Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures (F) were recorded across the state of Hawaii Sunday…along with the minimums Sunday:
79 – 63 Lihue, Kauai
81 – 67 Honolulu, Oahu
80 – 62 Molokai
84 – 63 Kahului AP, Maui
82 – 75 Kona Int’l AP
87 – 63 Hilo, Hawaii
Here are the latest 24-hour precipitation totals (inches) for each of the islands, as of Sunday evening:
0.05 Waiakoali, Kauai
0.25 Punaluu Pump, Oahu
0.53 Molokai
0.00 Lanai
0.13 Kahoolawe
0.12 Kaupo Gap, Maui
0.08 Kaloko-Honokohau, Big Island
The following numbers represent the strongest wind gusts (mph)…as of Sunday evening:
16 Port Allen, Kauai – W
14 Wheeler AFB, Oahu – NW
07 Molokai – W
12 Lanai – SW
16 Kahoolawe – SW
12 Kaupo Gap, Maui – NE
14 Kaupulehu, 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
The winter storm track remains north of Hawaii…
with a cold front moving by to our north
Here’s a wind profile…of the offshore waters
around the islands – with a closer view
Tropical storm 01C (Pali) not a threat to Hawaii…far southwest
Partly cloudy…along with clear and cloudy skies locally
Showers mostly over the ocean – looping radar image
High Surf Warning…rising surf along the north and
west shores of Kauai, Oahu, Molokai and north shore
of Maui
Small Craft Advisory…most coastal and channel waters
~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~
Light and variable breezes, although trending southwest…volcanic haze locally. Here’s the latest weather map, showing the Hawaiian Islands, and the rest of the North Pacific Ocean. We find a high pressure system just to our northwest, moving east slowly. At the same time there’s high pressure cells far west and east-northeast. Meanwhile, we find storm and gale low pressure systems to our northeast through northwest. We see the tail-end of a cold front offshore to the northeast of the islands. Our winds will be light and variable in direction, continuing into the new week, as a high pressure ridge remains over or close to the state. This light wind situation will keep vog over the islands…at least at times locally.
We see patches of clouds over the islands locally…along with clear areas. A weak cold front managed to slip into the state, or at least some clouds on the very tail-end of its presence, which is now offshore to the northeast. This front didn’t remain strong enough to do much business for us, although it brought some scattered clouds locally. Looking ahead, these periodic cold fronts are expected to continue moving by just to our north, with the continued slight chance of sliding down into the state with a few showers during the new week…as is common during an El Nino winter. We should get used to this extended dry pattern, with the occasional wet frontal passage punctuating the upcoming serious drought in the islands.
Here in Maui County…We have a mix of clouds and clear skies early Sunday morning before sunrise…along with still quite a bit of volcanic haze. The light kona breezes are coming up from the southwest this morning. Here in upcountry Kula we have an air temperature of 51.4 F degrees at 655am. The temperature was 67 degrees down near sea level in Kahului, with 64 out in Hana, 72 over at Kapalua…and 45 atop the Haleakala Crater at the same time. Meanwhile, Kahoolawe’s highest elevation was reporting 66 degrees, with 66 degrees at Lanai City, and 68 at the Molokai airport. / Now at 945am, the light southwest kona breezes continue to push over the county, carrying scattered clouds, and some light volcanic haze.
– We’re now into the early afternoon at 1230pm, under clear to partly cloudy skies. The main change that I see now, compared to the last several days, and even earlier this morning…is the clearing volcanic haze. I can see the West Maui Mountains quite well from here in Kula…which certainly hasn’t been the case lately. / 305pm, partly cloudy, Kona breezes, dry…and light volcanic haze.
– It’s become quite cloudy early this evening, as the very light breezes prompted clouds to form over and around the county. The volcanic haze has thickened since earlier in the day, with at least moderately thick proportions going into the night. Here at my weather tower, in the upcountry Kula area, we’ve actually had a couple of very light showers…or at least sprinkles.
