Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures (F) were recorded across the state of Hawaii Monday:
82 Lihue, Kauai
87 Honolulu, Oahu
82 Molokai
88 Kahului, Maui
86 Kailua Kona
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 830pm Monday evening:
Kailua Kona – 80
Hilo, Hawaii – 74
Haleakala Summit – 43 (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea Summit – 34 (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 through Friday…easing up
some this coming weekend
There will be a minor increase in showers, first on Kauai and
Oahu – then arriving over Maui and the Big Island –
generally along the windward sides…drier Wednesday
High cirrus clouds heading our way too…which will
likely dim our sunshine locally Tuesday
Small Craft Wind Advisory…over the windiest coasts
and channels around Maui County and the Big Island
The following numbers represent the strongest wind gusts (mph), along with directions…as of Monday evening:
24 Port Allen, Kauai – NE
42 Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu – NNE
31 Molokai – NE
35 Lanai – NE
33 Kahoolawe – NE
20 Lipoa, Maui – NE
29 PTA Keamuku, Big Island – NE
Here are the latest 24-hour precipitation totals (inches) for each of the islands…as of Monday evening (545pm totals):
0.80 Kilohana, Kauai
0.39 Nuuanu Upper, Oahu
0.11 Molokai
0.00 Lanai
0.00 Kahoolawe
0.30 Puu Kukui, Maui
0.54 Island Dairy, 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 very large, moderately strong near 1030 millibar high pressure system located far to the northeast. 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.
Satellite imagery shows an area of showery clouds heading towards the windward sides of Kauai down through Maui County…tonight into Tuesday. Looking at this larger looping satellite image, we see areas of high level clouds to our south and southwest… moving across the the state locally. In addition, there’s an area of thunderstorms well to the west-northwest 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. These low clouds will bring an increase in showers with them, first on Kauai and Oahu, then arriving over Maui County and perhaps the Big Island into Tuesday. The majority of these showers will fall along our windward coasts and slopes…with a few traveling over into the leeward sides at times. Here’s a looping radar image, showing a few showers falling across the state, especially towards Kauai and Oahu…at the time of this writing.
We continue to be involved in a well established trade wind weather pattern…as we push towards the beginning of the summer season. The forecast now calls for a change in our weather arriving today, which is earlier than previously expected. There will be showers reaching the windward sides of Kauai and then Oahu first…by this afternoon in fact. There’s a good chance that some of these enhanced showers may become more generous than normal during the next 24-36 hours. These showery clouds will make it down to Maui County tonight…after a very clear day. These off and on showers will stretch into Tuesday in places, and drier weather will take over again by mid-week. I’ll be back many times during the day with updates on all of the above, I hope you have a great Monday 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 a cool 53.8 degrees at 555am on this Monday morning. Skies are clear overhead, with just a few windward biased clouds, leaving the leeward beaches in very good shape today. The update at 1050am is for almost totally clear skies, really one of the clearest days in quite a while here on Maui!
It’s now 1225pm Monday afternoon, under mostly clear to partly cloudy skies, light winds…and an air temperature of 77.2 degrees. I must admit, I’m surprised that this increase in showers will be arriving already today into the night. It had looked like they would hold off until later this week, then it was going to be by Wednesday. Now, according to the latest satellite image, we see those showery clouds taking aim on Kauai and Oahu this afternoon. It will take until this evening for the showers to arrive along our own windward sides. You can also see these high cirrus clouds approaching quickly from the west as well. They will begin to dim our sunshine once they arrive, and provide a nice sunset this evening…at least for parts of the Big Island.
We’re into the early evening hours now at 535pm, under partly cloudy skies, light winds…and an air temperature of 78.1 degrees. As that satellite image in the paragraph above shows, we have lots of cirrus clouds over the ocean to our southwest and south. The Big Island may benefit from their presence, with a colorful sunset this evening. The other islands look like they will be a little too far north to see these colors…although if you look way down on the horizon you could see a little pink at sunset. I suspect that tomorrow’s sunrise should have some nice colors, if these cirrus continue moving in our direction.
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 showers located several hundred miles
south-southeast of Acapulco, Mexico, are associated with a trough
of low pressure. Although development is not anticipated during the
next couple of days, some gradual development of this system is
possible later this week while it moves westward or west-
northwestward at 5 to 10 mph.
* Formation chance through 48 hours…low…0 percent.
* Formation chance through 5 days…medium…30 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 Thursday morning
Here’s a link to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC)
Northwest Pacific Ocean: Tropical Cyclone 07W (Hagibis) has come back to life in the NW Pacific…after being discontinued by the JTWC. Here’s the graphical track map…along with a satellite image.
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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