Hawaiian Islands Weather details & Aloha paragraphs / June 16-17, 2012

Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures were recorded across the state of Hawaii Saturday:

Lihue, Kauai –                      83   
Honolulu airport, Oahu –       85
Kaneohe, Oahu –                  82
Molokai airport –                  82
Kahului airport, Maui –     86 (Record high for Saturday / 92 – 1953)  
Kona airport –                     84
Hilo airport, Hawaii –            80

Air Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level – and on the highest mountain tops…as of 11pm Saturday night:


Honolulu, Oahu – 77
Hilo, Hawaii – 72

Haleakala Crater –  M (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea –         34 (near 13,800 feet on the Big Island)

Hawaii’s Mountains – Here’s a link to the live web cam on the summit of near 13,800 foot Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii. This web cam is 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. Here's the Haleakala Crater webcam on Maui…although this webcam is not always working correctly.

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 (once the season begins June 1) 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

 
   Strengthening trade winds Sunday…with small
craft wind advisories up over those windiest
coasts and channels around Maui and the Big Island,
and the major channels across the other islands

High and middle clouds at times…good sunset/sunrises

As this weather map shows, we have a large near 1032 millibar high pressure system far to the northeast of the islands.  At the same time, a ridge of high pressure extending southwest of this high pressure cell is located to the north and northwest of Kauai. Our local winds will strengthen through Sunday into Monday from the trade wind direction. 

The following numbers represent the most recent top wind gusts (mph), along with directions as of Saturday night:

17            Waimea Heights, Kauai – E  
37            Kuaokala, Oahu – NE
37            Molokai – NE 
40            Kahoolawe – SE
37            Kaupo Gap, Maui – NE
33            Lanai – NE
37            Upolu airport, Big Island – NE

We can use the following links to see what’s going on in our area of the north central Pacific Ocean.  Here's the latest NOAA satellite picture – the latest looping satellite image…and finally the latest looping radar image for the Hawaiian Islands.

Here are the latest 24-hour precipitation totals (inches) for each of the islands as of Saturday evening:
 
0.27               Mount Waialeale, Kauai
0.30               Kahuku trng area, Oahu
0.12               Molokai
0.05               Lanai
0.00               Kahoolawe
0.79               Puu Kukui, Maui
1.48               Kawainui Stream, Big Island  

Sunset Commentary:  Our local winds will strengthen through Sunday into Monday, and remain elevated through Tuesday. Small craft wind advisories remain active around those windiest parts of Maui County and the Big Island…which have now spread to the major channels across the state. Winds across the higher elevations of Maui and the Big Island will become considerably stronger this evening into Monday as well. A wind advisory will go into force this evening…and remain in place through Sunday. A high wind watch or warning might be needed by Sunday evening into Monday. These strong, gusty and deep trade winds will taper off by the middle of the new week ahead, backing off back into the more normal moderately strong realms then.

I took in a new film Friday evening, recommended by a good friend of mine, and I might add…a person who I trust in these matters. So, I went to see Men In Black, starring Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Emma Thompson, and Jemaine Clement…among many others. The synopsis: agents J and K are back. J has seen some inexplicable things in his 15 years with the Men in Black, but nothing, not even aliens, perplexes him as much as his wry, reticent partner. But when K's life and the fate of the planet are put at stake, Agent J will have to travel back in time to put things right. J discovers that there are secrets to the universe that K never told him — secrets that will reveal themselves as he teams up with the young Agent K to save his partner, the agency, and the future of humankind.  As usual, I enjoyed this film more than I thought I was going to, and actually liked it quite a bit. It was different than I thought it was going to be, which turned out to be a good thing. In sum, this film was an old-fashioned, alien-hunting story, with all the silly but great sci-fi special effects I like. As such, I feel it deserves a strong B grade…an entertaining film to say the least.  Here's a trailer, just in case you had the slightest interest in taking a quick look.

