Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures (F) were recorded across the state of Hawaii Friday…along with the minimum temperatures Friday:

77 – 59  Lihue, Kauai
77 – 64  Honolulu, Oahu
77 – 59  Molokai AP
77 – 63  Kahului, Maui
82 – 72  Kailua Kona
78 – 68  Hilo, Hawaii

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

3.30  N Wailea ditch, Kauai
0.42  Poamoho, Oahu
0.19  Molokai
1.72  Lanai
0.06  Kahoolawe
1.00  Kaupo Gap, Maui
0.55  Pohakuloa Kipuka Alala, Big Island


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


35  Port Allen, Kauai
42  Wheeler AAF, Oahu
48  Molokai
46  Lanai
40  Kahoolawe
56  Kaupo Gap, Maui
61  Hakalau, 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/ir4.jpg
A strong cold front is sweeping down through the state

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/west/hi/ir4.jpg
Heavy duty clouds are moving over the state…with thunderstorms


http://radar.weather.gov/Conus/RadarImg/hawaii.gif
Showers and rainfall will be active tonight…with localized
flooding / red and yellow are heaviest precipitation

Increasing showers, some heavy thunderstorms and strong
and gusty southwesterly wind into Saturday morning, as a
cold front passes through…bringing chilly and drier weather
in its wake through the weekend

~~~~~

Gale Warning…Hawaiian waters

Wind Advisory…for southwesterly winds 25-35 mph with gusts
to 50+ in the lowlands

High Wind Warning…Big Island summits – 55-90 mph with
gusts to over 130 mph through Saturday / Blizzard Warning
webcam 

High Wind Warning…Kauai and Oahu areas – winds 15-35 mph
with gusts to 60+

Flood Advisory…parts of Maui County and Oahu – Looping radar

 


~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~



Strong and gusty southwest Kona winds into the night…with cooler northwest to northerly winds 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 profiler of the central Pacific. We find high pressure systems far to the north and northeast of the state. At the same time, we have low pressure systems to the north of the state…with comma shaped cold fronts draping southward. We’ll find very strong winds, from the southwesterly Kona direction. This will occur as a strong cold front pushes down through the state into Saturday morning. Winds over the summits on the Big Island will remain very strong…gusting potentially over 130 mph tonight into Saturday!  The lower elevations around the state will see strong winds too, with a high wind warning over Kauai and Oahu…and a wind advisory in effect elsewhere. Lighter trade winds will arrive by Monday…lasting for several days.

Heavy rains and possible thunderstorms are on tap into the night…with drier weather this weekend. This well advertised cold front will pass over Kauai this evening, Oahu and Maui County overnight…and the Big Island Saturday morning.  Here’s the looping radar image showing showers are increasing dramatically. This significant cold front is forecast to sweep down through the island chain overnight, bringing locally heavy rains, with the chance of thunderstorms. Chilly northwest to northerly winds will arrive in the wake of this front, keeping a wintery edge, although with drier weather in place through the weekend. The models are showing more normal trade wind weather conditions returning to the islands as we push into the new week ahead, with a possible weak cold front briefly passing through later next week. By the way, the power just went off a few minutes ago at my house, along with the internet. Therefore, and with all the blustery winds now, this may happen again, which means that I could lose connectivity during the night. I’ll be back with more updates on all of the above, at least as long as I can, I hope you have a great Friday night wherever you’re spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.


World-wide tropical cyclone activity:


>>> Atlantic Ocean: The last regularly scheduled Tropical Weather Outlook of the 2014 Atlantic hurricane season…has occurred. Routine issuance of the Tropical Weather Outlook will resume on June 1, 2015. During the off-season, Special Tropical Weather Outlooks will be issued as conditions warrant.


Here’s a satellite image of the Atlantic Ocean

>>> Caribbean Sea: The last regularly scheduled Tropical Weather Outlook of the 2014 Atlantic hurricane season…has occurred. Routine issuance of the Tropical Weather Outlook will resume on June 1, 2015. During the off-season, Special Tropical Weather Outlooks will be issued as conditions warrant.


