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

80 – 72  Lihue, Kauai
83 – 72  Honolulu, Oahu
80 – 69  Molokai AP
83 – 64  Kahului AP, Maui
83 – 69  Kailua Kona
75 – 67  Hilo AP, Hawaii

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

2.76  Mount Waialeale, Kauai
1.51  Poamoho RG 1, Oahu
0.21  Molokai
0.00  Lanai
0.00  Kahoolawe
1.05  Puu Kukui, Maui
3.62  Saddle Quarry, Big Island

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

25  Port Allen, Kauai – NE
40  Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu – SSW
29  Molokai – ENE
31  Lanai – NE
38  Kahaloowe – ENE
31  Maalaea Bay, Maui – NNE
30  South Point, Big Island – NNE

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
Late winter storms far north of the islands

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/west/cpac/ir4.jpg
Scattered low clouds over the islands…streaky higher level clouds
moving over the state from the southwest

 

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/west/hi/ir4.jpg
Partly cloudy to mostly clear skies…higher clouds
locally over the islands – good sunset this evening!

 

http://radar.weather.gov/Conus/RadarImg/hawaii.gif
Showers falling locally around the state
looping radar image


Small Craft Wind Advisory…windiest coasts and channel
waters from Oahu down through the Big Island

 

~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~



Winds remain locally strong and gusty, and still a bit on the cool side…easing up gradually from the southeast and south later Monday into Tuesday. Here’s the latest weather map, showing the Hawaiian Islands, and the rest of the North Pacific Ocean. We find a near 1030 millibar high pressure system not far to the north of Hawaii, moving eastward…with its associated ridges extending well to the northwest and northeast of the islands. This area of high pressure will keep strong and gusty winds in force for a little while longer. The trades will taper off Monday, veering south to southeast into Tuesday…which could bring a brief period of volcanic haze over the state locally. The models suggest that we’ll see the next cold front arriving Tuesday into Wednesday morning. As this front moves through, it will be followed by another surge of chilly north to northeasterly winds for several days.

There will be showers locally, although nothing unusual in most areas…through Tuesday morning. There continues to be windy weather conditions over the state, although nothing too out of the ordinary for this late winter period. The leeward sides will continue to see generally fine sunny weather through Monday. There will however be some dimming of this sunshine at times locally, as an area of high clouds moves across the state Monday. An area of lower level clouds is moving over the eastern islands, which will continue to bring some passing windward showers…elsewhere locally. The models continue pointing towards the next cold front approaching the state early in the new week…with an increase in associated showers later Tuesday into Wednesday. We’ll find cool conditions arriving in the wake of this upcoming Tuesday-Wednesday frontal passage.

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Marine environment details: A small craft advisory remains over most Hawaiian coastal waters, due to breezy trade winds and rough seas. Winds and seas will begin to diminish later tonight and Monday, and remain below advisory levels on Tuesday. Winds and seas will increase once again to advisory levels on Wednesday…as a new area of high pressure builds in northwest of the area.

The current north-northwest swell will continue to bring advisory level surf tonight along exposed shorelines. This swell will lower gradually Monday and Tuesday. A north swell is expected to fill in on Wednesday and linger into Friday, with another north swell expected next weekend. Surf heights are expected to be near or at advisory levels during much of this time frame. Also the northerly direction will likely cause high surf along some east facing shorelines…that have northerly exposures. These north swells may also cause some harbor surge issues for Kahului and Hilo harbors. There will also be some small southerly swells this week.

Here’s a wind profile…of the offshore waters around the islands – with a closer view

Here’s the Hawaiian Islands Sulfate Aerosol…animated graphic – showing vog forecast


Here in Maui County...It was clear to cloudy early this Sunday morning, depending upon location. Here in upcountry Kula, at my place, it was clear with the air temperature a cool 47.8F degrees well before sunrise. The temperature at near the same time was 70 degrees down in Kahului under clear skies, 70 out in Hana with cloudy skies, 72 at Maalaea Bay, and 43 atop the Haleakala summit. Meanwhile, Kahoolawe was 64 degrees, 65 at Lanai City, with 70 at the Molokai airport…with clear skies. / Now at 925am, it’s a lovely day, with wispy high cirrus clouds gracing our skies!

– Sunday afternoon is variably cloudy, with some sunny spots here and there. The high cirrus clouds are lovely to look at, and if they’re still around at sunset, could fire up into a colorful event.

– Sunday evening is still variably cloudy, with a mix of high and lower level clouds. The trade winds are still breezy, although will calm down over the next two days, ahead of the next cold front. We should have a great sunset this evening, keep an eye out.

Friday Evening Film: The film that I just saw, is one that I told myself that I wasn’t going to see…because it was too scary! However, my friend Jeff asked me to join he and another friend of ours, who were going to see it. I looked up what the critics were saying about the film, and they seemed to be raving…with scores in the lower 90’s. Thus, I reluctantly changed my mind, and decided to go get scared after all. This film is called 10 Cloverfield Lane, starring Mary Elizabeth Winston, John Goodman, John Gallagher Jr., Maya Erskine, Mat Vairo…among many others. The synopsis: a young woman wakes up after a terrible accident to find that she’s locked in a cellar with a doomsday prepper, who insists that he saved her life and that the world outside is uninhabitable following an apocalyptic catastrophe. Uncertain what to believe, the woman soon determines that she must escape at any cost.

