Hawaiian Islands Weather details & Aloha Paragraphs / May 13-14, 2015

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

82 – 71  Lihue, Kauai
83 – 71  Honolulu, Oahu
81 – 70  Molokai AP
84 – 70  Kahului, Maui
84 – 70  Kailua Kona
81 – 67  Hilo, Hawaiiii

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

0.57  Kilohana, Kauai
0.11  Nuuanu Upper, Oahu
0.17  Puu Alii, Molokai
0.00  Lanai
0.01  Kahoolawe
0.49  Kula 1, Maui
1.71  Glenwood, Big Island

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

17  Poipu, Kauai – NE
29  Kuaokala, Oahu – NE
30  Molokai – NE
30  Lanai – NE
28  Kahoolawe – NE
22  Kaupo Gap, Maui – NNE
31  Kamuela AP, Big Island – NE

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 moving away from the islands…
cold front well to the northwest

Clear with some cloudy conditions…the swath of cirrus moving east

Showers are falling over the nearby ocean…spreading
onto the windward sides locally – a few quite generous

Here’s the looping radar image for the Hawaiian Islands

Small Craft Advisory…strong trade winds across coastal
and channel waters around Maui County and the Big Island

~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~

Gusty trade winds will continue…with no definite end in sight. 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 strong, near 1031 millibar high pressure system located to the north-northeast of the state. At the same time, there’s a stronger 1037 millibar high pressure cell far to the northwest. As a result of these high pressure features, and low pressure well to the south in the deeper tropics, our winds will continue to come in from the trade wind direction. The outlook shows no definite end to this long lasting trade wind episode…although decreasing slightly over the next few days. The extended outlook calls for this weather scenario to continue into next week, increasing a notch this weekend.

Showers will continue in an off and on manner…mostly along the windward coasts and slopes. The windward sides will see the most notable shower activity, a few of which may be briefly generous. Most of the incoming showers will arrive during the cooler night and early morning hours…although not exclusively. There may be a couple of showers carried over into the leeward sides at times on the smaller islands. There will likely be more upcountry showers during the afternoon hours on the Big Island…and the slopes of the Haleakala Crater on Maui too. Meanwhile, the subtropical jet stream is carrying a large swath of high clouds, from the deeper tropics to our southwest, now departing our area to the east. These cirrus clouds continue to move steadily eastward. I’ll be back with more updates on all of the above, I hope you have a great Wednesday night wherever you’re spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.

Here on Maui...early Wednesday morning before sunrise, skies are mostly clear, with just the usual clouds over the West Maui Mountains. The windward sides too, have their customary blanket of low clouds, with some showers falling at times. The air temperature here in Kula at 550am was 48.9 degrees, with a light down slope breeze from the summit of the Haleakala Crater…which was showing a 39 degree temperature. At the same time, it was a warmer 72 at the Kahului airport, with a 73 degree reading out in Hana.

– It’s now into the mid-afternoon time frame, under rather cloudy skies up here in Kula. Earlier this afternoon, the clouds got dark, and we received a short but heavy downpour…with big drops of rain starting the show off. The rain up here has stopped now, followed by a cool light breeze. Glancing down towards Kihei and Lahaina, I can’t see Wailea, there seems to be lots of sunshine beaming down.

– We’re into the evening hours now at 835pm, under mostly clear skies and lots of stars. Here in upcountry Kula, the air temperature is cooling down to 58.3 degrees, going down to near 49 or 50 I would imagine…by early Thursday morning. The winds down in the lowlands are calming down some, as is usual during the evening/night hours. I’ll catch up with you dark and early Thursday morning.

>>> 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: Typhoon 07W (Dolphin) remains active, and will continue to gradually strengthen…as it moves by to the north Chuuk and Fananu, and then close to Guam. Here’s the JTWC graphical track map…along with a satellite image – looping view – here’s what several computer model are showing

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

>>> North and South Indian Oceans: There are no active tropical cyclones

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

Interesting:  Cycling vs. Car Transportation – What’s more expensive? Owning a car or a bicycle? Answer seems obvious doesn’t it? But how much more expensive are cars compared to bicycles?

First, we need to consider not only the actual cost of the vehicle, but the hidden cots which can be related to air pollution, climate change, travel routes, noise, road wear, health, congestion, and time.

Lucky for us, researchers have compared the costs and according to a Lund University study, traveling by car is six times more expensive for society and individuals.

Researchers used Copenhagen, Denmark as a subject city to study the price of car use compared to cycling.

In the comparative study, Stefan Gössling from Lund University and Andy S. Choi from the University of Queensland have investigated a cost-benefit analysis that the Copenhagen Municipality uses to determine whether new cycling infrastructure should be built.

The study considers how much cars cost society and how they compare to bicycles in terms of the hidden costs and benefits identified in Copenhagen.

The study concluded that cars have a greater negative impact on the economy than bicycles.

For example, if the costs to society and the costs to private individuals are added together, the impact of the car is EUR 0.50 per kilometer and the impact of the bicycle is EUR 0.08 per kilometer.

The study by Stefan Gössling and his colleague also shows that if we only look at costs/benefits for society, one kilometer by car costs EUR 0.15, whereas society earns EUR 0.16 on every kilometer cycled.

“The cost-benefit analysis in Copenhagen shows that investments in cycling infrastructure and bike-friendly policies are economically sustainable and give high returns”, says Stefan Gössling.

Cost-benefit analysis is a method used to calculate the benefits to society of infrastructure investments.

Of course not every community is set up for cycling. Suburban neighborhoods thrive on car transport and in most cases, biking is not a viable option especially when it comes to transporting large items, or your kids around town. But in neighborhoods where biking is possible and infrastructure is present, you may want to consider substituting your four-wheeled gas-guzzler for a two-wheeled high-speed.