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

78 – 58  Lihue, Kauai
80 – 64  Honolulu, Oahu
79 – 64  Molokai AP
82 – 66  Kahului, Maui
83 – 72  Kailua Kona
84 – 70  Hilo, Hawaii

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

0.00  Kauai
0.11  Punaluu Pump, Oahu
0.15  Molokai
0.00  Lanai
0.00  Kahoolawe
0.17  Hana AP, Maui
1.55  Piihonua, Big Island


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


15  Port Allen, Kauai – W
16  Makua Range, Oahu – NE
17  Molokai – NNE
12  Lanai – SW
14  Kahoolawe – SE
12  Kaupo Gap, Maui – SE
17  South Point, Big Island – SE


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 large area of high clouds to the northeast,
northwest…and south of Hawaii

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/west/hi/ir4.jpg
Clear to partly cloudy…with a northeast through southwest
oriented cloud band stretched across the state


http://radar.weather.gov/Conus/RadarImg/hawaii.gif
A  few showers over islands…light to moderately heavy



~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~



High Surf Advisory…north and west shores of Kauai, and north
shores of Oahu, Molokai, and Maui

Small Craft Advisory…Maui County through Oahu to Kauai


Light trade winds, veering to the west and northwest during the new week ahead…locally strong and gusty. 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 to the northeast and northwest of the state, with ridges of high pressure over the ocean in both directions. At the same time, we have a very deep storm low pressure system to the north, with the tail-ends of two weak cold fronts in our general area. Light trade winds will persist into Monday, before our winds veer and strengthen from the west and northwest…as we see a cold front moving towards and over the state Tuesday. The winds will remain light which is bringing volcanic haze (vog) over our area in the meantime. Unusual westerly winds will prevail much of the upcoming new week, and may become strong and gusty at times…bringing cold fronts our way periodically through the next seven days.

A dissipating cold front will keep isolated light to moderate showers over parts of the eastern islands. Here’s the looping radar image showing a few showers, mostly over Maui County.  As the trade winds continue into Monday, whatever showers that are still around, will end up along our windward sides, with a few over the upcountry areas during the afternoons. The next cold front will spread more widespread showers across the state starting late Monday into Tuesday. Thereafter, the prevailing westerly winds, which usually are located well north of the Hawaiian Islands, will dip down over our tropical latitudes…keeping unsettled weather in place through the next week. There are likely to be more changes in next week’s weather outlook…stay tuned for additional updates. I’ll be back with more information on all of the above, I hope you have a great Saturday night wherever you’re spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.

