Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures were recorded across the state of Hawaii Friday:
Lihue, Kauai – 85
Honolulu airport, Oahu – 87 (record for Friday – 94 in 1995)
Kaneohe, Oahu – 82
Molokai airport – 84
Kahului airport, Maui – 86
Kona airport 85
Hilo airport, Hawaii – 84
Air Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level – and on the highest mountain tops…as of 5pm Friday evening:
Barking Sands, Kauai – 85
Kaneohe, Oahu – 77
Haleakala Crater – 52 (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea Summit – 37 (over 13,500 feet on the Big Island)
Here are the 24-hour precipitation totals (inches) for each of the islands as of Friday evening:
1.83 Mount Waialeale, Kauai
0.25 Manoa Lyon Arboretum, Oahu
0.05 Molokai
0.00 Lanai
0.00 Kahoolawe
0.79 Puu Kukui, Maui
0.35 Kealakekua, Big Island
Marine Winds – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map showing a 1034 millibar high pressure system to the north of our islands. Our local trade winds will remain active through Sunday.
Satellite and Radar Images: To view the cloud conditions we have here in Hawaii, please use the following satellite links, starting off with this Infrared Satellite Image of the islands to see all the clouds around during the day and night. This next image is one that gives close images of the islands only during the daytime hours, and is referred to as a Close-up visible image. Finally, here's a Looping IR satellite image, making viewable the clouds around the islands 24 hours a day. To help you keep track of where any showers may be around the islands, here’s the latest animated radar image.
Hawaii’s Mountains – Here’s a link to the live web cam on the summit of near 13,500 foot Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii. The tallest peak on the island of Maui is the Haleakala Crater, which is near 10,000 feet in elevation. These two web cams are available during the daylight hours here in the islands…and when there’s a big moon shining down during the night at times. Plus, during the nights you will be able to see stars, and the sunrise and sunset too…depending upon weather conditions.
Tropical Cyclone activity in the eastern and central Pacific – Here’s the latest weather information coming out of the National Hurricane Center, covering the eastern north Pacific. You can find the latest tropical cyclone information for the central north Pacific (where Hawaii is located) by clicking on this link to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. A satellite image, which shows the entire ocean area between Hawaii and the Mexican coast…can be found here. Here's a tropical cyclone tracking map for the eastern and central Pacific.
Aloha Paragraphs
Trade winds, off and on passing windward showers…
generally pleasant through the weekend and beyond
The trade winds will prevail this weekend…continuing on into the new week ahead. Glancing at this weather map, we find a moderately strong 1034 millibar high pressure system located to the north of the islands Friday night. This robust high pressure cell dominates the Pacific, from the International Dateline to our west, across the eastern Pacific to the Baja California coast of Mexico. There’s still no end in sight to this typical summertime trade wind flow. We saw small craft wind advisories going up late Friday afternoon, covering those windiest channels and coasts around Maui County and the Big Island…through Sunday at least.
Our trade winds will remain active…the following numbers represent the strongest gusts (mph), along with directions Friday evening:
28 Port Allen, Kauai – NE
24 Honolulu, Oahu – NE
28 Molokai – NE
29 Kahoolawe – E
31 Kahului, Maui – NE
17 Lanai – NE
29 Upolu Point, Big Island – NE
We can use the following links to see what’s going on in our area of the north central Pacific Ocean Friday night. Looking at this NOAA satellite picture we find clouds scattered around the area, generally over the offshore waters. There is a band of clouds that will bring some increase in showers to the windward sides tonight. We can use this looping satellite image to see thunderstorms far to our south-southeast, southwest through the west…out over the ocean. At the same time we see a steady streChecking out this looping radar image we see a few minor showers being carried along in the trade wind flow, most notably over the ocean…generally light stuff at the time of this writing.
Sunset Commentary: We'll find typical trade wind weather conditions prevailing well into the future. This simply means that the trade winds will be blowing, and that showers will be carried our way at times. The trade winds won't be too strong, nor will they be too light…but just about right most of the time. The showers that arrive along our windward sides won't amount to all that much, although will provide the lush tropical vegetation some watering. The leeward sides will be generally dry and sunny, making for good beaching weather. Speaking of those south and west facing shores, there will be an active southwest swell, causing breaking waves. There isn't a high surf advisory, although it would be wise to pay attention to those waves, especially if they are larger than you are used to.
As I mentioned this morning in my sunrise commentary, I'm going out to dinner this evening in Wailea. I'll meet a couple of friends for an evening out, which is a change from my usual Friday evening activity, which is of course seeing a new film. It will be fun to be out in public, and to eat some nice food at Longhi's restaurant. This will be a five course meal, with organic wine being poured in between courses. I haven't been out to a fine dining place in Wailea in a long time, although its interesting that I was out to Mama's Fish House for dinner just last Saturday night. I'm starting to get out more these days, which seems like a good thing. My friends have invited me to stay at their house tonight if I want to, although I'd prefer to just drive back upcountry to Kula instead. There is that chance however, so if my next commentary is a little late in getting out, you'll know why. I hope you have a great Friday night, and of course that just past July full moon, will still be very large in the sky! Aloha for now…Glenn.
Interesting: The loss of large predators and large herbivores may be "humankind's most pervasive influence on nature," according to a paper published in journal Science. When top predators and large herbivores are weakened, the animals and plants they eat usually thrive because they're no longer actively killed. Their overpopulation, and the ripple effect throughout the ecosystem, is throwing ecosystems out of balance.
The impacts of this phenomenon on the planet include changes in soil, water, vegetation, and the atmosphere. The phenomenon also increases human contact with invasive and disease-carrying species.
The study provided the following examples:
-The reduction of lions and leopards from areas of sub-Saharan Africa caused the baboon population to swell. This unexpectedly increased transmission of intestinal parasites from baboons to humans as the primates were forced to forage closer to human settlements.
-As large ungulates recovered from a devastating rinderpest epidemic in the Serengeti in Africa, herbivory increased, and the frequency of wildfire declined in that region. Wildfire frequency increased following the late Pleistocene/early Holocene decline of megaherbivores in Australia and the northeastern United States.
-Industrial whaling in the 20th century resulted in the loss of large numbers of plankton-consuming great whales, which are now known to sequester carbon into the deep sea through deposition of feces. The result has been the transfer of approximately 105 million tons of carbon into the atmosphere that would have been absorbed by whales, contributing to climate change.
The study said previous research of ecosystems focused on species on the bottom of the food chain partly because it was easier to do so. Contrastingly, apex consumers are usually "large, long-lived, and not amenable to laboratory experiments."
"There is an urgent need for interdisciplinary research to forecast how a continued loss of top level consumers will further harm the planet's ecosystems," said Dr. James A. Estes of University of California at Santa Cruz, the lead author of the paper.
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