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

74  Lihue, Kauai
79  Honolulu, Oahu
79  Molokai
82  Kahului, Maui
80  Kona, Hawaii
78  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 810pm Thursday evening:

 

Kailua Kona – 77
Lihue, Kauai
– 72


Haleakala Summit –   46
(near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea Summit – 37 (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.

 


Aloha Paragraphs

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/west/hi/ir4.jpg

http://radar.weather.gov/Conus/RadarImg/hawaii.gif

Some showers, at least locally, fewer than
the last several days…still a few heavy


Generally light winds…trade winds return
Friday into the weekend








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


20  Mana, Kauai – NNW
12  Waianae Valley, Oahu – SSW
14  Molokai – NNE
18  Lanai – NW
18  Kahoolawe – NW

10  Kaupo Gap, Maui – SW
28  South Point, Big Island – NE


Here are the latest 24-hour precipitation totals (inches) for each of the islands…as of Thursday evening (545pm totals):


1.14  Waialae, Kauai
0.55  Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu
0.03  Molokai
0.06  Lanai
0.00  Kahoolawe
0.15  Puu Kukui, Maui
0.53  Hilo airport, 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 light and variable tonight…with returning trade winds Friday into the weekend. Here’s the latest weather map, showing the Hawaiian Islands, and the rest of the North Pacific Ocean. Here’s a real-time wind profile of the central Pacific…centered on the Hawaiian Islands. ~~~ We find low pressure systems to the north of the islands, with an associated trough near Kauai, and then another weak cold front a little further to the northwest. At the same time, we see a high pressure system well to northeast and far west-northwest of the islands. Our winds will remain light tonight, shifting to a trade wind flow Friday into the weekend…followed by lighter southeast winds early next week.

Satellite imagery shows considerable high, middle and lower level clouds over and around the state…although Kauai and Oahu are seeing less of them now.
Most of this multi-layered cloudiness is oriented southwest to northeast…over Maui County and the Big Island. Here’s the looping radar image, showing showers coming into the state in only a few spots, carried our way on the light breezes. There is no primary focus of these showers at the moment, although most of the showers are over the ocean, coming into the state locally.  Most of these are light to moderately heavy showers.  Looking at this larger satellite image, which is in the looping mode, we can see clouds being pulled northeastward across our area, most of which are the high and middle level variety…although with a few showery lower level clouds too.

Showers will fall locally, although not nearly as frequently, or as heavy as in the recent days. Showers will fall locally, then as we push into Friday and the weekend, the trade winds will return, with windward showers…and generally dry and sunnier conditions for our leeward sides. The computer models suggest that another low pressure system will approach the state right after the weekend, increasing the chance of more showers…especially on the Kauai end of the island chain. All of the above will need additional fine tuning as we go forward. I’ll be back early Friday morning with your next new weather narrative from paradise, I hope you have a great Thursday night wherever you’re spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.

Here on Maui, at the 3,100 foot elevation, at my upper Kula, Maui weather tower, the air temperature was 61.7F degrees at 555am.
I must say that I’m getting pretty impressed with the long lasting spell of wet weather that we’re having here in the Hawaiian Islands! Looking at this looping radar image, it’s like a conveyor belt of moisture streaming over our area. It appears that we may see some relief from this long lasting event later this afternoon, as rainfall likely tapers off gradually then. As we get into Friday and the weekend, we should shift gears…and get back into a more typical trade wind weather pattern. This will bring some more showers to our windward sides, although finally give a break to our leeward sides, with generally improving weather conditions.

~~~ It’s now early afternoon, at 1225pm, and I’m under a substantial deck of clouds here in Kula. It’s been dry so far today, although I can see some dark gray lower clouds around, which may deliver a few showers…before too long. Despite all the heavy cloud cover, the air temperature is still quite warm, running 72.5 degrees at the moment. Kapalua, Maui, at about the same time, was the warmest place in the state, where it was 82 degrees in contrast. I had a haircut in Makawao this morning, and it was about the same over there, cloudy but no rain. I can see fog up the mountain a short distance, I always enjoy when fog arrives, it’s some of my favorite weather, to be right in the clouds…breathing in the cool moisture.


~~~
Hi again, I was just looking at the number of folks who have stopped by this website during the last week. It was a busy seven day period, with lots of unsettled weather here in the islands. As of late Thursday afternoon, there had been 177,535 visits. As for the number of times you have clicked on the Google ads, which is how I make a few dollars per month in keeping this site going, there had been 706 of them. I appreciate your finding enough value to come to my site, which I do by myself…and that some of you find the ads interesting enough to click on to. The Google ads are at the top and bottom of every page on this site. Thank you for both!

~~~ It’s now just before 6pm, and my wind chimes just went off, not from the south or southwest…but from the trade wind direction for a change! This is a change I haven’t seen for a while, and its got a little bit of a slight chill to it. It’s still totally cloudy, with a mix of high, middle and lower level clouds blanketing Maui…not too long before sunset. The air temperature is 67.5 degrees, so it’s not actually all that cool after all. It was another good day, especially as I got to do my favorite thing, or at least near the top of my list, which is share this Hawaiian Weather reality with you folks. I began to have this love of weather as a very young child, and now, as a senior citizen…I’m still at it all these years later.



World-wide tropical cyclone activity:


Atlantic Ocean:
The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1st through November 30th.
Here’s the 2013 hurricane season summary


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. 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. 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 13S (Edilson) remains active in the South Indian Ocean. Here’s the JTWC graphical track map…along with a satellite image.


Tropical Cyclone 14S
is now also active in the South 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: Study predicts $100 trillion a year in damage due to storm surges –
New research predicts that coastal regions face massive increases in damages from storm surge flooding over the 21st century – to $100 trillion annually, more than the world’s entire economic product today.


According to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, global average storm surge damages could increase from about $10-$40 billion per year today to up to $100,000 billion per year by the end of century, if no adaptation action is taken.


This staggering figure – more than the entire world’s current Gross Domestic Product (GDP) – represents the upper end of the estimate that storm surges will cost between 0.3 and 9.3% of global GDP by 2100, taking into acount expected GDP increases.


But timely investments in coastal protection could cut that cost by more than 99.9%, the authors conclude.


A comprehensive global simulation


The study, led by the Berlin-based think-tank Global Climate Forum (GCF) and involving the University of Southampton, presents, for the first time, comprehensive global simulation results on future flood damages to buildings and infrastructure in coastal flood plains.


Drastic increases in these damages are expected due to both rising sea levels and population and economic growth in the coastal zone. Asia and Africa may be particularly hard hit because of their rapidly growing coastal mega-cities, such as Shanghai, Manila and Lagos.


“If we ignore this problem, the consequences will be dramatic”, explains Jochen Hinkel from GCF and the study’s lead author. In 2100, up to 600 million people – around 5% of the global population – could be affected by coastal flooding if no adaptation measures are put in place. “Countries need to take action and invest in coastal protection measures, such as building or raising dikes, amongst other options”, urges Hinkel.


With investment, cost falls below $100 billion


With such protection measures, the projected damages could be reduced to below $80 billion per year during the 21st century. The researchers found that an investment level of $10 to $70 billion per year could achieve such a reduction.


Prompt action is needed most in Asia and Africa where large parts of the coastal population are already affected by storm surge flooding.