Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures (F) were recorded across the state of Hawaii Tuesday:
80 Lihue, Kauai
85 Honolulu, Oahu
82 Molokai
89 Kahului, Maui
86 Kailua Kona
82 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 Tuesday evening:
Kaneohe, Oahu – 81
Hilo, Hawaiii – 72
Haleakala Summit – 39 (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea Summit – 36 (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.
Aloha Paragraphs
Trade winds will continue…easing up
some this weekend
There will be some passing showers
generally along the windward
sides…a few elsewhere
Small Craft Wind Advisory…over
the windiest coasts and channels
around Maui County – Big Island
The following numbers represent the strongest wind gusts (mph), along with directions…as of Tuesday evening:
27 Port Allen Kauai – NE
31 Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu – NNE
27 Molokai – NE
35 Lanai – NE
36 Kahoolawe – NE
29 Kahului, Maui – NE
29 PTA Keamuku, Big Island – NE
Here are the latest 24-hour precipitation totals (inches) for each of the islands…as of Tuesday evening (845pm totals):
1.70 Mount Waialeale, Kauai
1.65 Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu
0.14 Molokai
0.00 Lanai
0.03 Kahoolawe
0.93 Puu Kukui, Maui
1.13 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 ~~~
Gusty trade winds will prevail…although becoming softer this weekend. Here’s the latest weather map, showing the Hawaiian Islands, and the rest of the North Pacific Ocean, along with a real-time wind profile of the central Pacific…focused on the Hawaiian Islands. We have a large, moderately strong near 1032 millibar high pressure system located to the north-northeast…moving quickly westward. This high pressure cell has an associated ridge extending southwest…to the northwest and west of the state. Our local winds will remain gusty, with only minor daily variations in speed and direction through the next few days. Those places with the most direct exposure to this wind flow will top 30-35 mph in gusts during the days…lighter at night. A noticeable reduction in wind speeds will take place this weekend.
Satellite imagery shows scattered clouds moving towards the windward sides…with showers increasing some tonight into early Wednesday morning locally. Looking at this larger looping satellite image, we see areas of high level clouds to our south and southwest… moving by just south of the Big Island at the moment. In addition, there’s an area of thunderstorms well to the west of Hawaii, associated with a deep upper level low pressure system. Meanwhile, the lower level clouds are riding along in the trade wind flow…impacting our windward sides at times locally. Here’s a looping radar image, showing them moving from right to left, carried by the trade winds.
We continue to be involved in a well established trade wind weather pattern…as we push towards the beginning of the summer season in a few days. There will be some showers reaching the windward sides of our islands. However, given that we’re in the month of June, the driest month of the year here in the islands…these showers won’t be getting out of hand by any means. Likely, if you live along our leeward beaches, you’ll be wondering what all the fuss is about, and perhaps even on the windward sides in many areas! These high cirrus clouds appear to be fairly thin at the moment, and seem to be quickly moving away just to our south. I’ll be back again early Wednesday morning with your next new weather narrative from paradise, I hope you have a great Tuesday 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 55.8 degrees at 545am on this Tuesday morning. Skies are clear overhead, along with some thin cirrus clouds, which lit up a beautiful pink and orange color this morning! I can see some showery looking clouds hugging the windward sides this morning, although they aren’t stretching over into our leeward sides. It’s another beautiful day, no doubt about it!
We’re into the early afternoon now at 1230pm, under partly cloudy skies, light breezes…and an air temperature of 76.1 degrees. Looking over towards the windward side, all I see is blue skies, and no clouds at the time of this writing. This is pretty amazing, after the forecast called for cloudy skies, and enhanced showers. Things just don’t out as expected…as we all know in our own lives. Update at 345pm, partly cloudy, a few large drops are falling, widely spaced…with an air temperature of 74.3 degrees. Sunny with light showers at 430pm…air temperature of 73.8 degrees.
