Hawaiian Islands Weather Details & Aloha Paragraphs / June 14-15, 2018

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

83 – 74  Lihue, Kauai
90 – 74  Honolulu, Oahu
86 – 71  Molokai AP
88 – 69  Kahului AP, Maui
86 – 75  Kailua Kona
81 – 72  Hilo AP, Hawaii

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

4.45  Mount Waialeale, Kauai
1.22  Nuuanu Upper, Oahu
0.22  Molokai
0.18  Lanai
0.00  Kahoolawe
1.66  Puu Kukui, Maui
0.82  Waiakea Uka, Big Island

The following numbers represent the strongest wind gusts (mph) Thursday evening:

23  Port Allen, Kauai
28  Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu
25  Molokai
23  Lanai
32  Kahoolawe
29  Kahului AP, Maui
22  Kealakomo, 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. Here’s the webcam for the 10,000+ feet high Haleakala Crater on Maui. These webcams are 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

  An unusual late season cold front pushing by to our north (click to enlarge)

Low pressure system north  of the state…thunderstorms south

Clear to partly cloudy…some cloudy areas

Showers locally…and offshore – Looping image

 

Here’s the latest Vog Forecast Animation

Here’s the Vog Information website

Special Weather Statement…PERIODS OF ASHFALL LIKELY FROM KILAUEA VOLCANO…

Web cams indicate occasional small bursts of activity continue to emanate from Halemaumau Crater. Low level trade winds will push any ash or other debris toward the southwest, which would impact the Kau District and Highway 11 southwest of the town of Volcano. This includes the communities of Pahala, Wood Valley, Naalehu and Hawaiian Oceanview Estates. Any ash or dust deposited recently will be picked up by local winds, continuing dusty and hazy conditions in these areas.

Avoid excessive exposure to ash which is an eye and respiratory irritant. Those with respiratory sensitivities should take extra precaution to minimize exposure.

Pele`s hair and other lightweight volcanic glass particles from fissures in Leilani Estates are falling in close proximity to the fissures, but can also be carried downwind of the fissures. These volcanic particles can cause skin and eye irritation similar to volcanic ash, so avoid exposure. Pele`s hair can scratch glass and car finishes. Use plenty of water to rinse Pele`s hair off vehicles and avoid using windshield wipers.

 

~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~

 

Broad Brush Overview: A moderately strong high pressure system, located well to our northeast, has an associated ridge extending southwest from its center…swinging down to the north of the islands. The relatively close proximity of this ridge will bring us lighter winds, which will veer to east and southeast through early next week. These winds will be light enough to prompt daytime onshore flowing sea breezes, followed by offshore nighttime land breezes.

Details:  The ridge is maintaining light to moderate trades across the islands at the moment. However, as the ridge gets closer to the islands, pushed by unseasonal cold front to the northwest of the ridge, our winds will get lighter. This front isn’t expected to reach the islands, although will put the islands in a hybrid trade wind, sea and land breeze regime…lasting through at least the weekend. This trade wind/sea breeze circulation pattern will favor both windward and mountain showers during the nights and mornings…and afternoon and evening showers interior and leeward.

Looking Ahead: The models show the trades regaining a bit of strength Friday, although we’ll see sea breezes during the day locally. This comes about as the front pulls north and away from the islands, which will allow the ridge to shift slightly to the north of the islands. Through the rest of the weekend and into Monday of next week, the strength of the trades will waver in the light to locally moderate range…as another another front makes an advance towards the islands. At this time, the ridge holds once more…as the front stalls north of Kauai Tuesday.

Here’s a near real-time Wind Profile of the Pacific Ocean – along with a Closer View of the islands / Here’s the latest Weather Map

Marine Environmental Conditions: A small south swell will give a rise to south shore surf, with a slightly larger swell arriving Friday evening and lingering into the weekend. This late week and weekend swell will likely top out just below advisory levels Friday night into Saturday.

Small northwest swells will continue. A pair of moderate northwest and west-northwest swells will build tonight and Friday, then linger through the weekend. However, due to the swell’s westerly component and swell blockage from the island of Kauai, Oahu and Maui county will experience smaller surf.

Typical trade wind swells can be expected along east facing shores, before trending down late in the week through the weekend…as the trades weaken. East Pacific tropical cyclones will also send a series of east swells toward the islands through the weekend.

