Hawaiian Islands Weather Details & Aloha Paragraphs / June 15-16, 2018

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

83 – 73  Lihue, Kauai
90 – 73  Honolulu, Oahu
88 – 68  Molokai AP
91 – 65  Kahului AP, Maui
86 – 74  Kailua Kona
83 – 70  Hilo AP, Hawaii

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

0.81  Mount Waialeale, Kauai
0.14  Kuaokala, Oahu
0.00  Molokai
0.06  Lanai
0.00  Kahoolawe
0.15  Puu Kukui, Maui
0.43  Piihonua, Big Island

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

25  Port Allen, Kauai
28  Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu
24  Molokai
27  Lanai
36  Kahoolawe
28  Kahului AP, Maui
24  South Point, 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…high cloud streaks

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 and radar data indicate that occasional small bursts of volcanic ash continue to emanate from Halemaumau Crater. Low level trade winds will push ash toward the southwest, and any ash fallout will likely occur over the Kau District and Highway 11 southwest of the town of Volcano. This includes the communities of Pahala, Wood Valley, Naalehu and Ocean View.

With winds spreading ash in the same direction, repeated eruptions will lead to a heavier buildup of ash. In addition, any ash deposited over the last several days will likely be picked up by local winds, contributing to dusty conditions.

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

 

~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~

 

Broad Brush Overview: The recent gusty trade winds have weakened, and should remain lighter into next week…potentially allowing land and sea breeze conditions over leeward areas in the process. Although shower coverage will continue to focus over windward and mountain areas, shower development will also become a possibility across the interior upcountry areas of the smaller islands through the afternoon hours…as onshore sea breezes develop. Volcanic emissions from the Kilauea volcano may begin to shift back toward the smaller islands Saturday for a brief period, in response to the lighter winds.

Details: The models show the ridge holding near or just north of the islands, due to a series low pressure systems moving across the central Pacific. This closer location of this ridge to the islands, is the cause of our trades relaxing. Although the bulk of the clouds and showers will continue to favor windward areas, as the light trades hold…some development across leeward areas will be possible through the afternoon and evening hours. These upcountry showers may be limited through Saturday, although may increase some across the western end of the state by Sunday.

Looking Ahead: The models go on to suggest we’ll see no significant changes as the weak ridge of high pressure remains near the islands next week. Trades will remain light with localized land and sea breezes remaining possible each day. The best source of low level moisture is expected over the western end of the state. As a result, the best shower coverage will most likely setup over the western end of the island chain through the afternoons each day…as sea breezes carry moisture inland from the ocean.

Volcanic emissions from the Kilauea volcano may begin to shift back toward the smaller islands tonight through Saturday due to the light winds and low level flow shifting out of the east-southeast direction. The models however depict the low level flow shifting back out of the northeast trade wind direction, and increasing Sunday into next week…which should favor the volcanic emissions shifting back offshore towards the area south of the smaller islands.

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 weak ridge of high pressure will keep a light to moderate trade wind flow in place through the middle of the new week. Winds and seas are expected to remain below Small Craft Advisory levels through this period.

The current south swell will get re-enforced by a larger south swell. This swell is expected to top out just below the advisory level tonight into Saturday, with a slow decline through the remainder of the weekend. A pair of moderate west-northwest swells will build and, then linger through the weekend. This will bring some decent surf to north and west facing shores for this time of year, with west facing shores of Kauai nearing the advisory level at the peak of the swell. Typical trade wind swell will remain small through the middle of next week. A small easterly swell associated with eastern Pacific tropical cyclones…will bring some small surf to east facing shores as well.

World-wide Tropical Cyclone Activity

Here’s the latest Pacific Disaster Center (PDC) Weather Wall Presentation covering Tropical Depression 03E (Bud), Tropical Storm 04E (Carlotta), and Tropical Depression 08W (Gaemi)

Here’s the latest 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

Disorganized showers and thunderstorms associated with a surface trough and an upper-level low are occurring over the Yucatan Peninsula and the southern Gulf of Mexico. Although environmental conditions are not expected to be favorable for significant development, heavy rains and gusty winds are likely to spread across the central Gulf of Mexico today…and will reach portions of the Texas and southwestern Louisiana coasts Sunday.

* Formation chance through 48 hours…low…10 percent
* Formation chance through 5 days…low…10 percent

>>> 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 04E (Carlotta)

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) – Final Warning

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: Russia Wants to Blast Space Junk with Laser Cannon – Russian. Space. Lasers. That’s right, Russian scientists are developing cosmic guns capable of blasting some of the half-million bits of space junk orbiting our planet into oblivion.

Precision Instrument Systems — a research and development arm within the Russian space agency, Roscosmos — recently submitted a proposal to the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) for transforming a 10 foot optical telescope into a laser cannon, the RT network reported.

Scientists at Russia’s Altay Optical-Laser Center will build this debris-monitoring telescope. Then, to turn it into a debris-vaporizing blaster, the researchers plan to add an optical detection system with an onboard “solid-state laser,” according to the Sputnik news agency.

After that, it’s sizzle time. The cannon will train laser beams on pieces of orbiting detritus in low Earth orbit, heating up the bits of floating junk until they are entirely demolished, according to RT.

Human-made space junk consists of discarded or broken parts of spacecraft, launch vehicles and other objects sent into space, and it comes in many sizes. Approximately half a million bits whizzing around the planet are the size of a marble or bigger, and about 20,000 of those are at least the size of a softball, NASA reported in 2013. These bits travel at speeds of up to 17,500 mph, and at such speeds, even a relatively small particle of debris could seriously damage a spacecraft or satellite.

In 2015, Japanese researchers presented plans for a spacefaring, debris-blasting laser mounted on a powerful telescope intended to detect cosmic rays, Space.com previously reported. Their study described combining many small lasers to produce a single powerful beam that would vaporize matter on the surface of space junk, generating a plume that would propel the debris lower in its orbital path, eventually causing the object to burn up in Earth’s atmosphere.

And earlier this year, researchers in China published a report proposing another laser-based approach to dealing with space garbage; their solution also suggested using satellite-mounted lasers to nudge orbiting debris into a lower orbit.

Clearly, space debris is a problem that would likely benefit from a futuristic solution like a laser cannon. However, while Precision Instrument Systems representatives confirmed the existence of their report to Sputnik, they “declined to elaborate further” on any details related to the project’s production time frame or its technical requirements.