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

80 – 69  Lihue, Kauai
78 – 69  Honolulu, Oahu
77 – 72  Molokai AP
79 – 73  Kahului AP, Maui
79 – 70  Kailua Kona
80 – 67  Hilo AP, Hawaii

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

0.46  Kapahi, Kauai
0.51  Kuaokala, Oahu
 0.61  Molokai
0.31  Lanai
0.29  Kahoolawe
0.37  Kepuni, Maui
0.49  Puuanahulu, Big Island

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

08  Waimea Heights, Kauai
13  Waianae Harbor, Oahu
13  Molokai
08  Lanai
10  Kahoolawe
17  Kula 1, Maui
14  Puu Mali, Big Island

Here’s a wind profile of the Pacific Ocean – Closer view of the islands

Hawaii’s Mountains – Here’s a link to the live webcam on the summit of our tallest mountain Mauna Kea (nearly 13,800 feet high) on the Big Island of Hawaii. This webcam is available during the daylight hours here in the islands, and at night whenever there’s a big moon shining down. Also, at night you will be able to see the stars — and the sunrise and sunset too — depending upon weather conditions.


Aloha Paragraphs

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Low pressure to our west…continues to draw clouds over the state

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A virtual conveyor belt of moisture from the deeper tropics…remains in place over us

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Multi-layered clouds…with embedded showers

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Showers hit and miss – Looping radar image


Winter Weather Warning…Big Island Summits

~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~

 

Our winds will remain quite light through the weekend…into the new week ahead. Here’s the latest weather map, showing a high pressure system far east-northeast. At the same time, we have a weak low pressure system with its associated cold front/trough to our north. As a result, winds will remain light, prompting daytime onshore sea breezes…followed by offshore flowing land breezes during the nights. Meanwhile, the breezes over the open ocean are coming up from the southeast, bringing volcanic haze over the smaller islands at times locally. 

A long lasting area of low pressure just west of the state, will keep showers over us…in an off and on manner through the weekend. These showers will be hit and miss in nature, while our skies will remain partly to mostly cloudy throughout. As we get into the later part of the weekend into the middle of the new week, we should see a period of improving conditions, especially by Tuesday and Wednesday. The models continue to hint that yet another low pressure system will approach the state to our west, setting up a Kona Low…with increasing showers Thursday and next Friday.

Marine environment details: Winds and seas will remain below Small Craft Advisory criteria through the weekend…on into the middle of the new week.

There will be a series of small north and northwest swells through the weekend. A slightly larger northwest swell is expected to arrive Sunday night, peak late Monday and Monday night, then gradually lower Tuesday and Wednesday. Surf heights are expected to remain below advisory levels.

A short period north-northeast swell will arrive Tuesday and linger through Thursday…which may produce advisory level surf along the east facing shores.

Friday Evening Film: A new film just came out, and I hadn’t heard of it, nor seen a trailer for it before now. It’s called Miss Sloane, and it looked quite good, especially with several actors that I enjoy, playing parts. It stars Jessica Chastain, Mark Strong, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Sam Waterston, John Lithgow, Grace Lynn Kung, and Jake Lacy…among many others. The synopsis: In the high-stakes world of political power-brokers, Elizabeth Sloane (Jessica Chastain) is the most sought after and formidable lobbyist in D.C. Known equally for her cunning and her track record of success, she has always done whatever is required to win. But when she takes on the most powerful opponent of her career, she finds that winning may come at too high a price. / My film viewing friend Jeff and I saw this together, and were both surprised at how good it turned out to be. Jessica Chastain gave a wonderful lead performance, stunningly good in fact! The supporting actors surrounding her were outstanding as well. The long and short of it was that we both gave straight A grades to this very smart and riveting film. Here’s the trailer if you’d like to take a quick look.

