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

81 – 75  Lihue, Kauai
89 – 79  Honolulu, Oahu
86 – 76  Molokai
89 – 77  Kahului AP, Maui 
90 – 79  Kailua Kona
91 – 75  Hilo, Hawaii – broke the record Tuesday…89 back in 1977

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

0.98  Puu Opae, Kauai
0.28  Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu
0.04  Puu Alii, Molokai
0.00  Lanai
0.01  Kahoolawe
0.33  Kahakuloa, Maui
1.05  Lower Kahuku, Big Island

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

18  Mana, Kauai – SSW
20  Makua Range, Oahu – NE
09  Molokai – NW
13  Lanai – NW
13  Kahoolawe – SE
12  Maalaea Bay, Maui – NNE
18  Puu Mali, Big Island – NW

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://weather.unisys.com/satellite/sat_ir_enh_west_loop-12.gif
 Tropical Storm Jimena to the northeast of the islands…
with Hurricane Linda offshore from Mexico

Here’s a wind profile…so we can keep an eye on Jimena

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/PS/TROP/floaters/13E/imagery/vis0-lalo.gif
Tropical Storm Jimena continues being sheared by strong upper
level winds – with what little bit of leftover convection now to the
right of the low level circulation center

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/west/cpac/vis.jpg
Thunderstorms offshore to the southwest…
and northeast associated with Jimena


http://radar.weather.gov/Conus/RadarImg/hawaii.gif
There are some showers in our area, both over the ocean…
and coming ashore near Oahu and the Big Island
looping radar image

 

Tropical Storm Warning…offshore waters beyond 40 miles

 

~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~



Light breezes will continue to fan the islands…bringing very little relief from the tropical heat. Here’s the latest weather map, showing the Hawaiian Islands, and the rest of the North Pacific Ocean, along with a wind profiler of the central Pacific. We find a large, moderately strong high pressure system far to the northeast of the state. At the same time we see tropical storm Jimena offshore to the northeast of the state. As we move through this week, we’ll see the winds remaining light, as Jimena’s presence over the ocean to the northeast and north interrupts our more typical trade wind flow. This in turn will keep very muggy conditions around for the rest of the week. It looks as if we’ll see southeasterly winds filling in as Jimena moves past our area, which means possible volcanic haze in our skies. It may take until next Monday or so…before we get back into a more classic, late summer trade wind weather pattern.

The greatest threat of afternoon downpours…will continue over the interior sections. As the winds remain quite light, there will continue to be a few heavy downpours over the interior sections of the islands…triggered by daytime heating of the islands. The atmosphere was less shower prone today, and should remain that way through mid-week. Nonetheless, we’ll remain in a convective weather pattern…with locally heavy afternoon showers in some upcountry areas. We will likely see an increase in showers during the second half of this week, as the moisture in the wake of Jimena moves over the state, bringing potentially more wet conditions back our way Thursday into the weekend. These showers will concentrate their efforts most effectively during the afternoons…in the upcountry areas.

Tropical Storm 13E (Jimena) remains active well to our northeast…and continues to pose no threat to our islands. This tropical storm is maintaining sustained winds of near 50 mph as of the latest advisory. Here’s a satellite image, and the CPHC graphical track map, and what the computer models are showing. There continues to be an excellent chance that Jimena will stay away from our area, well to the northeast and then north of the state. Looking at the latest track map, it looks like this system will continue moving generally westward, and track by offshore to the north and northwest of Hawaii as a weaker tropical depression later this week.

A NORTH NORTHEAST SWELL FROM TROPICAL STORM JIMENA WILL GRADUALLY SUBSIDE AND SHIFT OUT OF THE NORTH DURING THE NEXT FEW DAYS. A SOUTH SWELL SLOWLY GRADUALLY THROUGH THE END OF THE WORK WEEK. A MODERATE SOUTH-SOUTHWEST SWELL IS EXPECTED ON SUNDAY AND MONDAY.

Here on Maui…It’s 6am Tuesday morning and clear to cloudy, depending upon where you are on the island. I see at least a couple of towering cumulus clouds poking their heads up over the ocean to the south and southwest of Wailea and Makena. A few minutes later, this cumulus has almost reached thunderstorm dimensions. This in turn suggests that our local atmosphere continues to remain shower prone, with afternoon showers likely again today over some parts of Maui County…some locally heavy. / 835am, and I can see that light trades are blowing…and the skies have become mostly clear, it’s turning out to be a really nice morning! / 1120am, and it’s a completely different day than we’ve seen in so long, like a week or two at least. There are no signs of towering cumulus or showers, and the skies are almost totally sunny…wow!

– We’re into the early afternoon now, and this big change in weather is sticking in here! We have a little volcanic haze, although skies remain mostly clear. / 245pm, there are finally some low clouds forming around the island, although it certainly doesn’t feel like rain. / Now at about 4pm, the low level clouds have spread around in many areas. It looks like the Ulupalakua/Keokea area might have the best chance of a shower, although it doesn’t look ripe for heavy showers at the moment.

– It’s just past 5pm here in Kula, and it’s partly cloudy. I can see moderately thick volcanic haze down in the central valley now. The rather insignificant clouds that formed over the island today, are almost all gone well before sunset. Skies are mostly clear, as they began this morning. I expect similar conditions on Wednesday, with clouds increasing again Thursday into the weekend…mostly over the mountains during the afternoons.

I’ll be back with many more updates on all of the above and below, I hope you have a great Tuesday night wherever you’re spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.


