Hawaiian Islands Weather details & Aloha Paragraphs / April 28-29, 2015

Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures (F) were recorded across the state of Hawaii Tuesday…along with the minimums Tuesday:

80 – 72  Lihue, Kauai
79 – 68  Honolulu, Oahu
81 – 68  Molokai AP
84 –  71  Kahului, Maui
86 –  73  Kona Intl AP, Hawaii
83 – 70  Hilo, Hawaii

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

3.91  Mount Waialeale, Kauai
4.45  Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu
3.42  Puu Alii, Molokai
0.06  Lanai
0.00  Kahoolawe
5.22  Puu Kukui, Maui
0.69  Kawainui Stream, Big Island

The following numbers represent the strongest wind gusts (mph)…as of Tuesday evening:

31  Lihue, Kauai – NE
35  Kii, Oahu – NE
29  Molokai – NE
31  Lanai – NE
35  Kahoolawe – NE
35  Kaupo Gap, Maui – NNE
37  Pali 2, Big Island – SE

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.

Aloha Paragraphs



High cirrus clouds to the southwest…scattered low clouds northeast

Clear to partly cloudy, some cloudy areas…cirrus clipping the Big Island

Showers are falling over the islands locally…especially
Kauai and Oahu at the time of this writing

Here’s the looping radar image for the Hawaiian Islands

High Surf Advisory…rough surf conditions along north and
east shores

Small Craft Advisory…rough surf and strong trade winds
over all coastal and channel waters

Gale Warning…for winds of 40 mph with higher gusty through
6pm this evening – for the Alenuihaha Channel between Maui
and the Big Island

Wind Advisory…strong winds expected over exposed areas of
Maui County and the Big Island / 25-35 mph with gusts to 50+
through 6pm this evening

~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~

Trade winds prevail…and will be increasing further into mid-week. Here’s the latest weather map, showing the Hawaiian Islands, and the rest of the North Pacific Ocean, along with a real-time wind profiler of the central Pacific. We find a large and robust high pressure system located to the north of the state, with associated ridges extending east and west from its center. As a result of these high pressure features, and low pressure well to the south, our winds will come in from the northeast and east. These classic trade winds will be strong and gusty into mid-week, with an unusual gale warning in effect through Wednesday evening. The long range outlook shows no definite end to this trade wind episode...although they are expected to ease up some Friday into the weekend.

Showers will continue along the windward sides at times locally…increasing some Thursday night into Friday morning. We’ll continue to see a few showers along our windward sides, especially over Kauai and Oahu, as a dissipating cold front contributes its moisture into our trade wind flow for the time being.  The windward sides will see shower activity continuing for several more days…although drier air is beginning to filter into the state from the east. The leeward sides will be drier with more favorably inclined weather conditions, although with a few showers here and there. I’ll be back with more updates on all of the above, I hope you have a great Tuesday night wherever you’re spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.

>>> Atlantic Ocean: The last regularly scheduled Tropical Weather Outlook of the 2014 Atlantic hurricane season…has occurred. Routine issuance of the Tropical Weather Outlook will resume on June 1, 2015. During the off-season, Special Tropical Weather Outlooks will be issued as conditions warrant.

Here’s a satellite image of the Atlantic Ocean

>>> Caribbean Sea: The last regularly scheduled Tropical Weather Outlook of the 2014 Atlantic hurricane season…has occurred. Routine issuance of the Tropical Weather Outlook will resume on June 1, 2015. During the off-season, Special Tropical Weather Outlooks will be issued as conditions warrant.

>>> Gulf of Mexico: The last regularly scheduled Tropical Weather Outlook of the 2014 Atlantic hurricane season…has occurred. Routine issuance of the Tropical Weather Outlook will resume on June 1, 2015. During the off-season, Special Tropical Weather Outlooks will be issued as conditions warrant.

Here’s a satellite image of the Caribbean Sea…and the Gulf of Mexico.

>>> Eastern Pacific: The last regularly scheduled Tropical Weather Outlook of the 2014 North Pacific hurricane season…has occurred. Routine issuance of the Tropical Weather Outlook will resume on May 15, 2015. During the off-season, Special Tropical Weather Outlooks will be issued as conditions warrant.

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: The central north Pacific hurricane season has officially ended. Routine issuance of the tropical weather outlook will resume on June 1, 2015. During the off-season, special tropical weather outlooks will be issued as conditions warrant.

Here’s a link to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC)

>>> Northwest Pacific Ocean: There are no active tropical cyclones

>>> South Pacific Ocean: There are no active tropical cyclones

>>> North and South Indian Oceans: Tropical Cyclone 24S (Quang) is active in the South Indian Ocean, here’s the JTWC graphical track map…along with a satellite image.

Here’s a link to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC)

Interesting: How Desalination Technology Is Helping Solve California’s Drought – Four years of devastating droughts in California have pushed cities and counties in the Golden State to seriously consider turning to the one drinking source that is not depleting anytime soon – seawater. With the Pacific Ocean abutting their shores, water desalination may be the much-needed solution for Californians. But desalination has its disadvantages, the chief ones being the high costs and the potential environmental damage.

To address these challenges, California is turning to the world leader in cutting edge desalination technology – Israel. A $1 billion desalination project is already underway in San Diego County – which will be the largest seawater desalination plant in the Western Hemisphere – and Israeli engineers have been called in for their expertise.

Currently under construction in Carlsbad, 35 miles north of San Diego, the plant could potentially provide Californians with 54 million gallons of water a day. The plant is using technology Israelis have been using for years, reverse-osmosis, which involves forcing seawater through a film with tiny holes that allow only water molecules to pass through, while the larger salt molecules cannot.

2014 was California’s third driest year in 119 years and according to the US Geological Survey; it was also the warmest year in recorded history, leading California to declare a drought state of emergency last year. Earlier this month, another frightening figure was published: The California Department of Water Resources measured the statewide water content of Sierra snowpack (which provides about one-third of the water used by California’s cities and farms) at 5 percent, the lowest level since 1950. In response, the governor recently announced mandatory State-wide water cutbacks.

Despite this, the Golden State has only a handful of small desalination plants. But with the help of Israel Desalination Enterprises (IDE Technologies), the $1 billion desalination plant San Diego is due to become reality next year. According to IDE – which is also working on desalination projects in China, India and Australia – the Carlsbad project is a “complete game changer for desalination in the US.” This project is expected to provide clean water to 300,000 people and generate roughly $50 million annually for the regional economy. “The plant overcame significant practical, regulatory and economic hurdles to deliver a cost-effective and environmentally friendly water supply,” IDE said.

Critics of the reverse-osmosis technology have claimed that it is too costly and requires too much energy, making it environmentally damaging. But IDE Technologies says its production costs are among the world’s lowest and that it can provide an average family’s water needs for roughly $300-$500 a year. Israel’s largest desalination plant, for example, sells desalinated water to the Israeli government for about 60 cents per cubic meter, which is lower than traditional water purification methods. Using highly efficient pumps, the plant also consumes less energy than similar desalination stations around the globe.

Israel, a land that is two-thirds arid, has long been forced to come up with creative ways to conserve, recycle and desalinate water. The country has become a leader in the field of water preservation, coming up with industry-changing technologies such as drip irrigation in 1964. In fact, the serious attention Israel has paid to its water supplied means that the country now has a water surplus – a first in its history. About 40 percent of Israel’s tap water is desalinated sea water – a figure expected to reach 50 percent by 2016 – and so is a large part of the water for agriculture.

And with an estimated 1.8 billion people around the globe who don’t have adequate access to clean water, desalination technologies developed in Israel are in high demand.