Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures (F) were recorded across the state of Hawaii Wednesday…along with the minimums Wednesday:
80 – 74 Lihue, Kauai
81 – 71 Honolulu, Oahu
82 – 68 Molokai
83 – 64 Kahului AP, Maui
82 – 68 Kona Int’l AP
78 – 65 Hilo, Hawaii
Here are the latest 24-hour precipitation totals (inches) for each of the islands, as of Wednesday evening:
1.10 Mount Waialeale Kauai
1.64 Poamoho RG 1, Oahu
0.54 Puu Alii, Molokai
0.00 Lanai
0.00 Kahoolawe
0.60 Puu Kukui, Maui
0.39 Glenwood, Big Island
The following numbers represent the strongest wind gusts (mph)…as of Wednesday evening:
16 Mana, Kauai – SE
20 Bellows, Oahu – NE
27 Molokai – ESE
12 Lanai – NE
37 Kahoolawe – ENE
18 Kaupo Gap, Maui – NNE
21 Kealakomo, Big Island – NNE
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
We see the next cold front approaching to the northwest / along
with tropical depression 01C far southwest of the state
Here’s a wind profile…of the offshore waters
around the islands – with a closer view
Tropical depression 01C far southwest – not a threat to Hawaii /
our next cold front approaching to the northwest
Mostly clear, with most clouds over the ocean
Showers over the ocean…the islands are mostly dry
looping radar image
~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~
Locally gusty trade winds…giving way to lighter breezes from the southeast through the week. Here’s the latest weather map, showing the Hawaiian Islands, and the rest of the North Pacific Ocean. We find a high pressure system to our northeast…moving eastward. At the same time, we find storm and gale low pressure systems well to our northwest through northeast. We see two cold fronts to our northwest, one of which will continue to approach the Hawaiian Islands over the next few days. Our winds will turn lighter from the southeast into Thursday…bringing a period of volcanic haze (vog), ahead of the next cold front during the weekend.
We see scattered over the islands locally…although mostly over the leeward offshore waters. The leeward sides will find some showers, mostly over the upcountry slopes during the afternoons through Friday. A new cold front will approach the state by the weekend. This weekend front will have a chance of bringing more showers our way. In sum: no significant rainfall expected through the next week, with more of these periodic cold fronts moving by to our north, or sliding down through the state modestly. The first of these will arrive this weekend, and again early next week…producing interruptions to our trade winds, and bringing the chance of more volcanic haze on southeast breezes.
Here in Maui County…It’s mostly clear to partly cloudy, with low clouds and some showers along our windward sides this morning before sunrise. There’s some streaky cirrus clouds that are lighting up a pretty pink color at sunrise. Here in upcountry Kula we have an air temperature of 49.8 F degrees at 550am. The temperature was 65 degrees down near sea level in Kahului, with 70 out in Hana, 72 at Maalaea Bay…and 39 atop the Haleakala Crater at the same time. Meanwhile, Kahoolawe’s highest elevation was reporting 66 degrees, with 64 degrees at Lanai City, and 68 at the Molokai airport. / Now at 1050am, looking down into the central valley, I don’t see any volcanic haze yet, although I’ll be keeping my eye out for it by Thursday morning.
– It’s early evening now at 530pm, and foggy here in Upcountry east Maui. I could still see a bit of sunshine down in the central valley, as well as what looked like quite a bit of volcanic haze too.
I’ll be back with many more updates on all of the above and below, I hope you have a great Wednesday 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 2015 Atlantic hurricane season…has occurred. Routine issuance of the Tropical Weather Outlook will resume on June 1, 2016. During the off-season, Special Tropical Weather Outlooks will be issued if conditions warrant. Here’s the 2015 hurricane season summary
Here’s a satellite image of the Atlantic Ocean
>>> Caribbean Sea: The last regularly scheduled Tropical Weather Outlook of the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season…has occurred. Routine issuance of the Tropical Weather Outlook will resume on June 1, 2016. During the off-season, Special Tropical Weather Outlooks will be issued if conditions warrant.
>>> Gulf of Mexico: The last regularly scheduled Tropical Weather Outlook of the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season…has occurred. Routine issuance of the Tropical Weather Outlook will resume on June 1, 2016. During the off-season, Special Tropical Weather Outlooks will be issued if conditions warrant.
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: The last regularly scheduled Tropical Weather Outlook of the 2015 North Pacific hurricane season…has occurred. Routine issuance of the Tropical Weather Outlook will resume on May 15, 2016. During the off-season, Special Tropical Weather Outlooks will be issued if conditions warrant. Here’s the 2015 hurricane season summary
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, 2016. During the off-season, special tropical weather outlooks will be issued if conditions warrant. Here’s the 2015 hurricane season summary
Out of season Tropical Depression 01C is now active, located about 1500 miles southwest of Honolulu, Hawaii. Here’s the CPHC graphical track map, along with a satellite image…and finally what the computer models are showing.
Here’s a link to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC)
>>> South Pacific Ocean:
Tropical Cyclone 06P (Ula) remains active well to the southwest of Fiji…in the southwest Pacific. Here’s the JTWC graphical track map, along with a satellite image of this system…and finally what the computer models are showing.
>>> North and South Indian Oceans / Arabian Sea: There are no active tropical cyclones
Here’s a link to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC)
Interesting: Will Styrofoam Get the Plastic Bag Treatment? – Say farewell to Styrofoam take-out containers in the nation’s capital. It’s been a few years in the making, but Washington, D.C. has finally enacted a firm ban on polystyrene food and beverage containers. Henceforth, all restaurants will have to provide biodegradable alternatives if they want to send their patrons home with leftovers.
The ordinance is a big score for the environment since Styrofoam is a harmful material that takes hundreds of years to decompose. Although it was recently discovered that meal worms can safely digest polystyrene, that’s not currently a practical approach to handling the world’s massive foam waste problem. As it stands, Styrofoam products account for about 30 percent of all space in landfills in the U.S. Altogether, Americans toss approximately 25 billion Styrofoam cups each year.
Styrofoam may be a nationwide problem, but lawmakers also factored in local concerns when deciding to enact the ban. The city has undergone a serious effort to clean the highly polluted Anacostia River, and the Department of Energy & Environment (DOEE) notes that foam containers are some of the most common types of litter fished out of the river. By eliminating Styrofoam boxes and cups, the river should become that much cleaner.
The D.C. law pertains specifically to food and drink containers obtained at restaurants. Styrofoam will still be allowed for a number of other uses, including to pack and ship food products. The DOEE says it will conduct regular inspections to determine that food industry businesses are complying with the law, and it invites citizens to call in tips to report restaurants that continue to serve Styrofoam.
While D.C. may be the current largest populated city in the United States to ban foam, it’s certainly not the first. The Surfrider Foundation compiles a list of places across America that have similarly kicked out polystyrene containers, including Seattle, Wash., Portland, Ore., and over 60 communities scattered throughout California. Though most municipalities are recent adopters, a handful of places have laws dating back to the late 1980s/early 1990s.
New York City was the biggest city to get rid of foam containers until a few months ago. A judge in New York state undid the ban on polystyrene containers throughout New York City, saying that the city had the responsibility to find better ways to recycle the material before outright banning it.\Despite NYC backtracking thanks to an outside judge, the overall shift toward eliminating foam is a reassuring trend. For years, it seemed like banning plastic bags was too far fetched to succeed, but for every city that takes the plunge, more and more follow suit. If a couple other major cities join D.C., Seattle and Portland in requiring biodegradable container options, other vaguely eco-conscious cities will probably follow their example once they see how feasible it is.
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