World-wide Tropical Cyclone Activity

Here’s the Thursday Pacific Disaster Center (PDC) Weather Wall Presentation covering Tropical Storm 03E (Bud), Tropical Storm 07W, Tropical Depression 08W, and a tropical disturbance being referred to as Invest 93E in the east Pacific

Here’s the Thursday Pacific Disaster Center (PDC) Weather Wall Presentation covering the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico…which has a tropical disturbance being referred to as Invest 91L, located over the Yucatan Peninsula

 

>>> Atlantic Ocean: No active tropical cyclone

>>> Caribbean Sea: No active tropical cyclones

>>> Gulf of Mexico: No active tropical cyclones

Tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 5 days.

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:

Tropical Cyclone 03E (Bud)

NHC texual advisory
NHC graphical track map
NOAA satellite image

Tropical Cyclone 04E 

NHC texual advisory
NHC graphical track map
NOAA satellite image

Here’s a looping satellite image of the eastern Pacific and south of Mexico

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

Tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 5 days.

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

>>> Northwest Pacific Ocean: 

Tropical Cyclone 08W (Gaemi)

JTWC texual advisory
JTWC graphical track map
NOAA satellite image

>>> North and South Indian Oceans / Arabian Sea: No active tropical cyclones

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


Interesting: How a Daredevil Raccoon Pulled Off a Terrifying 23-Story Climb – Not all heroes wear capes, but most of them do wear masks. Even raccoons.

Tuesday, June 12th, a daredevil raccoon in St. Paul, Minnesota, captivated the Internet by climbing 23 stories up a vertical concrete wall. The raccoon, now known as MPR raccoon in honor of the Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) employees who spotted the critter scaling a nearby skyscraper, became an instant social media star as viewers around the world rooted for its safe return to the ground.

The raccoon rested on various window ledges during its daring climb and ultimately reached the building’s roof this morning around 3 a.m. local time. At the end of the day, MPR raccoon had spent nearly 20 hours scaling the concrete building — alone, afraid and totally bereft of food and water.

The raccoon has been safely captured, but many questions remain. Why would a raccoon climb 23 stories straight up instead of climbing down? And how is this even possible? According to Minnesota Department of Natural Resources employee Bryan Lueth, it may be a simple mix of instinct and anatomy.

“If I had to come up with a scenario,” Lueth told MPR, “I would say it was maybe holed up in an alley … ran out onto the sidewalk, and then there’s all these people around. It’s like ‘Ah!’ The natural instinct is to climb.”

The raccoon rested on various window ledges during its daring climb  and ultimately reached the building’s roof around 3 a.m. local time. At the end of the day, MPR raccoon had spent nearly 20 hours scaling the concrete building — alone, afraid and totally bereft of food and water.

The raccoon has been safely captured, but many questions remain. Why would a raccoon climb 23 stories straight up instead of climbing down? And how is this even possible? According to Minnesota Department of Natural Resources employee Bryan Lueth, it may be a simple mix of instinct and anatomy.

“If I had to come up with a scenario,” Lueth told MPR, “I would say it was maybe holed up in an alley … ran out onto the sidewalk, and then there’s all these people around. It’s like ‘Ah!’ The natural instinct is to climb.”

Raccoons are notoriously skilled climbers. Because many raccoons make their dens near populated human settlements where garbage is plentiful, they’re used to scurrying up trees, chimneys and buildings to stay out of harm’s way, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFD) wrote on its website.

Nature has equipped raccoons well for this job. Sharp, nonretractable nails cap each of their long fingers and toes, and are perfect for digging into craggy surfaces like trees and cliffs. Unlike your house cat, raccoons can even rotate their back paws 180 degrees to climb down surfaces headfirst, the WDFD wrote.

This means raccoons can, and will, climb pretty much anything they can get their paws around —  your car, your garbage can or even your modest metropolitan skyscraper. One famous 1907 study on raccoon intelligence marveled at the animal’s ability to climb the bare steam pipes in the laboratory “with as much ease as though they were the trees of the forest.” (The study also found that raccoons are ticklish … Science was different back then.)

“Digging into tree bark is certainly a little bit easier than hard stone,” Lueth said, “but there must’ve been enough cracks or crevices or textures where [MPR raccoon] could get a grip [on the building].”

While some are hailing MPR raccoon as the hero Gotham City deserves, it seems the critter may have just been raccooning the only way raccoons know how. And that’s good enough for us.