>>> Gulf of Mexico: The last regularly scheduled Tropical Weather Outlook of the 2014 Atlantic hurricane season…has occurred. Routine issuance of the Tropical Weather Outlook will resume on June 1, 2015. During the off-season, Special Tropical Weather Outlooks will be issued as conditions warrant.


Here’s a satellite image of the Caribbean Sea…and the Gulf of Mexico.

>>> Eastern Pacific: The last regularly scheduled Tropical Weather Outlook of the 2014 North Pacific hurricane season…has occurred. Routine issuance of the Tropical Weather Outlook will resume on May 15, 2015. During the off-season, Special Tropical Weather Outlooks will be issued as conditions warrant.


Here’s a wide satellite image that covers the entire area between Mexico, out through the central Pacific…to the International Dateline.


Here’s the link to the National Hurricane Center (NHC)


>>> Central Pacific: The central north Pacific hurricane season has officially ended. Routine issuance of the tropical weather outlook will resume on June 1, 2015. During the off-season, special tropical weather outlooks will be issued as conditions warrant.


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: Flavor and quality of wine impacted by Climate Change – It has been a challenge at times to get well-heeled and sometimes highly influential people to care about climate change. After all, having a great deal of money can serve to insulate someone from problems that afflict those less fortunate. Food prices going up, for example, not that big a deal. Coastal areas flooding out, go somewhere else for vacation. Many of those at the top of the heap are finding that business-as-usual is working very well for them, thank you very much. Besides, they might have significant investments in industries that could be threatened by changing to a more sustainable model.


Perhaps, what is needed to get their attention is something that hits closer to home. Here is an item in England’s The Telegraph that might fit the bill: Apparently, rising temperatures in areas like France, Italy and Spain are affecting the flavor of certain wines. The grapes that are used in the production of certain wines, like pinot noir, are growing more quickly than before.


What that means, according to Kimberly Nicholas, a wine industry consultant, is that “as the atmosphere warms, the desired ratio of acid to sugar occurs earlier in the season.” That challenges the vineyards to deduce the ideal time to pick the grapes. Ms. Nicholas, an associate professor of sustainability science at Lund University in Sweden, warned that vineyards are finding it difficult to know the perfect moment to pick the grapes in order to retain a wine’s signature taste. The grapes may no longer produce the unique flavors that wine fanciers have come to associate with their favorite reds and whites.


One university study of the impact of a changing climate on the wine industry, performed in Pennsylvania, found that: “The sugar levels mature too quickly, while the flavors lag behind. As the vintner waits to harvest the grapes until the flavor is fully developed, they sacrifice the acidity, resulting in a ‘flabby’ wine (high alcohol content as a result of high sugar levels with very little returned acidity).”


A number of vineyards in California and southern Europe are dropping pinot noir for other varieties of grape that are more tolerant to higher temperatures. While that might not seem like a tragedy for many who are ambivalent about which wines they drink, this is a development that is bound to get the attention of wine lovers around the world.


The value of the global wine business is estimated at close to $200 billion. This is not to say that people are going to suddenly stop drinking wine, but if their favorite varieties are no longer available, some people might look elsewhere for their enjoyment.


Many aspects of our modern lifestyle will require these kinds of adjustments, particularly food and drink. But few things have come to epitomize the good life as much as a glass of fine wine.


Another study, in Australia, found that wine grape quality could be expected to reduce by anywhere between 7 percent and 39 percent by 2030 and by as much as 76 percent by 2050. Of course, new varieties will likely be developed that can hopefully provide better quality in these new conditions. But this will take some time, and in the meantime some people might turn away from wine as their drink of choice, especially if prices go up.


Will this represent a wake up call, a message delivered into the inner sanctum of those benefiting the most from our status quo and least inclined to want to change? Only time will tell. But as time goes on, more and more of these changes will continue to exert pressure on every aspect of life.