I’ll be back with many more updates on all of the above and below, I hope you have a great Sunday night wherever you’re spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn
Friday Evening Film: This time I’ll see one that looks good, called The Danish Girl, starring Alicia Vikander, Eddie Redmayne, Emerald Fennell, Ben Whishaw, Matthias Schoenaerts, and Amber Heard…among many others. The synopis: the remarkable love story inspired by the lives of artists Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener (portrayed by Academy Award winner Eddie Redmayne [“The Theory of Everything”] and Alicia Vikander [“Ex Machina”]), directed by Academy Award winner Tom Hooper (“The King’s Speech,” “Les Misérables”). Lili and Gerda’s marriage and work evolve as they navigate Lili’s groundbreaking journey as a transgender pioneer.
This film was very touching, with all the actors giving excellent performances! As noted above, this was the story of the first man to undergo gender-reassignment surgery. I’m starting to see that Eddie Redmayne is one of our great talents, with this film…after his recent Oscar win in the Stephen Hawking film. Alicia Vikander too, besides being so lovely, played an exceptional role as his wife…after being the robot in last year’s Ex Machina. Some critics complain that this film was too simplistic, and that too many of the sharp edges have been shorn from this gut-wrenching story. I can see their points, nonetheless, I was taken with the film, and feel very comfortable giving it a grade falling somewhere between an A- and B+. Here’s the trailer if you have an interest in seeing what this film looks like.
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 Storm 01C (Pali) remains active, located about 1345 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 near New Caledonia…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: As gas prices fall, consumers going back to less fuel efficient vehicles – There were high-fives this week from Detroit to Washington, D.C., as car makers celebrated record auto sales.
Americans bought 17.5 million cars and trucks in 2015. That’s a huge turnaround from 2009, and the Obama administration cheered the rebound as vindication of the president’s decision to rescue General Motors and Chrysler from bankruptcy.
“Because of the policy decisions that were made by this administration to place a bet on those workers, America has won, and our economy has been better for it,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters Wednesday.
There’s another element of the president’s auto agenda, though, that’s not looking so good: the drive for better fuel economy. In 2011, Obama struck a deal with automakers to sharply increase their vehicles’ efficiency. The move was designed to save money for consumers. It was also a key ingredient in the president’s recipe for reducing heat-trapping carbon pollution linked to climate change.
“By the middle of the next decade, the cars and trucks we buy will go twice as far on a gallon of gas,” Obama promised in 2013. “That means you’ll have to fill up half as often; we’ll all reduce carbon pollution.”
For a while, it worked. Automakers invested in fuel-saving technology, and consumers — burned by high gasoline prices — paid greater attention to miles per gallon. The average fuel economy of new vehicles rose from 22.6 miles per gallon in late 2011 to 25.8 mpg in mid-2014. But those improvements have now stalled.
Analysts at the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute say the average fuel economy of a new car sold in 2015 was lower than the year before. Last month, the average dipped below 25 miles per gallon.
What’s behind the decrease? Cheap gas.
“When gasoline is cheap, the motivation just isn’t there for consumers to pay a whole lot of attention to fuel economy,” says Brandon Schoettle, who compiles the University of Michigan figures with his colleague Michael Sivak.
As gas prices tumbled through 2015, car buyers increasingly turned to less fuel efficient trucks and SUVs. And while those models go farther on a gallon of gas than they used to, they’re no match for gas-sipping compacts.
“There’s kind of two competing forces here,” Schoettle says. “The automakers are doing what they can to improve the technology and the vehicles and make the fuel economy for these better and better each year. But on the other hand, you’ve also got the consumer behavior and what drivers want to purchase and drive around.”
Automakers aren’t likely to discourage consumers from switching, since trucks and SUVs are typically more profitable than cars. And if the trend continues, the U.S. will have a tough time meeting its climate goal of doubling fuel economy by 2025.
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