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

79 – 69  Lihue, Kauai
82 – 67  Honolulu, Oahu
79 – 64  Molokai
81 – 57  Kahului AP, Maui
83 – 61  Hilo, Hawaii

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

0.73  Mount Waialeale Kauai
0.69 Moanalua RG, Oahu
0.15  Molokai AP, Molokai
0.01  Lanai
0.00  Kahoolawe
0.20  Puu Kukui, Maui
0.01  Hilo AP, Big Island

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

25  Port Allen, Kauai – E
27  Kuaokala, Oahu – NE
27  Molokai – ENE
27  Lanai – NE
35  Kahoolawe – NE
29  Kahului AP, Maui – NNE
31  South Point, 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

http://weather.unisys.com/satellite/sat_ir_enh_west_loop-12.gif
We see lots of activity far north and northwest…with
high cirrus clouds moving over us from the southwest

Here’s a wind profile…of the offshore waters
around the islands – with a closer view

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/west/cpac/vis.jpg
Active thunderstorms far south and southwest

 

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/west/hi/vis.jpg
Streaky high cirrus…along with a few lower level clouds


http://radar.weather.gov/Conus/RadarImg/hawaii.gif
Showers over the ocean to our north and northeast…
impacting the islands locally – looping radar image


High Surf Advisory…for the north and west shores of Kauai,
Oahu, Molokai / north shore of Maui

 

~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~



Locally gusty trade winds into Wednesday morning…then lighter breezes from the southeast. 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 new 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 later Wednesday into Thursday morning…bringing a period of volcanic haze (vog), ahead of yet another couple of cold fronts into the weekend.

We see a dissipating cold front in our general area. This front will contribute some passing showers, carried by the trades along our windward coasts and slopes…especially over the eastern islands tonight into Wednesday morning. The leeward beaches may see some of these showers here and there on the smaller islands. This will be followed by another cold front, although the chances of it making it all the way into the state later Thursday and Friday isn’t likely. Finally, yet another cold front will approach the state by the weekend. This weekend front will have the best chance of bringing more showers our way. There’s no clear indication of our weather changing towards a significantly wetter reality – thanks to our strong El Nino this winter.

Here in Maui County…It’s mostly clear to partly cloudy across the island this morning before sunrise. Here in upcountry Kula we have a cool air temperature of 44.8 F degrees at 550am. The temperature was a chilly 59 degrees down near sea level in Kahului, with 66 out in Hana, 59 at Maalaea Bay…and 34 atop the Haleakala Crater at the same time. Meanwhile, Kahoolawe’s highest elevation was reporting 64 degrees, with 58 degrees at Lanai City, and 69 at the Molokai airport. /  Now at 750am, clouds and showers have arrived along our windward sides, although the leeward sides remain nice and sunny this morning. The air temperature here at my Kula weather tower has risen to 48.7 degrees. / 855am finds clearing along the windward sides, with skies over the island clearing in general.

– Early afternoon, with partly cloudy skies generally, along with some streaky high cirrus clouds. There have been a few off and on passing showers along our windward sides, although the leeward beaches remain in fine shape. I took a short drive up the Haleakala Crater road this morning, to my favorite skateboarding section. There were much fewer cars than have been around over the recent holiday period. It’s always good to have fewer cars, as that keeps me from having to pull over to the side of the road, to let them pass. The weather was perfect up there, and it was a joy to get on my board again…especially after just skiing in the Swiss Alps just a week or two ago! I must admit, that I was relieved that I didn’t take a fall, as I can still feel my butt, from that fall I took on the snow in Switzerland.

– Early evening, partly cloudy skies, and that thin high cirrus too. / Now at 820pm it’s dark of course, with a warmer temperature than any of the last several nights, being 56.8 degrees.

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: 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

SPECIAL TROPICAL WEATHER OUTLOOK
NWS CENTRAL PACIFIC HURRICANE CENTER HONOLULU HI
803 PM HST TUE JAN 5 2016

FOR THE CENTRAL NORTH PACIFIC…BETWEEN 140W AND 180

  1. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ASSOCIATED WITH AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE ABOUT 1600 MILES SOUTHWEST OF HONOLULU HAWAII HAVE BECOME BETTER ORGANIZED OVER THE PAST 6 TO 12 HOURS. ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS APPEAR FAVORABLE FOR ADDITIONAL DEVELOPMENT OVER THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS…DESPITE THE LOW/S PROXIMITY TO THE EQUATOR.


* FORMATION CHANCE THROUGH 48 HOURS…MEDIUM…50 PERCENT

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 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.