Hawaiian Islands Weather Details & Aloha Paragraphs / August 1-2, 2018

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

86 – 79  Lihue, Kauai
89 – 80  Honolulu, Oahu
89 – 78  Molokai AP
88 – 77  Kahului AP, Maui
89 – 75  Kailua Kona
86 – 74  Hilo AP, Hawaii

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

0.88  Mount Waialeale, Kauai
0.06  Moanalua RG, Oahu
0.10  Molokai
0.00  Lanai
0.00  Kahoolawe
0.79  West Wailuaiki, Maui
0.50  Saddle Quarry, Big Island

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

32  Port Allen, Kauai
58  Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu
38  Molokai
36  Lanai
47  Kahoolawe
42  Kahului AP, Maui
44  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

There are no tropical cyclones taking aim on the islands at the moment, although we’ll have to keep an eye on Tropical Cyclone 10E (Hector) next week…which will likely pass by to the south of the state (click image to enlarge)

Thunderstorms far to our west, southwest, south…and southeast

Partly to mostly cloudy…higher level clouds locally

Showers locally and offshore – Looping image

Small Craft Advisory…Coasts and channels statewide

~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~

Broad Brush Overview: High pressure north of the state will keep strong trade winds in place through at least Friday. A fairly typical trade wind shower regime is expected through Friday, with showers favoring windward and mountain areas. An upper level trough is expected to bring an increase in shower coverage and intensity late Friday through the weekend, with shower activity expected to be most prevalent in windward areas. A drier and more stable trade wind pattern is then forecast to overspread the state late Sunday…through early next week.

Details: The weak trough of low pressure, associated with the remnants of former tropical cyclone Gilma will pass by to the south of the Big Island. As a result, the gusty trades are expected to continue through at least Friday, and possibly right through the weekend. Look for windward showers, with a few leeward too, particularly during the overnight and early morning hours. Due to weak instability lingering over the island chain, an isolated thunderstorm or two will be possible each afternoon across the leeward Big Island slopes through Friday.

Looking Ahead: The most reliable models show an upper level trough over the western end of the state starting Friday…through early next week. In response, deep layer moisture will increase beginning Friday across the eastern islands, then spread northwestward over the remainder of the state Friday night and Saturday…before exiting Saturday night and Sunday. As a result, we could see a wet trade wind pattern developing late Friday over the Big Island, transitioning up the island chain Friday night…holding in place Saturday.

This will be followed by a period of drier weather, and returning to more of a typical trade wind shower regime from southeast to northwest Saturday night and Sunday. Given the instability over the islands during this period of time, some of the showers could be heavy, with locally heavy rain in place across windward areas Friday night and Saturday. Sunday night through next Tuesday, the models suggest a drier than normal trade wind pattern returning across the island chain.

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 / Here’s the latest Vog Forecast Animation / Here’s the Vog Information website

Marine Environmental Conditions: High pressure north of the islands will maintain strong trade winds through at least Friday. A Small Craft Advisory (SCA) is in effect for all coastal zones through Friday afternoon, although will likely need to be extended through Saturday, due to the persisting strong trade winds. A slight decrease in trade winds is expected Sunday, although breezy trade winds are expected well into next week.

The elevated trade winds will produce choppy surf along east facing shores, with wave heights increasing as the winds strengthen. Surf is expected to hold steady through the rest of the week, due to the persistent strong trade winds. Small southeast and south swells will maintain surf along south facing shores through the week. Small, short-lived west and northwest swells are expected to arrive, providing a very small rise along exposed north and west facing shores. However, Kauai will help block most of the west swell energy from the other islands.

World-wide Tropical Cyclone Activity

Here’s the Thursday Pacific Disaster Center (PDC) Weather Wall Presentation covering the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea…and the Gulf of Mexico

Here’s the Thursday Pacific Disaster Center (PDC) Weather Wall Presentation covering the Pacific and Indian Oceans, including Tropical Cyclone 15W (Jongdari)…and Tropical Cyclone 10E (Hector)

>>> Atlantic Ocean: No active tropical cyclones

>>> 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 10E (Hector)

2.) An area of disturbed weather has formed several hundred miles south of the Gulf of Tehuantepec. Environmental conditions are expected to be conducive for development, and a tropical depression is likely to form early next week while it moves west-northwestward off the coast of Mexico.

* Formation chance through 48 hours…low…10 percent
* Formation chance through 5 days…high…80 percent

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 Cyclone 15W (Jongdari)

Algal blooms occur seasonally in the Gulf of Mexico, when water conditions enable their populations to explode and spread. But this year’s event includes especially high quantities of algae that produce a toxin, and the impact on marine wildlife is devastating, affecting sea birds as well as fish and turtles in unprecedented numbers, the Fort Myers News-Press reported.

The algae’s toxins can also be dangerous to humans if inhaled, particularly for those people who have respiratory issues. Concentrations of algae in some coastal areas have been so high that the National Weather Service (NWS) issued beach hazard advisories over the weekend, warning about risks of respiratory irritation. Those warnings remain in effect as of July 30, according to the NWS.

Though K. brevis algae individually appear greenish, in high enough concentrations their photosynthetic pigments often color ocean waters red or brown, earning the name “red tide,” Michelle Kerr, a spokesperson for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) stated.

Any algal blooms that produce toxins are typically called “red tides,” she added. “Red tides caused by other algal species can appear red, brown, green or even purple. The water can also remain its normal color during a bloom,” she said.

Toxins produced by these particular algae can be inhaled or ingested and affect marine animals’ nervous systems, Kerr explained. Animals that consume the algae absorb its toxins; they then become poisonous to other animals. In this way, a red tide can generate toxic ripples that decimate an entire aquatic food chain, Kerr said.

A lethal bloom

Sea turtle mortality during the current red tide is far above average, with 287 dead or dying stranded turtles reported this year, Kerr said. By comparison, in previous years, the average number of stranded sea turtles reported for the same counties during the same time of year is usually half that number.

One rare casualty of the red tide this year was a young whale shark that washed ashore on Sanibel Island on June 22  — the dead shark tested positive for the K. brevis algae, according to the News-Press.

Dead fish have been washing up on Florida beaches “for months,” the News-Press reported on June 27, and a special FWC hotline for reporting fish kills — masses of dead fish — has logged about 300 reports since the red tide first appeared in November 2017, Kerr told Live Science.

K. brevis typically exists at levels of about 1,000 cells per liter of ocean water near the Florida coast, according to the FWC. During algal blooms, which usually emerge in late summer or early fall, populations can climb to concentrations sufficient to kill fish — about 250,000 cells per liter of water — within just a few weeks, the FWC reported.

Harmful algae blooms are considered “high-concentration” if the ratio of algae to water is more than 1 million cells per liter, Kerr explained. A recent sample of waters near Florida’s Sanibel Island, where the dead whale shark was found, showed 5 million algae cells per liter, Rick Bartleson, a chemist with the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation, told the News-Press.

Wildlife casualties of the red tide are likely even higher than suggested by the number of dead and dying animals found on beaches, as the majority of the algae’s victims likely sink to the sea bottom, the News-Press reported.

People in close proximity to strong red tides can experience tearing eyes, sneezing or coughing; and those with asthma, emphysema or other respiratory conditions may be more vulnerable to the airborne toxins, according to the NWS advisory.