Here in Kula, Maui at 345pm, it was partly to mostly cloudy…with an air temperature of 74.8F degrees. As this satellite image shows, we see a large swath of high and middle level clouds surrounding the islands As these clouds move over the island chain at times, there will be sun dimming and filtering. At the beginning and ending of our days through Sunday, there will likely be some good colors in our skies too! We'll find passing showers falling along the windward sides at times, although there could be a few elsewhere too.  Meanwhile, an upper level area of low pressure is migrating westward directly over the islands this weekend. The cold air aloft associated with this upper low, may be able to trigger a few heavier showers here and there. There's even a slight chance of one or two thunderstorms forming over the islands tonight into Sunday. ~~~ I've been invited over to some friend's house in Haiku for dinner, so I'll be leaving soon. I'll be back Sunday morning with your next new weather narrative, I hope you have a great Saturday night wherever you happen to be spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.

[World-wide tropical cyclone activity:]

Central Pacific Ocean:  There are no active tropical cyclones expected through the next 48 hours.

Eastern Pacific Ocean:  Post-tropical cyclone Carlotta (3E) is quickly dissipating over the mountains of southern Mexico, located approximately 90 miles east-northeast of Zihuatanejo, Mexico. Sustained winds were 25 mph…bringing torrential flooding rainfall with flash flooding and mudslides to the area. This flooding precipitation will continue over the next day or two…over a large portion of south-central and southeastern Mexico. Here is the NHC graphical track map for this tropical cyclone, along with a satellite image. The last advisory has been issued on tropical depression Carlotta…located inland over the mountains of southern Mexico.

LIMITED SHOWER ACTIVITY IS ASSOCIATED WITH A BROAD AREA OF LOW PRESSURE LOCATED ABOUT 500 MILES WEST-SOUTHWEST OF MANZANILLO, MEXICO. ANY DEVELOPMENT OF THIS SYSTEM SHOULD BE SLOW TO OCCUR DURING THE NEXT DAY OR TWO AS IT MOVES NORTH-NORTHEASTWARD OR NORTHWARD AT ABOUT 5 MPH. THIS SYSTEM HAS A LOW CHANCE…20 PERCENT…OF BECOMING A TROPICAL CYCLONE DURING THE NEXT 48 HOURS.

Here's a satellite image showing former Carlotta's position, and this tropical disturbance as well

Atlantic Ocean:  There are no active tropical cyclones expected through the next 48 hours.

Here is a graphical tropical weather outlook…showing this area in the far northeast section of the Gulf of Mexico.

Western Pacific Ocean: Super Typhoon Guchol (05W) is located approximately 475 NM south of Kadena AB, Okinawa. Sustained winds were 150 mph, with gusts to near 184 mph. This unusual super typhoon will move north and then northeast. Guchol is forecast to remain offshore to the east Taiwan too, and then by offshore to the east of Okinawa, then just off the eastern Japanese coast…close to the major city of Tokyo as a weakening typhoon. Here is a JTWC graphical track map for this tropical cyclone, along with a satellite image.   

South Indian Ocean: There are no active tropical cyclones

Interesting:  Government doesn't usually get credit when it does things right, so its nice to share a looming success story that one could keep an eye on. The government has actually created a marketplace for organic hops where one did not exist before. Their actions benefited consumers, farmers, the environment, and brewers like myself. Until the USDA stepped in, only a few varieties of organic hops from Europe and New Zealand were available in the US to brew organic beers.

Now that the domestic (and international) organic hop market has developed, beginning January 1, 2013, the USDA phases out their exemption so that brewers who use the USDA Organic Logo must use 100 percent organic hops.

Today, if certain hops are not available commercially, a brewer either needs to use whatever is available, or use the exemption to use non-organic hops in an organic-labeled-beer. People deserve organic ingredients in organically certified beer.

It is not only a matter of truth in labeling, but also a matter of what is best for consumers, the environment, and for sustainable agriculture. Organic agriculture is free of chemicals that have been linked to various types of cancers.

Patrick Smith of Loftus Ranch (Yakima, Washington) and other farmers are working diligently to close the gap for organic crop yields. Smith explains: "As our collective knowledge of organic hop production grows, I expect to see yields 75-80+ percent of conventional." As the soil fertility improves, crop yields improve without relying on conventional agriculture's chemical fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides.