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

87 – 76  Lihue, Kauai
90 – 77  Honolulu, Oahu – the record Wednesday was 92…set back in 1986
87 – 75  Molokai
90 – 77  Kahului, Maui – the record Wednesday was 93…set back in 1951
89 – 79  Kailua Kona
85 – 74   Hilo, Hawaii

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

2.02  Mount Waialeale, Kauai
0.97  Manoa Lyon Arboretum, Oahu
0.38  Puu Alii, Molokai
0.01  Lanai
0.18  Kahoolawe
0.37  Kahakuloa, Maui
0.96  Kawainui Stream, Big Island

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

18  Poipu, Kauai – NE
31  Kuaokala, Oahu – NNE
22  Molokai – NE
32  Lanai – NE
21  Kahoolawe – NNE
27  Kahului AP, Maui – NE
27  Kealakomo, 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

http://weather.unisys.com/satellite/sat_ir_enh_west_loop-12.gif
Tropical Storm Guillermo is passing by to the north of Hawaii…
moving west-northwest at near 10 mph 

Real time wind profile of TS Guillermo and the Islands

http://www.prh.noaa.gov/cphc/tc_graphics/2015/graphics/EP092015W.gif

Tropical Storm Guillermo’s track remains offshore to our northeast…
with this storm steadily weakening, becoming a tropical depression
to the north of Oahu Thursday evening

 http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/storm_graphics/EP10/refresh/EP1015W5_NL+gif/144841W5_NL_sm.gif
Tropical Storm Hilda…is now active in the eastern Pacific Ocean

 

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/west/cpac/vis.jpg
TS Guillermo to the northeast…with most of the
heaviest weather to the north of the center


http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/west/hi/vis.jpg
Clouds associated with TS Guillermo are moving into
the windward sides of the state…elsewhere locally 


http://radar.weather.gov/Conus/RadarImg/hawaii.gif
Clouds associated with TS Guillermo are moving into
the windward sides of the state…elsewhere locally 
looping radar image


High Surf Warning…east shore of the Big Island, Maui,
Molokai, Oahu and Kauai – through 6pm today

Tropical Storm Watch…for waters north of Oahu and Kauai

Tropical Storm Warning…for waters north of Maui County,
in addition to Hawaii’s offshore waters beyond 40 NM

 

~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~



The trade winds will hold on a while longer…and then be interrupted by the circulation of tropical cyclone Guillermo through Friday morning. 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, moderately strong, near 1030 millibar high pressure system well to the northeast of the state. At the same time we have tropical storm Guillermo moving by offshore of our islands. As Guillermo moves by, our winds won’t get as gusty as previously thought, and may become quite light instead.  Thereafter, the trade winds will fill back in over the state, first over the Big Island and Maui, in the wake of Guillermo’s passage beginning later Friday into the weekend…and beyond.

There will be clouds arriving over the next couple of days…at least locally at times.  Radar at the time of this writing shows just a few showers, most of which are over the offshore waters. All of the islands will receive more showers however…although it should be noted that the NWS has pulled their flash flood watch. Nonetheless, I doubt we’ll miss all the showers, as the southern part of this tropical storm will push through our area at times through Thursday night into Friday morning. As the trade winds return later Friday onwards, we’ll see some passing showers along our windward coasts and slopes…with nice weather prevailing along our leeward beaches.

Tropical Storm 09E (Guillermo) remains active here in the central Pacific. Here’s a satellite image of this storm, along what the computer models are showing. This tropical storm will move by offshore to the north of the islands through Thursday into Friday morning. The greatest threat will be the high surf breaking along our east facing shores!

Tropical Storm 10E (Hilda) remains active in the eastern Pacific Ocean. This new system had become more organized, and has become tropical storm Thursday. At this point it looks like it will briefly reach the hurricane level, topping out near 70 mph just as it crosses into our central Pacific. Here’s a satellite image, and what the computer models are showing.  It appears that this tropical system, in whatever form that it is then, may pull up to the north, just short of reaching our islands…stay tuned.

From the NWS office in Honolulu:

SURF…SWELLS ASSOCIATED WITH TROPICAL STORM GUILLERMO WILL CONTINUE TO PRODUCE LARGE…LIFE THREATENING SURF ALONG EAST FACING SHORES OF THE MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS TODAY.

I’ll be back with more updates on all of the above and below, I hope you have a great Wednesday night wherever you’re spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.

Here on Maui…It’s 535am Wednesday morning, skies are partly to mostly cloudy, with showers falling along our windward sides…and elsewhere locally. The air temperature here in Kula, at my upcountry weather tower was an unusually warm 65.4 degrees, while it was 79 down at the Kahului airport, and 75 out in Hana…with a cooler 48 up at the summit of the Haleakala Crater at about the same time. / Now at 630am it’s starting to drizzle here in upcountry Kula.

