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

89 – 74  Lihue, Kauai
89 – 76  Honolulu, Oahu
88 – 75  Molokai
89 – 74  Kahului AP, Maui
87 – 75  Kailua Kona
85 – 72  Hilo AP, Hawaii

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

0.18  Mount Waialeale, Kauai
0.15  Punaluu Pump, Oahu
 0.03  Molokai
0.00  Lanai
 0.00  Kahoolawe
0.30  West Wailuaiki, Maui
0.69  Saddle Quarry, Big Island

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

33  Port Allen, Kauai
43  Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu
33  Molokai
33  Lanai
39  Kahoolawe
38  Maalaea Bay, Maui 
42  PTA Keamuku, Big Island

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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The tropics remain active…with a cold front well northwest

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Thunderstorms…offshore west, south and southeast

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Scattered clouds windward…high cirrus west and north


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Showers locally – Looping radar image

Small Craft Advisory…windiest coasts and channels from Kauai down through the Big Island

~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~

 

Broad Brush Overview: High pressure north of the state will keep moderate to strong trade winds blowing across the islands…through the upcoming new work week. Clouds and showers will favor windward and mountain areas, with an occasional shower being carried over into the leeward sides, due to the strength of the trades.

Details: Satellite imagery shows a band of showers arriving along the windward sides. These passing showers will affect all islands, and with the trades remaining blustery, showers will occasionally be carried over into the leeward sides on the smaller islands. These showers will likely back-off over the Kauai side of the state …although showery conditions may continue over the windward Maui County and the Big Island.

Looking ahead: A fairly typical trade wind weather pattern is expected, with clouds and showers bringing off and on showers. Meanwhile, the Central Pacific remains quiet in terms of tropical storms, while the eastern Pacific has Hurricane Otis and Tropical Storm Norma churning the waters. Looking at the latest models, I still don’t see any tropical systems moving towards the Hawaiian Islands.

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: Strong and gusty trade winds will dominate the coastal waters surrounding the Hawaiian Islands through Monday, as a surface high builds far north of the state. A Small Craft Advisory (SCA) remains in effect for the typically windy waters adjacent to the Big Island and the islands of Maui County, as well as for the Kaiwi Channel and the Oahu Leeward Waters. As the robust high eventually drifts eastward to a position far north-northeast of the area during the start of the new work week, expect the SCA to be trimmed back to the typically windy waters starting Monday night or Tuesday. The SCA for these windy areas will likely remain posted into mid-week. While the details currently remain uncertain, the forecast models continue to suggest the trade winds may weaken heading into next weekend.

Relatively small surf is expected along most shorelines through the end of the new work week. An inconsistent, southwest swell, which originated over the Tasman Sea, is expected to produce periods of small to moderate surf along most south and west facing shores through tonight, before it fades Monday. Otherwise, small southwest swells will maintain small surf along south and west facing shores from Tuesday through the end of the work week.

Waves generated by the trade winds are expected to gradually increase later tonight or Monday. This will likely produce moderate rough surf along east facing shores by the start of the new work week. The surf along east facing shores will begin to gradually decline toward the end of the week, as the trades begin to weaken. Surf will likely remain relatively small along most north facing shores into mid-week. However, a small northwest swell is forecast to arrive around Thursday, which may produce a small rise in surf heights along some north and west facing shores of the smaller islands.

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World-wide Tropical Cyclone activity

>>> Here’s the latest PDC Weather Wall Presentation, covering Hurricane Jose, Tropical Depression Lee…and Hurricane Maria

>>> Here’s the latest PDC Weather Wall Presentation, covering Tropical Storm Talim, Hurricane Otis, and Tropical Storm Norma


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>>> Atlantic Ocean:

Hurricane 12L (Jose) is active, here’s a NHC graphical track map, a satellite image…and what the computer models are showing

Tropical Depression 14L (Lee) is active, here’s a NHC graphical track map, a satellite image…and what the computer models are showing

Hurricane 15L (Maria) is active, here’s a NHC graphical track map, a satellite image…and what the computer models are showing

>>> Caribbean Sea: No active tropical cyclones

>>> Gulf of Mexico: No active tropical cyclones

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:

Hurricane 15E (Otis) remains active, here’s a NHC graphical track map, a satellite image…and what the computer models are showing

Tropical Storm 17E (Norma) remains active, here’s a NHC graphical track map, a satellite image…and what the computer models are showing

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: No active tropical cyclones

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

>>> Northwest Pacific Ocean:

Tropical Storm 20W (Talim) is dissipating, here’s a JTWC graphical track map, a satellite image – Final Warning

>>> 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: Krakatoa Volcano: Facts About 1883 Eruption – The eruption of Krakatoa, or Krakatau, in August 1883 was one of the most deadly volcanic eruptions of modern history. It is estimated that more than 36,000 people died. Many died as a result of thermal injury from the blasts and many more were victims of the tsunamis that followed the collapse of the volcano into the caldera below sea level. The eruption also affected the climate and caused temperatures to drop all over the world.

