Okinawa and the Philippines; a second West Pacific population with unknown breeding grounds; Hawaii, Mexico and Central America.