You know, this film reminded me in no uncertain terms, that I don’t like horror films…they’re just a bit too much for me. Although, with that said, it wasn’t too bad, although there were some pretty freaky parts. I went with Jeff and another professor from Brazil, and we all liked it enough. The grades ranged from a B, to a strong B, to a B+ grade. It turned out to be quite original, although some of the first words out of my mouth, as the three of us walked back to the car, where “that was so far-fetched”…which it certainly was. However, I guess that’s what it takes to make a film like this. In the end, it was a clever, thrilling film, that for the most part was fun to watch, and I liked. It would drag on for a little while, and then bang, some loud and scary thing would happen, and it brought you right back to the edge of your seat again! If you feel like taking a short peek…here’s the trailer.


World-wide tropical cyclone activity:

>>> Atlantic Ocean: The last regularly scheduled Tropical Weather Outlook of the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season…has occurred. Routine issuance of the Tropical Weather Outlook will resume on June 1, 2016. During the off-season, Special Tropical Weather Outlooks will be issued if conditions warrant. Here’s the 2015 hurricane season summary

Here’s a satellite image of the Atlantic Ocean

>>> Caribbean Sea: The last regularly scheduled Tropical Weather Outlook of the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season…has occurred. Routine issuance of the Tropical Weather Outlook will resume on June 1, 2016. During the off-season, Special Tropical Weather Outlooks will be issued if conditions warrant.

>>> Gulf of Mexico: The last regularly scheduled Tropical Weather Outlook of the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season…has occurred. Routine issuance of the Tropical Weather Outlook will resume on June 1, 2016. During the off-season, Special Tropical Weather Outlooks will be issued if conditions warrant.

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

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

>>> Eastern Pacific: The last regularly scheduled Tropical Weather Outlook of the 2015 North Pacific hurricane season…has occurred. Routine issuance of the Tropical Weather Outlook will resume on May 15, 2016. During the off-season, Special Tropical Weather Outlooks will be issued if conditions warrant. Here’s the 2015 hurricane season summary

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, 2016. During the off-season, special tropical weather outlooks will be issued if conditions warrant. Here’s the 2015 hurricane season summary

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 / Arabian Sea: There are no active tropical cyclones

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


Interesting: ‘Ugly’ fruits and vegetables will get a chance to be sold – Depending on the source, anywhere from 20 to 40 percent of produce in America ends up wasted. One reason why so many fruit and vegetables are thrown out is because they do not conform to what retailers and consumers believe fresh food should look like. Tomatoes too wide for a hamburger bun, carrots that look like something out of an anatomy textbook, and cucumbers that dare to be curved almost never make the shelves at grocery chains from Walmart to Whole Foods.

But Whole Foods, the supermarket that has arguably made organic and socially-conscious foods mainstream, announced that it will start selling “ugly” fruits and vegetables. As mentioned in a bevy of news sources from USA Today to Fortune, the Austin-based retailer will start selling these misshaped beauties at a discount. Imperfect Produce, a Bay Area startup that delivers oddly-shaped fruits and veggies at a discount in the Oakland and Berkeley areas, will partner with Whole Foods on this new marketing tactic.

Taking credit for this shift is Jordan Figueiredo, an advocate for waste diversion and founder of UglyFruitandVeg.org. After he launched a petition on Change.org last fall and paired it with a social media campaign, Figueiredo claimed a meeting with Whole Foods executives led to this change.

For Imperfect Produce, this agreement with Whole Foods is a sweet victory in its quest to halt the growing problem of food waste. Last year the company launched a partnership with the Northern California grocer Raley’s, but lukewarm consumer interest caused that campaign to sputter and eventually end.

Imperfect Produce’s quest this round should be a (pardon the pun) fruitful venture, largely because Whole Food’s success can be attributed in part to how well it educates its customers on a wide range of issues related to food. In addition, competition coming from all directions, including Safeway and Sprouts Farmers Market, present the retailer with an opportunity to differentiate itself even further within the cutthroat grocery business.

Consumers’ demands for healthful, yet inexpensive foods comprise one reason why the company will launch its price-conscious 365 by Whole Foods Markets stores this year — and a roll out of funky-looking fruits and vegetables could resonate with the crowd expected to shop at these stores. “Produce is a sight to behold,” says Whole Foods’ marketers, and it certainly will be once these oddly-shaped apples, carrots and oranges appear in its stores.

Whole Foods’ experiment follows the lead other retailers have taken on ugly produce and food waste over the past few years. The French chain Intermarche scored worldwide press for its roll out of fresh yet weirdly-shaped produce, a shift made easier by the French government’s passage of a law that bans the disposal and destroying of fresh food. Across the Channel, the venerable British grocer Sainsbury’s started to sell nonconforming produce in 2012. North of the border, the retailer Loblow’s success with its sales of curiously-shaped potatoes and apples convinced the company to expand such offerings even further this month.

All of these companies found that, while it is difficult to change consumers’ habits, the results include the reaping of more profits and, of course, less waste and hunger.