 

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More wet weather on tap…off and on into the weekend

 

World-wide tropical cyclone activity…with storms showing up when active


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>>> Atlantic Ocean: The 2016 hurricane season has ended

Here’s a satellite image of the Atlantic Ocean

>>> Caribbean: The 2016 hurricane season has ended

>>> Gulf of Mexico: The 2016 hurricane season has ended

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 2016 hurricane season has ended

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 2016 hurricane season has ended

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

>>> Northwest Pacific Ocean: No active tropical cyclones

>>> South Pacific Ocean: No active tropical cyclones


>>> North and South Indian Oceans / Arabian Sea:

Tropical Cyclone 05B (Vardah) remains active in the Bay of Bengal, here’s the JTWC graphical track map, a satellite image…along with what the computer models are showing

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


Interesting: Sea ice hit record lows in November – Unusually high air temperatures and a warm ocean have led to a record low Arctic sea ice extent for November, according to scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) at the University of Colorado Boulder. In the Southern Hemisphere, Antarctic sea ice extent also hit a record low for the month, caused by moderately warm temperatures and a rapid shift in circumpolar winds.

“It looks like a triple whammy—a warm ocean, a warm atmosphere, and a wind pattern all working against the ice in the Arctic,” said NSIDC director Mark Serreze.

Arctic sea ice extent averaged 3.51 million square miles for November, 753,000 square miles below the 1981 to 2010 long-term average for the month. Although the rate of Arctic ice growth was slightly faster than average, total extent actually decreased for a brief period in the middle of the month. The decrease in extent measured 19,300 square miles, and was observed mostly in the Barents Sea, an area of the Arctic Ocean north of Norway, Finland, and Eastern Russia.

NSIDC scientists said the decrease in extent is almost unprecedented for November in the satellite record; a less pronounced and brief retreat of 5,400 square miles happened in 2013. November 2016 is now the seventh month this year to have hit a record low extent in the 38-year satellite monitoring period. The November extent was 3.2 standard deviations below the long-term average, a larger departure than observed in September 2012 when the Arctic summer minimum extent hit a record low.

Arctic sea ice is still in the early stages of winter freeze-up and is expected to continue expanding until it hits its maximum extent around March next year.

NSIDC scientists said unusually high temperatures over the Arctic Ocean, persistent winds from the south, and a warm ocean worked together to drive the record low Arctic extent. Extending from northeast of Greenland towards Svalbard and Severnaya Zemlya, air temperatures at about 2,500 feet above sea level were up to 18 degrees Fahrenheit above the 1981 to 2010 long-term average for the month. Sea surface temperatures in the Barents and Kara Seas remained unusually high, up to 7 degrees Fahrenheit above average around Novaya Zemlya and Svalbard, preventing ice formation. These high temperatures reflected a pattern of winds from the south, which also helped to push the ice northward and reduce the ice extent.

NSIDC scientist Julienne Stroeve was in Svalbard during November and noted the lack of sea ice. “Typically sea ice begins to form in the fjords at the beginning of November, but this year there was no ice to be found,” she said.

In the Southern Hemisphere, sea ice surrounding the continent of Antarctica declined very quickly early in the month and set a record low. The average extent for November was 5.61 million square miles, 699,000 square miles below the 1981 to 2010 average. This was more than twice the previous record departure from average set in November 1986 and was 5.7 standard deviations below the long-term average.

NSIDC scientists said that higher-than-average temperatures and a rapid shift in Antarctic circumpolar winds appear to have caused the rapid decline in Antarctic sea ice.

Air temperatures 4 to 7 degrees Fahrenheit higher than average, and an earlier pattern of strong westerly winds worked to create a more dispersed sea ice pack in the Antarctic. A rapid shift to a more varied wind structure, with three major areas of winds from the north, rapidly compressed low-concentration sea ice around Wilkes Land, Dronning Maud Land, Enderby Land, and the Antarctic Peninsula. Moreover, several very large polynyas (areas of open water within the pack) have opened in the eastern Weddell and along the Amundsen Sea and Ross Sea coast.

“Antarctic sea ice really went down the rabbit hole this time,” said NSIDC lead scientist Ted Scambos. “There are a few things we can say about what happened, but we need to look deeper.”

NASA scientist and NSIDC affiliate scientist Walt Meier said, “The Arctic has typically been where the most interest lies, but this month, the Antarctic has flipped the script and it is southern sea ice that is surprising us.”