Here in Kula, Maui: It’s partly to mostly cloudy on this Saturday morning, with a couple of very light sprinkles. The air temperature near its minimal reading this morning was 56 degrees. The skies cleared greatly during the last hour, and now at 830am, it is mostly cloud free…with still a light amount of volcanic haze in our air. ~~~ I just got back from my weekly shopping trip to Paia, where there was nice weather, and quite a bit warmer down there…compared to up here. Looking out from Kula now, I see that there is definitely lots of moderate to thick volcanic haze in our environment. There are deepening clouds over the slopes of the Haleakala Crater, and my weather deck was wet when I returned…so some showers have already begun to fall. The air temperature was 72 degrees, while down at Kahului it was a warmer 78 degrees. Light rain was being reported out at the Hana airport. ~~~ It rained a couple of times during the afternoon hours, although briefly at best. The main thing as we head into the evening hours, is the rather thick volcanic haze that continues to plague our area. I expect tonight will see clear skies for the most part, or partly cloudy at the most. I’m looking for similar conditions Sunday, like we saw today…no big changes on the immediate horizon.

~~~  Weekend youtube video, Honolulu City Lights…by Keola and Kapono Beamer

Friday Evening Film: My neighbor Jeff and I will see a film that we’ve been looking forward to for quite a while. We figured that after its been out for three weeks, that perhaps the crowds will have thinned out by now. This film is called American Sniper, starring Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Luke Grimes, Kyle Gallner, Elise Robertson, and Ben Reed...among many others. The synopsis: From director Clint Eastwood comes “American Sniper,” starring Bradley Cooper as Chris Kyle, the most lethal sniper in U.S. military history. But there was much more to this true American hero than his skill with a rifle. U.S. Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle is sent to Iraq with only one mission: to protect his brothers-in-arms. His pinpoint accuracy saves countless lives on the battlefield and, as stories of his courageous exploits spread, he earns the nickname “Legend.” However, his reputation is also growing behind enemy lines, putting a price on his head and making him a prime target of insurgents. Despite the danger, as well as the toll on his family at home, Chris serves through four harrowing tours of duty in Iraq, becoming emblematic of the SEAL creed to “leave no man behind.” But upon returning home, Chris finds that it is the war he can’t leave behind.

I thought, we thought, this was a very good film, which as we figured going in…was going to be a gripping exposure to men at war!  It certainly wasn’t an easy film to sit through, although I was glad to have seen this riveting piece of work in the end. Bradley Cooper played an exceptionally good role, being pushed into a foggy disorientation while at home with his family, and then waking up impressively when back in the fight. The transition periods during his incredible four tours of duty, is what made the story so interesting. As one critic put it, “American Sniper is pro-warrior, not pro-war.” This war damaged the main character, although it didn’t keep him from being very smart when he needed to be. The battle scenes were very realistic, bringing many scenes right to the pit of your stomach. The theater showed this film in the largest space it had, and the hundreds of people attending filled almost every seat. It was interesting, as all of these folks stood up and filed out, you could have heard a pin drop. There wasn’t the usual noise of people talking, as I think everyone found themselves still too deep inside for small talk. Our little group went out for a drink after the film, to try and calm our nerves a little…as we all found ourselves a little shell shocked. This film isn’t for everyone, although it was totally engaging, and in a sort of strange way, very entertaining! As for grades, everyone I was with, and there were four of us, all gave it a B+ grade. Here’s the trailer if you’d like to take a peek…it’s intense.


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: Tropical cyclone 10P (Ola) remains active, here’s the JTWC graphical track map for this strengthening tropical cyclone. Here’s the NOAA satellite image of this system…to the northwest of New Caledonia.

>>> North and South Indian Oceans: Tropical cyclone 09S (Eunice) remains active, here’s the JTWC graphical track map for this strong tropical cyclone. Here’s the NOAA satellite image of this system…to the south of Diego Garcia in the South Indian Ocean. (equivalent to a category 2 hurricane)

Here’s a link to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC)

 

Interesting: How did the Zebra get its stripes? – One of nature’s fascinating questions is how zebras got their stripes.


Larison has found at least part of the answer: The amount and intensity of striping can be best predicted by the temperature of the environment in which zebras live.


In the January cover story of the Royal Society’s online journal, Open Science, the researchers make the case that the association between striping and temperature likely points to multiple benefits — including controlling zebras’ body temperature and protecting them from diseases carried by biting flies.


“While past studies have typically focused their search for single mechanisms, we illustrate in this study how the cause of this extraordinary phenomenon is actually likely much more complex than previously appreciated, with temperature playing an important role,” said Thomas B. Smith, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology in the UCLA College and senior author of the research.


Larison, a researcher in UCLA’s department of ecology and evolutionary biology and the study’s lead author, and her colleagues examined the plains zebra, which is the most common of three zebra species and has a wide variety of stripe patterns. On zebras in warmer climes, the stripes are bold and cover the entire body. On others — particularly those in regions with colder winters such as South Africa and Namibia — the stripes are fewer in number and are lighter and narrower. In some cases, the legs or other body parts have virtually no striping.


Zebras evolved from horses more than 2 million years ago, biologists have found. Scientists have previously hypothesized that zebras’ stripes evolved for one, or a combination of, four main reasons: confusing predators, protecting against disease-carrying insects, controlling body temperature and social cohesion. And while numerous previous studies of the phenomenon focused on a single hypothesis, the Larison-led study was the first to fully test a large set of hypotheses against one another.