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

83 68  Lihue, Kauai
84 – 73  Honolulu, Oahu
7862  Molokai
86 – 64  Kahului AP, Maui
84 73  Kona Int’l AP
7667  Hilo AP, Hawaii

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

0.09  N Wailua Ditch, Kauai
0.92  Maunawili, Oahu
0.00  Molokai
0.00  L
anai
0.01  Kahoolawe
0.01  Hana AP, Maui
1
.13  Saddle Quarry, Big Island

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

27  Makaha Ridge, Kauai
23
  Wheeler AAF, Oahu
23  Molokai
18  Lanai

14   Kahoolawe
22  Maalaea Bay, Maui 

16  Puu Mali, Big Island

Hawaii’s MountainsHere’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 systems far north and northeast of Hawaii

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An approaching cold front northwest

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Mostly clear…although clouds will increasing from the northwest

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A few showers locally…increasing first over Kauai and then Oahu
Looping radar image

High Surf Advisory…rising surf north and west shores of Kauai through Maui

Small Craft Advisory…for large northwest swell Kauai through Maui

~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~

 

Broad brush overview: A southerly wind flow will bring scattered clouds and showers, at least to certain portions of the state tonight. Clouds and showers will be most present over the southeast side of the Big Island, as well as the south and southwest sides of the smaller islands. A cold front will reach Kauai Thursday morning, then stall over the central islands Thursday afternoon through Friday…as the trade winds rebuild.

Details: A cold front is approaching the state from the northwest, with a very weak ridge of high pressure over the Big Island. The result is an increasingly humid flow, veering from southeasterly near the Big Island, to south and southwesterly over the western portion of the state. There has been an increase in moisture, along with some localized vog across the state. Stable air aloft has limited showers, which will continue tonight and Thursday. Most favored areas for showers will be the mountains…and south facing and leeward slopes ahead of the frontal boundary.

The weather pattern will be changeable over the next day or so, as the incoming cold front approaching from the northwest, and then reaches the state Thursday. The front is expected to weaken as it moves across Kauai Thursday morning, and will likely stall across Oahu and Molokai Thursday afternoon…into the night. Northeast trade winds will fill back in from north to south across the entire state Friday, bringing the focus for showers back to the windward sides of the islands.

Looking ahead: There’s the potential for a wet trade wind pattern for the weekend, especially for Kauai and Oahu. The models agree that an upper level trough will develop, and move towards the state from the west over the weekend. This scenario would help to destabilize the atmosphere…bringing the possibility for more persistent and locally heavy showers, especially over windward and mountains. This would be most apparent over the Kauai end of the state, as the trade winds carry moisture our way.

Here’s a wind profile of the Pacific Ocean – Closer view of the islands / Here’s the vog forecast animation / Here’s the latest weather map

Marine environment details: A small northwest swell will linger through tonight. A large, late season northwest swell will fill in Thursday, peak Thursday night, then lower gradually Friday and Saturday. Surf heights will reach high end advisory levels during the peak of the swell. If the swell ends up being larger than expected, then low end warning level surf is possible…for a brief time during its peak. A small north swell is also expected over the weekend, with a series of small northwest swells on tap for the first half of next week.

Data from the southern buoys show that energy from a new south swell has arrived. This swell will gradually fill tonight, then linger into Friday. Guidance continues to indicate that there will be a series of small south swells through the weekend…on into the middle of next week. Strengthening trade winds over the weekend on into early next week, will cause an increase in choppy surf along east facing shores.

The above mentioned large northwest swell will cause seas to reach Small Craft Advisory levels over exposed coastal waters from late Thursday and on into Friday. Strengthening trade winds late in the weekend may cause winds to reach Small Craft Advisory levels over the typically windy waters around Maui County and the Big Island.

 

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A change in the weather is on the northwest horizon


Southern California weather summary: Gusty offshore winds Thursday and Friday will help to boost afternoon temperatures to well above normal by the weekend. Temperatures will cool early next week.

 

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Fair weather prevails

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Mostly clear



World-wide tropical cyclone activity


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>>> Atlantic Ocean: The 2017 hurricane season begins June 1st

Out of season Sub-tropical Depression One remains active, here’s the satellite image…and what the various computer models are showing

Here’s a satellite image of the Atlantic Ocean

>>> Caribbean: The 2017 hurricane season begins June 1st

>>> Gulf of Mexico: The 2017 hurricane season begins June 1st

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 2017 hurricane season begins May 15th

Here’s the NOAA 2016 Hurricane Season Summary for the Eastern Pacific Basin

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 2017 hurricane season begins June 1st

Here’s the NOAA 2016 Hurricane Season Summary for the Central Pacific Basin

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:
No active tropical cyclones


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



Interesting:
Making Batteries From Waste Glass Bottles
– Researchers at the University of California, Riverside’s Bourns College of Engineering have used waste glass bottles and a low-cost chemical process to create nanosilicon anodes for high-performance lithium-ion batteries. The batteries will extend the range of electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and provide more power with fewer charges to personal electronics like cell phones and laptops.

Titled “Silicon Derived from Glass Bottles as Anode Materials for Lithium Ion Full Cell Batteries,” an article describing the research was published today in the Nature journal Scientific Reports. Cengiz Ozkan, professor of mechanical engineering, and Mihri Ozkan, professor of electrical engineering, led the project.

Even with today’s recycling programs, billions of glass bottles end up in landfills every year, prompting the researchers to ask whether silicon dioxide in waste beverage bottles could provide high purity silicon nanoparticles for lithium-ion batteries.

Silicon anodes can store up to 10 times more energy than conventional graphite anodes, but expansion and shrinkage during charge and discharge make them unstable. Downsizing silicon to the nanoscale has been shown to reduce this problem, and by combining an abundant and relatively pure form of silicon dioxide and a low-cost chemical reaction, the researchers created lithium-ion half-cell batteries that store almost four times more energy than conventional graphite anodes.

To create the anodes, the team used a three-step process that involved crushing and grinding the glass bottles into a fine white power, a magnesiothermic reduction to transform the silicon dioxide into nanostructured silicon, and coating the silicon nanoparticles with carbon to improve their stability and energy storage properties.

As expected, coin cell batteries made using the glass bottle-based silicon anodes greatly outperformed traditional batteries in laboratory tests. Carbon-coated glass derived-silicon (gSi@C) electrodes demonstrated excellent electrochemical performance with a capacity of ~1420 mAh/g at C/2 rate after 400 cycles.

Changling Li, a graduate student in materials science and engineering and lead author on the paper, said one glass bottle provides enough nanosilicon for hundreds of coin cell batteries or three-five pouch cell batteries.

“We started with a waste product that was headed for the landfill and created batteries that stored more energy, charged faster, and were more stable than commercial coin cell batteries. Hence, we have very promising candidates for next-generation lithium-ion batteries,” Li said.

This research is the latest in a series of projects led by Mihri and Cengiz Ozkan to create lithium-ion battery anodes from environmentally friendly materials. Previous research has focused on developing and testing anodes from portabella mushrooms, sand, and diatomaceous (fossil-rich) earth.