–  It’s now early afternoon, and that drizzle we had briefly earlier this morning, stopped right away, giving way to sunny skies. Clouds have increased again, and it looks like showers are falling over along the windward sides. The more concentrated rainfall from passing Guillermo is still not here, and as I mentioned above, the NWS office in Honolulu has cancelled the flash flood watch over the state.

– We’re now into the early evening, and still the rains haven’t arrived, at least over most of Maui. Is this a case of close but no cigar? Looking at the latest satellite images, it appears that there’s a good bit of clear air out to our east and northeast, between the windward sides of the islands…and the clouds associated with the weakening tropical storm, a distance offshore from us. I continue to trust that these clouds will get carried our way, bringing us some rain, pretty soon in fact. It seems rather strange, that with all the advertisement of heavy rains, that we wouldn’t get at least some…right!?


World-wide tropical cyclone activity:

>>> Atlantic Ocean: There are no active tropical cyclones

Here’s a satellite image of the Atlantic Ocean

>>> Caribbean Sea: There are no active tropical cyclones

>>> Gulf of Mexico: There are no active tropical cyclones

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

Tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 5 days over the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea or Atlantic Ocean

Here’s the link to the National Hurricane Center (NHC)

>>> Eastern Pacific: 

Tropical Storm 10E (Hilda) remains active, with sustained winds of 40 mph, and is located about 1630 miles west-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California. TS 10E will continue to strengthen going forward, becoming a hurricane briefly in about 72 hours. Here’s the NHC graphical track map, a satellite image…and what the computer models are showing.

1.)  Disorganized cloudiness and showers located more than 1000 miles south-southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula are associated with a tropical wave. Environmental conditions are forecast to be conducive for gradual development of this system during the next several days while it moves west-northwestward at 10 to 15 mph.

* Formation chance through 48 hours…low…near 0 percent
* Formation chance through 5 days…low…30 percent

Here’s a satellite image of this area in the eastern Pacific – along with the NHC 5-day outlook

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:

Tropical Storm 09E (Guillermo) remains active, with sustained winds of 40 mph, and is located about 145 miles east-northeast of Kahului, Maui. TS Guillermo will weaken in strength…as it moves westward at near 12 mph. Here’s a satellite image…and what the computer models are showing.

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

>>> Northwest Pacific Ocean:

Typhoon 13W (Soudelor) remains active, located about 324 south of Kadena AB, Okinawa, Japan. Here’s the JTWC graphical track map…and a satellite image…and what the computer models 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: 4 million years at Africa’s salad bar – As grasses grew more common in Africa, most major mammal groups tried grazing on them at times during the past 4 million years, but some of the animals went extinct or switched back to browsing on trees and shrubs, according to a study led by the University of Utah.

“It’s as if in a city, there was a whole new genre of restaurant to try,” says geochemist Thure Cerling, first and senior author of the study published today by the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “This is a record of how different mammals responded. And almost all of the mammals did an experiment in eating this new resource: grass.”

The experiment peaked about 2 million years ago, says Cerling, a distinguished professor of geology and geophysics. The only major group that still mostly grazes grass is the bovids: cattle, buffalo, sheep, wildebeest, hartebeest and some antelopes such as oryx and waterbucks.

The study also revealed that the present isn’t necessarily the key to the past in terms of what animals eat. Today, elephants and spiral-horned antelope (elands, kudus and bushbuck) browse on trees and shrubs, but the study showed that 2 million years ago, African elephants grazed on grass and the antelopes had mixed diets with a lot of grass. Asian elephants, which ate grass and were abundant in Africa 2 million years ago, went extinct in Africa but survive in Asia, where they graze but also browse trees and shrubs.

“That the diet of some of these animals is different from that of the present was a surprise, and shows the importance of challenging one’s assumptions when making ecological reconstructions,” says study co-author and geologist Frank Brown, dean of the University of Utah’s College of Mines and Earth Sciences.

Overall, Cerling and colleagues wrote that the assemblages of grazing, browsing and mixed-diet animals during the past 4 million years “are different from any modern ecosystem in East or Central Africa.”

They found the Turkana Basin of Kenya and Ethiopia had a much greater diversity of mixed feeders – they browsed and grazed – from 4.1 million to 2.35 million years ago. From 2.35 million to 1 million years ago, there were many more grazers than there are today. In the past 1 million years, many grass grazers either switched to browsing trees and shrubs or went extinct, leaving mostly bovids as grazers today.