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

80  Lihue, Kauai
84  Honolulu, Oahu
82  Molokai
84  Kahului, Maui
83  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 930pm Friday evening:

 

Kailua Kona – 78
Hilo, Hawaii – 70


Haleakala Summit –   46
(near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea Summit – 36 (13,000+ feet on the Big Island)


Hawaii’s MountainsHere’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://www.kauaiexplorer.com/img/hiking/kalalau.jpg


East to east-southeast winds on the light side…locally stronger

Clear to partly cloudy, with some cloudy periods…a few
showers through Saturday on Oahu down through Maui
County and the Big Island

A cold front near Kauai will bring some showers
to that island into Saturday morning


Becoming locally voggy later this weekend

High Surf Advisory…building north-northwest swell





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

13  Poipu, Kauai – NE
25  Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu – NNE
21  Molokai – SE
22  Lanai – NE
27  Kahoolawe – NE
14  Lipoa, Maui – ESE
25  South Point, Big Island – NE


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


2.05  Wainiha, Kauai
0.13  Manoa Lyon Arboretum, Oahu
0.01  Molokai
0.01  Lanai
0.00  Kahoolawe
0.62  Ulupalakua, Maui
0.46  Kapapala Ranch, 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 be from the east to east-southeast for the most part. Here’s the latest weather map, showing the Hawaiian Islands, and the rest of the Pacific Ocean. We find a near 1029 millibar high pressure system to the northeast of the state, with the tail-end of its associated ridge offshore to the northeast of the central islands. Far to the northwest, we second a second near 1026 millibar high pressure cell, with its ridge running southeast to the north of the state. At the same time, we see two storm low pressure systems to the north of the state, with the low’s cold front near Kauai. We’ll continue to see our winds coming in from the east-southeast to southeast across the state, in most areas through the weekend into Monday. Trade winds will make a short appearance Tuesday and Wednesday, followed by more southeasterly breezes for several days thereafter.

A weak cold front has stalled near Kauai, bringing some showers….otherwise just a few showers elsewhere at times.
Satellite imagery shows clouds over parts of the state, with those bright white areas of high cirrus clouds, oriented from southwest to northeast over the islands from Kauai down to near Oahu…and another area of cirrus over the Big Island to near Maui. Here’s the looping radar image, showing a few showers falling over the islands, although mostly over the nearby ocean at the time of this writing.

As our winds become gradually lighter, we’ll see a few light showers over the leeward slopes during the afternoon hours locally at times. The tail-end of a weak cold front has stalled near Kauai, bringing a modest increase in showers…then pulling away from the islands tonight into Saturday. Our winds will continue to come in from the east to east-southeast, with volcanic haze likely arriving later this weekend. The trades are forecast to return for a couple of days, around Tuesday and Wednesday, hopefully ventilating whatever vog that’s around then. Taking an even further look ahead, the models show another cold front approaching the state during the middle of the new week ahead. This will likely bring the vog back over us again then, followed by some frontal shower activity. I’ll be back early Saturday morning with your next new weather narrative, I hope you have a great Friday night wherever you’re spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.


Friday evening film:
There are some good looking choices this week, although I want to see one that I don’t want to see leave…and miss it. It’s one called The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Donald Sutherland, Woody Harrelson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Stanley Tucci, Willow Shields, and Amanda Plummer…among many others. The synopsis: This film begins as Katniss Everdeen has returned home safe, after winning the 74th Annual Hunger Games, along with fellow tribute Peeta Mellark. Winning means that they must turn around and leave their family and close friends, embarking on a “Victor’s Tour” of the districts. Along the way Katniss senses that a rebellion is simmering, but the Capitol is still very much in control, as President Snow prepares the 75th Annual Hunger Games (The Quarter Quell) – a competition that could change Panem forever. ~~~ The critics are being pretty generous with this film, giving it high B’s and even lower A ratings. Although, with that said, and as I read more viewer feedback, there are quite a few folks who didn’t think so highly of it too. I’ll go see it, and let you know what my neighbor Jeff and I though of it tomorrow morning. Here’s the trailer to this film, in case you’re interested.



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 remains active 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.