Hawaiian Islands weather details & Aloha paragraphs

Aloha Paragraphs



Another shot of paradise here in the islands!
Photo Credit: Flickr.com

An early season low pressure system, with its out of season cold front, have pushed our trade wind producing high pressure ridge down over Kauai…where it remains Monday night. This weather map shows two high pressure systems, one to the northwest, and the other to the northeast. The ridge connecting these two cells of high pressure has dipped unusually far south. This is the cause our light early summer winds. We will have to wait until the middle of the work, or even Thursday, before we see the return of strengthening trade winds…which will then continue to blow across our tropical latitudes through the rest of the week, and likely into the following week.

Rainfall has been almost particularly scant, with little change in this dry reality through Tuesday. Temperature inversions over the islands remain low and strong. This means that clouds will be limited in their vertical development, which keeps them from being showery. The winds are light enough that we’re in a convective weather pattern, with clear mornings, giving way to afternoon clouds. Moisture is very limited, which will keep those clouds from doing much for us…in terms of showers. We may see some increase in moisture coming our way during the next 24 hours…which may add some additional cloudiness to island skies during the day Tuesday into Wednesday.



The eastern Pacific continues to be rather active, with one tropical storm named Boris, along with recently dissipated tropical cyclone Cristina. Here’s a storm tracking map, showing these systems in relation to the Hawaiian Islands. Here’s a picture of the storms from space, showing the classic counterclockwise spin with Boris. There is no threat to the Hawaiian Islands. The hurricane models show that the next new tropical system may now be taking form, some 400 or so miles south of Manzanillo, Mexico. This is all fairly normal during this time of year, when the waters in the eastern Pacific are warming quickly under the summer sun.



~~~  An usual gale low pressure system, which is spinning to the northeast of Hawaii, along with its associated cold front, are rare occurrences this time of year. Actually, to be more specific, the gale isn’t all that unusual, although it did get much closer to our islands than normal for summer. It’s the cold front, whose cloud band has moved within a couple hundred miles north of Kauai…which is the rarity. This low pressure system, and its cold front, have made for yet another uncommon occurrence, which is having our trade wind producing ridge of high pressure draped right over the islands now too. The net result is that we find ourselves in a light wind episode, when the trade winds ought to be blowing…at least according to climatology. One more thing about this gale, it has generated an out of season north swell, which will bump the surf up along our north shores soon.

~~~ This light wind regime, along with its convective weather pattern will remain in place through Tuesday and perhaps into Wednesday. Days will begin with generally clear skies, although the daytime heating will cause cloudy afternoons. This convective cloudiness may look fairly threatening, as if it might drop some showers, but most of them won’t. The clouds will be too shallow, without enough vertical dimension, to give us showers in most cases. As the trade winds return by mid-week, we may have somewhat better luck, as whatever moisture that may get picked up from the old cold front…could get carried onto the windward sides then, and for a few days thereafter. The second half of this week, otherwise, should exhibit generally fine weather conditions.

~~~ It’s early Monday evening here in Kihei, Maui. Monday was another almost completely dry day, everywhere! It’s about as dry as it gets here in the islands now, with 99% of the rain gauges around the state remaining empty. It’s a dry day when the largest rainfall amount anywhere, tops out at a meager .03"! Clouds remained undercover as well, with mostly sunny skies prevailing. The daytime heating, as expected, caused some minor cloudiness over and around the mountains, but that didn’t spread down towards the coasts very much. I expect another good day Tuesday, with little change in the overall pattern…although we might see some increase in clouds, but not likely in showers. I’ll be back very early Tuesday morning with your next new weather narrative from paradise, I hope you have a great Monday night until then! Aloha for now…Glenn.

Interesting: After last year’s thin ice cover, the North Pole is poised to vanish due to global warming in a short time.  DailyTech has previously covered the frantic pace of melt in Greenland, which is accelerating, dumping vast amounts of water into the sea.  Meanwhile, the North Pole has been steadily melting away as well.  Fortunately, the North Pole ice is floating, and thus will not affect sea levels, but its dissolution is an important indicator of warming. While some remain critical that global warming is occurring at all, the melting of the North Pole represents a sharp indicator against voices of doubt.  Now scientists are predicting that a major milestone will be reached this summer or next — the disappearance of the North Pole’s ice cover during the Arctic Summer. To most, imagining the North Pole without ice — only water — is an incredible prospect.  But that’s the reality of a warming world.  The prediction comes from the U.S.‘s top climate researchers at the National Snow and IceDataCenter in Boulder, Colorado. 

They predict that in September, there is a good chance that the ice will be gone on the pole. While this is obviously a rather sobering event, the scientists aren’t afraid to poke a little fun at the climatological milestone. Says the center’s senior research scientist, Mark Serreze, "We kind of have an informal betting pool going around in our center and that betting pool is ‘does the North Pole melt out this summer?”  About half the researchers are betting that the geographic pole, currently covered in ice will be ice free this fall.  Last year already saw a similarly landmark event — the Northwest Passage was ice free last September for the first time in recorded history. All of these events are merely part of a larger trend according to researchers.  Says Serreze, "What we’ve seen through the past few decades is the Arctic sea ice cover is becoming thinner and thinner as the system warms up."

Interesting2: The battle to reduce carbon emissions is at the heart of many eco-friendly efforts, and researchers from the University of Missouri have discovered that nature has been lending a hand. Researchers at the Missouri Tree Ring Laboratory in the Department of Forestry discovered that trees submerged in freshwater aquatic systems store carbon for thousands of years, a significantly longer period of time than trees that fall in a forest, thus keeping carbon out of the atmosphere. “If a tree is submerged in water, its carbon will be stored for an average of 2,000 years,” said Richard Guyette, director of the MU Tree Ring Lab and research associate professor of forestry in the School of Natural Resources in the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources. “If a tree falls in a forest, that number is reduced to an average of 20 years, and in firewood, the carbon is only stored for one year.” 

The team studied trees in northern Missouri, a geographically unique area with a high level of riparian forests (forests that have natural water flowing through them). They discovered submerged oak trees that were as old as 14,000 years, potentially some of the oldest discovered in the world. This carbon storage process is not just ancient; it continues even today as additional trees become submerged, according to Guyette.  While a tree is alive, it has a high ability to store carbon, thus keeping it out of the atmosphere. However, as it begins to decay, a tree’s carbon is released back into the atmosphere. Discovering that certain conditions slow this process reveals the importance of proper tree disposal as well as the benefits of riparian forests.

Interesting3: Hawaii has become the first state to require solar water heaters in new homes. The bill was signed into law by Governor Linda Lingle, a Republican. It requires the energy-saving systems in homes starting in 2010. It prohibits issuing building permits for single-family homes that do not have solar water heaters. Hawaii relies on imported fossil fuels more than any other state, with about 90 percent of its energy sources coming from foreign countries, according to state data.  The new law prohibits issuing building permits for single-family homes that do not have solar water heaters. Some exceptions will be allowed, such as forested areas where there are low amounts of sunshine.

State Sen. Gary Hooser, vice chairman of the Energy and Environment Committee, first introduced the measure five years ago when he said a barrel of oil cost just $40. Since then, the cost of oil has more than tripled. “It’s abundantly clear that we need to take some serious action to protect Hawaii because we’re so dependent on oil,” Hooser said. “I’m very pleased the governor is recognizing the importance of this bill and the huge public benefits that come out of it.”