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

83  Lihue, Kauai
89  Honolulu, Oahu
86  Molokai
90  Kahului, Maui – record highest temperature for this date…93 in 1953, 1977, 1978, 1984
88  Kailua Kona
86  Hilo, Hawaii

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

0.55  Waialae, Kauai
1.19  Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu
0.15  Molokai 1, Molokai
0.00  Lanai
0.00  Kahoolawe
0.07  Puu Kukui, Maui
0.76  Glenwood, Big Island

The following numbers represent the strongest wind gusts (mph)…as of Wednesday evening:

22  Port Allen, Kauai
23  Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu
28  Molokai
30  Lanai
35 Kahoolawe
30  Kahului, Maui
28  Upolu airport, 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




http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/west/cpac/vis.jpg
 Satellite image showing tropical storm Julio to the
north of the islands

http://www.prh.noaa.gov/cphc/tc_graphics/2014/graphics/EP102014W.gif

Tropical storm Julio poses no danger to the Hawaiian Islands

Here’s a real time wind profiler showing Julio to Hawaii’s north

Returning trade winds, becoming moderately strong…
bringing back normal August weather conditions



~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~




Strengthening trade winds, with generally fine weather…along with some windward showers at times. 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 moderately strong high pressure systems located to the northwest and northeast of the state. Tropical storm Julio is located to the north of our islands, situated between these two high pressure cells. Our trade winds will gradually strengthen, from east to west…lasting through the rest of the week into early next week.

Satellite imagery shows a band of clouds near Kauai…moving westward. Looking at this larger looping satellite image, it shows the counterclockwise rotating tropical storm Julio to our north. At the same time we see mostly clear to partly cloudy skies over most of the state. Meanwhile, we see a more or less north to south band of clouds, which has moved across the state during the past 24 hours. This band is moving westward, and brought some showers with. There’s another batch or two of low clouds being carried our way, although the atmosphere is becoming very stable and drier…resultant windward showers will be limited. Here’s the looping radar, showing very few showers moving across Kauai, with a few more riding in towards the Big Island. The returning trade winds, now filling back into the state, will bring windward showers our way at times. 

Tropical Storm Julio remains active well to the north of our islands…and isn’t a problem for Hawaii.  The trade winds will return now…bringing back refreshing weather conditions. The cloud band that had been bringing showers to some parts of the state, is now pushing past Kauai. This area of clouds will gradually move westward…dissipating and moving away. Otherwise, the islands are moving into a prolonged period of trade wind weather, with strengthening wind speeds expected. We aren’t through with tropical systems moving into our central Pacific however, from the eastern Pacific. This means that we’ll have to keep our eye peeled for activity to our east-southeast through the next week at least. There are some computer models which are showing a couple of tropical systems heading in our general area, although this isn’t a sure thing, and a considerable distance into the future, stay tuned. I’ll return with more updates on all of the above and below, I hope you have a great Wednesday night wherever you happen to be spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.

~~~ Tropical Storm Julio: continues to move slowly away from Hawaii. The latest Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC) forecast estimates the sustained winds are near 65 mph near the center…with stronger gusts.



World-wide tropical cyclone activity:


Atlantic Ocean: There are no active tropical cyclones


Here’s a satellite image of the Atlantic Ocean

Caribbean Sea: There are no active tropical cyclones

Gulf of Mexico: There are no active tropical cyclones

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: Tropical Storm 11E (Karina) is active in the northeast Pacific, located about 555 miles southwest of the southern tip of Baja California. Here’s the NHC graphical track map…along with a satellite image – here’s what the computer models are showing…for what will become a hurricane within 24 hours.


1.)  Satellite-derived wind data indicate that the area of low pressure located about 1150 miles east-southeast of the Big Island of Hawaii has become better defined overnight. Although shower and thunderstorm activity has changed little during the past several hours, gradual development of this disturbance is expected during the next few days and a tropical depression could form by late Friday or Saturday. This system is moving slowly west-northwestward and is currently crossing 140W longitude, and it will move into the central Pacific basin later this morning. The future discussions on this disturbance will be provided in Tropical Weather Outlooks issued by the Central Pacific Hurricane Center in Honolulu, Hawaii.


* Formation chance through 48 hours…high…60 percent
* Formation chance through 5 days…high…80 percent


2.) An area of low pressure is forecast to form well south-southwest of
the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula in a couple of
days.  Some gradual development of this system is possible this
weekend and early next week while the system moves generally
northwestward.

* Formation chance through 48 hours...low...near 0 percent.
* Formation chance through 5 day...low...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: Tropical Storm 10E (Julio) remains active in the central Pacific Ocean,located about 710 miles north of Honolulu, Oahu. Here’s the CPHC graphical track map…along with a satellite image


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:  Bottling Water from Drought Stricken Areas – The bottled water industry has grown exponentially the past few decades despite the fact tap water in the United States is generally safe. Never mind the fact bottled water producers have had more than their fair share of safety issues: bottled water has become accepted by consumers. While companies such as Nestlé insist they are taking responsibility for water stewardship and recycling, they also bottle their water at dubious sources, including those in drought stricken regions.


In fact, much of the bottled water produced in the U.S. comes from areas affected by drought. As an article recently posted on Mother Jones illustrates, four of the most popular bottled water brands—Aquafina, Dasani, Arrowhead and Crystal Geyser—come largely from California. True, farming takes up the lion’s share of water in the state, and bottled water in the grand scheme of things is not parching California on its own. But at a time when California is struggling to provide residents, industry and farmers adequate supplies of water, more citizens are asking why it is bottled here and shipped out of state.


Part of the problem is regulation, or lack of it. While most states monitor and restrict groundwater use to ensure they are not depleted, California lacks any such laws. The state’s legislature is finally starting to address this oversight, but even if the legislation in current form is passed, the state will long be in danger if the current drought conditions do not improve. Agencies in charge of groundwater basins will not have to issue sustainability plans until 2020, and those plans would not have to be fully implemented until 2040, according to the Washington Post. Over half of the bottled water churned in California and ending up in PET bottles is groundwater, through the bottling companies prefer the more exotic term, “spring water.”


Whether it is spring water, groundwater, or water coming from other municipal supplies, the point is that the state could be using this water for far better use than allowing the beverage companies to bottle it and mark it up to sell it at obscene profit margins. Despite the bottling industry’s bizarre claims that bottled water production is “ironically” low compared to that of processing other beverages, it still takes almost 1.7 liters of water to produce a liter of bottled water. Add the wasted plastic resulting from the petroleum that could be better used as fuel, plus the energy required to produce bottled water, and we have an oddly unsustainable industry despite these companies’ fervent claims to the contrary.


In the end, consumers need to be convinced tap water really is the cost-effective and safe alternative. While many bottling companies refuse efforts at transparency when it comes to disclosing the actual sources of their water, recent snafus such as the loss of drinking water in Toledo, Ohio (through no fault of the city) give bottlers more ammunition to pitch their product. Nevertheless, the strange spectacle of bottling water in a state entering its third year of drought should give us pause before we spurn the tap in favor of those brightly-labeled bottles.