World-wide tropical cyclone activity:

>>> Atlantic Ocean:

Remnants of Tropical Depression 07L (Grace) are dissipating over the Atlantic Ocean, with sustained winds of 30 mph…and is located about 825 miles east of the Lesser Antilles. Here’s the NHC graphical track map, and a satellite image – Final Advisory

Tropical Depression 08L remains active over the Atlantic Ocean, with sustained winds of 35 mph…and is located about 260 miles east-southeast of Bermuda. Here’s the NHC graphical track map, and a satellite image…and what the computer models are showing

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:

Hurricane 15E (Linda) is rapidly weakening in the northeast Pacific, with sustained winds of 80 mph…and is located about 275 miles south-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California. Here’s the NHC graphical track map, and a satellite image…along with what the computer models are showing.

1.)  Disorganized showers and thunderstorms located south of the coast of Central America are associated with a tropical wave. An area of low pressure is expected to develop in association with the wave later this week several hundred miles south of the Gulf of Tehuantepec. Environmental conditions are forecast to be conducive for gradual development of this low while it moves generally west-northwestward at about 10 mph.

* Formation chance through 48 hours…low…10 percent
* Formation chance through 5 days…medium…50 percent

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:

Tropical Storm 13E (Jimena) remains active in the central Pacific, with sustained winds of 50 mph…and is located about 410 miles northeast of Honolulu, Hawaii. Here’s the NHC graphical track map, and a satellite image. Here’s what the computer models are showing.

Here’s a link to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC)

>>> Northwest Pacific Ocean:

Typhoon 03C (Kilo) remains active now in the western Pacific, with sustained winds of 75 mph, and is located about 674 NM east-southeast of Narita airport, Japan. Here’s the JTWC graphical track map, and a satellite image. Here’s what the computer models are showing.

Tropical Storm 18W (Etau) remains active in the western Pacific, with sustained winds of 40 mph, and is located about 194 NM west-northwest of Yokosuka, Japan. Here’s the JTWC graphical track map, and a satellite image – Final Warning

>>> 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:  The long-term effects of the Exxon Valdez oil spill – For 25 years, methodical research by scientists has investigated the effects of the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989 on Alaskan communities and ecosystems. A new study released today into the effects of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska shows that embryonic salmon and herring exposed to very low levels of crude oil can develop hidden heart defects that compromise their later survival, indicating that the spill may have had much greater impacts on spawning fish than previously recognized.

The herring population crashed four years after the spill in Prince William Sound and pink salmon stocks also declined, but the link to the oil spill has remained controversial. The new findings published in the online journal Scientific Reports suggest that the delayed effects of the spill may have been important contributors to the declines.

“These juvenile fish on the outside look completely normal, but their hearts are not functioning properly and that translates directly into reduced swimming ability and reduced survival,” said John Incardona, a research toxicologist at NOAA Fisheries’ Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle. “In terms of impacts to shore-spawning fish, the oil spill likely had a much bigger footprint than anyone realized.”

The research builds on earlier work by the Auke Bay Laboratories, part of NOAA Fisheries’ Alaska Fisheries Science Center, which found much reduced survival of pink salmon exposed as embryos to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) from crude oil.

“Our findings are changing the picture in terms of assessing the risk and the potential impacts of oil spills,” said Nat Scholz, leader of the NWFSC’s eco-toxicology program and a coauthor of the new study. “We now know the developing fish heart is exquisitely sensitive to crude oil toxicity, and that subtle changes in heart formation can have delayed but important consequences for first-year survival, which in turn determines the long-term abundance of wild fish populations.”

Scientists from the Northwest Fisheries Science Center and Alaska Fisheries Science Center temporarily exposed embryonic salmon and herring to low levels of crude oil from the North Slope of Alaska and found that both absorbed chemicals at similar concentrations in their tissues. The embryos were then transferred to clean seawater and raised as juvenile fish for seven to eight months.

Few of the exposed embryos or larvae were outwardly abnormal in any way. However, closer examination of the fish revealed subtle defects that could reduce their long-term survival:

  • Juvenile salmon exposed to oil grew more slowly, with those exposed to the highest concentrations growing the slowest. For salmon, early survival in the ocean is strongly influenced by juvenile growth, with smaller fish suffering higher loss to predators.
  • Scientists used swimming speed as a measure of cardio-respiratory performance and found that fish exposed to the highest concentrations of oil swam the slowest. Slower swimming is an indication of reduced aerobic capacity and cardiac output, and likely makes fish easier targets for predators.
  • Exposure to oil as embryos altered the structural development of the hearts of juvenile fish, potentially reducing their fitness and swimming ability. Poor swimming and cardiac fitness is also a factor in disease resistance.

“With this very early impact on the heart, you end up with an animal that just can’t pump blood through its body as well, which means it can’t swim as well to capture food, form schools, or migrate,” said Mark Carls, toxicologist at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center. “Crude oil is changing basic physiology, or what makes a fish a fish.”

Scientists reviewed data on measured oil concentrations in surface water samples collected in Prince William Sound after the oil spill and during the 1989 herring spawning season. Most of the 233 samples contained less oil than was believed to be toxic to herring at the time, based on gross developmental abnormalities. However, nearly all of the samples contained oil at or above concentrations shown in the new study to alter heart development.

If the Exxon Valdez spill impacted heart development among a large majority of fish that were spawned in proximity to oiled shorelines, the subsequent losses of juveniles to delayed mortality would have left fewer adults to join the population. Although not direct proof, this provides a plausible explanation for the collapse of the Prince William Sound herring stock four years later, when fish spawned during the oil spill would have matured.

The study concludes that the impacts of the Exxon Valdez spill on nearshore spawning populations of fish are likely to have been considerably underestimated in terms of both the geographic extent of affected habitat and the lingering toxicity of low levels of oil. The findings will likely contribute to more accurate assessments of the impacts of future oil spills, Incardona said. “Now we have a much better idea of what we should be looking for,” he said.