The island of Krakatau is in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra. It is part of the Indonesian Island Arc. Volcanic activity is due to subduction of the Indo-Australian tectonic plate as it moves northward toward mainland Asia. The island is about 3 miles wide and 5.5 miles long. Before the historic eruption, it had three linked volcanic peaks: Perboewatan, the northernmost and most active; Danan in the middle; and the largest, Rakata, forming the southern end of the island. Krakatau and the two nearby islands, Lang and Verlatan, are remnants of a previous large eruption that left an undersea caldera between them.

In May 1883, the captain of the Elizabeth, a German warship, reported seeing clouds of ash above Krakatau. He estimated them to be more than 6 miles high. For the next two months, commercial vessels and chartered sightseeing boats frequented the strait and reported thundering noises and incandescent clouds. People on nearby islands held festivals celebrating the natural fireworks that lit the night sky. Celebration would come to a tragic halt on Aug. 27.

At 12:53 p.m. on Sunday the 26th, the initial blast of the eruption sent a cloud of gas and debris an estimated 15 miles into the air above Perboewatan. It is thought that debris from the earlier eruptive activity must have plugged the neck of the cone, allowing pressure to build in the magma chamber. On the morning of the 27th, four tremendous explosions, heard as far away as Perth, Australia, some 2,800 miles distant, plunged both Perboewatan and Danan into the caldera below the sea.

The initial explosion ruptured the magma chamber and allowed seawater to contact the hot lava. The result is known as a phreatomagmatic event. The water flash-boiled, creating a cushion of superheated steam that carried the pyroclastic flows up to 25 miles at speeds in excess of 62 mph. The eruption has been assigned a rating of 6 on the Volcanic Explosion Index (VEI) and is estimated to have had the explosive force of 200 megatons of TNT. (For purposes of comparison, the bomb that devastated Hiroshima had a force of 20 kilotons, nearly ten thousand times less explosive as the Krakatoa eruption. The Krakatoa eruption was about ten times more explosive than the Mount St. Helens explosion of 1980 with a VEI of 5.)

Tephra (volcanic rock fragments) and hot volcanic gases overcame many of the victims in western Java and Sumatra, but thousands more were killed by the devastating tsunami. The wall of water, nearly 120 feet tall, was created by the volcano’s collapse into the sea. It completely overwhelmed small nearby islands. Inhabitants of the coastal towns on Java and Sumatra fled toward higher ground, fighting their neighbors for toeholds on the cliffs. One hundred sixty five coastal villages were destroyed. The steamship Berouw was carried nearly a mile inland on Sumatra; all 28 crew members were killed. Another ship, the Loudon, had been anchored nearby. The ship’s captain Lindemann succeeded in turning its bow to face the wave, and the ship was able to ride over the crest. Looking back, the crew and passengers saw that nothing was left of the pretty town where they had been anchored.

The explosions hurled an estimated 11 cubic miles of debris into the atmosphere, darkening skies up to 275 miles from the volcano. In the immediate vicinity, the dawn did not return for three days. Ash fell as far away as 3,775 miles landing on ships to the northwest. Barographs around the globe documented that the shock waves in the atmosphere circled the planet at least seven times. Within 13 days, a layer of sulfur dioxide and other gases began to filter the amount of sunlight able to reach Earth. The atmospheric effects made for spectacular sunsets all over Europe and the United States. Average global temperatures were as much as 1.2 degrees cooler for the next five years.

Mount Tambora & the year without a summer

While justifiably rated as one of the most destructive volcanic eruptions of modern times, Krakatoa was not the largest eruption in the recent history of Indonesia. That “honor” belongs to the eruption of Mount Tambora on April 10, 1815. Krakatoa ranks third on the list based on explosive force and destruction.

Tambora is the only eruption in modern history to rate a VEI of 7. Global temperatures were an average of five degrees cooler because of this eruption; even in the United States, 1816 was known as the “year without a summer.” Crops failed worldwide, and in Europe and the United States an unexpected outcome was the invention of the bicycle as horses became too expensive to feed.

The Child of Krakatoa

In 1927, some Javanese fishermen were startled as a column of steam and debris began spewing from the collapsed caldera. Krakatoa had awakened after 44 years of calm. Within weeks, the rim of a new cone appeared above sea level. Within a year, it grew into a small island, which was named Anak Krakatoa, or Child of Krakatoa. Anak Krakatoa has continued to erupt periodically, although mildly and with little danger to the surrounding islands. The last eruption was on March 31, 2014. It registered a VEI of 1.