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

75 – 58  Lihue, Kauai
76 – 62  Honolulu, Oahu
74 – 62  Molokai AP
77 – 65  Kahului, Maui
78 – 65  Kailua Kona
84 – 67  Hilo, Hawaii

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

3.74  Kilohana, Kauai
2.97  Poamoho, Oahu
1.25  Molokai
2.92  Lanai
0.96  Kahoolawe
4.58  Kula 1, Maui
5.13  Kawainui Stream, Big Island


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


28  Port Allen, Kauai
31  Kalaeloa, Oahu
24  Molokai
28  Lanai
32  Kahoolawe
28  Kahului AP, Maui
28  Kealakomo, 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
The powerful cold front has cleared the state well to the east

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/west/hi/ir4.jpg
Stable low clouds are being carried into our area…on the cool
northwest to northerly breezes


http://radar.weather.gov/Conus/RadarImg/hawaii.gif
Showers will be limited, although there will still be a few locally

The cold front has departed the state…with chilly and drier
weather in its wake through Sunday

~~~~~

Small Craft Wind Advisory…all coastal and channel waters

High Wind Warning…Big Island summits – 45-70 mph with
gusts to over 85 mph early Sunday 
webcam


 


~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~



The recent very strong and gusty winds have ended…with cooler northwest to northerly winds taking over through Sunday. 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 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 gradually lighter winds, generally from the north through northwest. Winds over the summits on the Big Island will remain very strong…gusting potentially over 85 mph during the day Sunday. Light to moderately strong trade winds will arrive by Monday, then increase in strength Tuesday…lasting through most of the new week ahead.

The recent heavy rains with thunderstorms are gone now…with drier weather gradually returning.  Here’s the looping radar image showing showers associated with the departing cold front…mostly over the ocean to the north of the central islands. Chilly northwest to northerly winds are sweeping in behind this front, keeping a (tropical) winters edge in place through Monday morning, This cooler air will bring drier weather, and gradually lighter winds 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 brushing the state Monday night into Tuesday. Then, later in the week, we may see our winds veering to the southeast, which often carries volcanic haze (vog) over the smaller islands. Typically, when we see southeast breezes, that can be followed by a cold front, perhaps next weekend…stay tuned. I’ll be back with more updates on all of the above, I hope you have a great Saturday night wherever you’re spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.

An unusually dynamic cold front: A well advertised cold front sweep through the Hawaiian Islands recently, bringing all manner of inclement weather. Friday started off by sporting 130 mph wind gusts atop the near 14,000 foot Mauna Kea summit…on the Big Island. When I saw the nature of those winds during the morning hours, I had a good idea that things would be getting much worse across the state as the day continued into the night. By the way, the top gust atop that tall mountain reached an amazing 155 mph! The front arrived first over Kauai, with gusty winds and locally heavy rains. During the afternoon hours the front, along with an upper level trough of low pressure, swept down over Oahu, bringing that island the same heavy weather conditions that Kauai saw. It took until later in day, and into the night hours, before this serious frontal cloud band reached Maui County. It came on like gang busters, first on Lanai, then Molokai and Kahoolawe, West Maui…and finally forced its way across the rest of Maui. It eventually reached the Big Island, although other than the very serious winds over the mountains, that island didn’t get the heavy duty punch that the others felt.


I wasn’t sure if the winds or the rains would win, in terms of being the most serious weather issue. As it turned out, they were about equal, although I think the blustery winds definitely had the edge in the end. There were power outages on each of the islands, as the very strong winds blew trees down, and toppled power poles. It seemed that the central islands from Oahu to Maui County took the brunt of the strongest winds. My power, and internet connectivity was off and on all night. I just talked to a friend over in Haiku, on the windward side, and she still doesn’t have power this afternoon…and it went off last night! When my neighbors and I drove down to Paia to shop this morning, there were several roads closed, due to trees being blown down across them. As we drove back upcountry to Kula, we could see snow atop the Haleakala Crater, which is the first snowfall of 2015.

All things considered, it was the most intense cold front that I remember in quite some time. The winds ahead of and along the frontal boundary, were coming up from the southwest. These Kona winds attained very strong gusts, topping out in the 40-60+ mph range, with some gusts over hurricane force! While I was out this morning, I saw some huge trees down, along with countless branches, and trillions of leaves scattered in every direction. Thinking back I recall another storm back in 1980 that was similar, which had winds over 100 mph across the state. You know, folks are always concerned with hurricanes, as they should be, however, these very intense cold fronts, or Kona storms that for to our west or northwest…can be dangerous too.

I was laying in bed last night, after the power went off for the third or fourth time, and finally had to submit to discontinuing my website updates. It was completely dark, and yet I could see well enough out through my windows, and just watched the trees being whipped around…as if I was watching a video of a major hurricane in progress. Just when I thought the cold front had went through my area, we started to have lots of lightning and thunder associated with the actually frontal passage.  Shortly thereafter, conditions finally began to mellow out…and I fell fast asleep. I was fortunate to waken early to find that the power was back on, and the internet was back up too. Thus, I launched into gathering all the latest weather information, and getting things updated once again. I have sympathy for those of us who have hours or days of clean up to do, so that we can get back to normal. By the way, I just checked to see how many folks logged onto this website January 2, 2015…and the number was 22,796.

Saturday night film: The big storm Friday evening kept me home, and away from the theater. However, this evening my neighbors Jeff and Svetlana will be heading down to Kahului, to see one of several good lookin’ films. The one we’ve chosen this time around is called The Gambler, starring Mark Wahlberg, Brie Larson, Michael K. Williams, Leland Orser, Jessica Lang, and John Goodman…among others. Synopsis: Jim Bennett (Academy Award (R)-nominee Mark Wahlberg) is a risk taker. Both an English professor and a high-stakes gambler, Bennett bets it all when he borrows from a gangster (Michael Kenneth Williams) and offers his own life as collateral. Always one step ahead, Bennett pits his creditor against the operator of a gambling ring (Alvin Ing) and leaves his dysfunctional relationship with his wealthy mother (Academy Award (R)-winner Jessica Lange) in his wake. He plays both sides, immersing himself in an illicit, underground world while garnering the attention of Frank (John Goodman), a loan shark with a paternal interest in Bennett’s future. As his relationship with a student (Brie Larson) deepens, Bennett must take the ultimate risk for a second chance


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.