It’s now 530pm in the early evening hours, under mostly clear skies, light breezes…and an air temperature of 78.8 degrees. It was a gorgeous day here on Maui, with tons of very warm sunshine beaming down…especially along all our beaches! The clouds gathered some in the upcountry areas, although rainfall was minimal.
World-wide tropical cyclone activity:
Atlantic Ocean: There are no active tropical cyclones expected through the next 5 days
Here’s a satellite image of the Atlantic Ocean
Caribbean Sea: There are no active tropical cyclones expected through the next 5 days
Gulf of Mexico: There are no active tropical cyclones expected through the next 5 days
Here’s a satellite image of the Caribbean Sea…and the Gulf of Mexico.
Here’s the link to the National Hurricane Center (NHC)
North Eastern Pacific: There are no active tropical cyclones
Disorganized cloudiness and thunderstorms, associated with a
tropical wave, are located several hundred miles south-southwest of
Acapulco, Mexico. Although development is not anticipated during
the next couple of days, some development of this system is still
possible by later this weekend while it moves west-northwestward at
5 to 10 mph.
* Formation chance through 48 hours…low…0 percent.
* Formation chance through 5 days…medium…20 percent.
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: No tropical cyclones are expected through Friday morning
Here’s a link to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC)
Northwest Pacific Ocean: There are no active tropical cyclones
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: Heinz and Ford to Team Up on Rolling Green Tomatoes – You could say that, at least until now, cars and tomatoes have basically nothing in common. Tomatoes go from green to red as they ripen, and cars, well, they seem to be getting greener. As part of this trend, Ford is one of several companies that have been pursuing a viable bio-based plastic that could substitute for the petroleum-based plastics that dominate the industry today. Indeed, as cars continue to reduce vehicle weight in order to improve fuel economy, the use of plastics is becoming ever more common.
Ford formed a collaboration two years ago with Heinz, Nike, Coca-Cola, Procter and Gamble and others, along with the World Wildlife Fund, in the Bioplastic Feedstock Alliance. Their stated goal was to develop a 100 percent plant-based PET, a common type of plastic used in soft drink and water bottles.
The intent, from Ford’s perspective, has been “is to develop a strong, lightweight material that meets our vehicle requirements, while at the same time reducing our overall environmental impact.” So says Ellen Lee, a Ford plastics research technical specialist.
Now they have apparently hit pay dirt. In what appears to be a marriage made in heaven, Heinz was looking for an innovative way to recycle and repurpose peels, stems and seeds from the more than 2 million tons of tomatoes the company uses annually to produce its best-selling ketchup.
Says Vidhu Nagpal, associate director of packaging R&D for Heinz: “We are delighted that the technology has been validated. Although we are in the very early stages of research, and many questions remain, we are excited about the possibilities this could produce for both Heinz and Ford, and the advancement of sustainable 100 percent plant-based plastics.”
Plant-based plastics still have many of the same environmental issue as oil-based plastics, as both Pepsi and Coca-Cola learned when they announced the use of plant-based PET in their bottles. That is to say, they are not biodegradable, they cause litter, and they can leach chemicals into the soil and water. All of these impacts can be minimized in a closed-loop recycling environment, though some bottles always escape.
Still, the substitution of plant-based feedstock is definitely a significant improvement, since it has a lower carbon footprint and reduces the demand for fossil fuels. According to the Energy Information Administration, 190 million barrels of oil were used in 2010 to make feed stocks for plastic. That represents close to 3 percent of the country’s oil consumption.
The announcement with Heinz is just one more step in Ford’s journey to incorporate more sustainably produced materials in their vehicles. Their bio-based portfolio now includes eight materials in production, including: coconut-based composite materials, recycled cotton material for carpeting and seat fabrics, and soy foam seat cushions and head restraints. Other efforts to find lightweight, natural materials have included investigations into the use of feathers in a composite structural material. The company also includes a considerable amount of recycled materials in their products.
We’ve long known that tomatoes can be good for you, but now it appears that they could be good for the environment as well.
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