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

77 – 63  Lihue, Kauai
78 – 64  Honolulu, Oahu
78 – 60  Molokai AP
81 – 61  Kahului AP, Maui
78 – 68  Kailua Kona
82 – 62  Hilo AP, Hawaii

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

1.61  Kokee, Kauai
0.30  Poamoho, Oahu
 0.15  Molokai
0.17  Lanai
0.02  Kahoolawe
2.25  Kaupo Gap, Maui
1.43  Papaikou Well, Big Island

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

32  Port Allen, Kauai
28  Honolulu AP, Oahu
20  Molokai
 16  Lanai
23  Kahoolawe
17  Kaupo Gap, Maui
20  Kawaihae, Big Island

Here’s a wind profile of the Pacific Ocean – Closer view of the islands

Hawaii’s Mountains – Here’s a link to the live webcam on the summit of our tallest mountain Mauna Kea (nearly 13,800 feet high) on the Big Island of Hawaii. This webcam is available during the daylight hours here in the islands, and at night whenever there’s a big moon shining down. Also, at night you will be able to see the 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
A low pressure system to the north of Hawaii…will keep off and on rain and the possibility of a few thunderstorms in the forecast

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/west/cpac/vis.jpg
The cold front has passed Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, and through Maui…and is now over the Big Island

http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/west/hi/vis.jpg
Cloudy periods…with a few clear spots here and there

http://radar.weather.gov/Conus/RadarImg/hawaii.gif
Showers locally, in association with a cold front…eastern islands – Looping radar image


Small Craft Advisory…most coasts and channels

High Surf Advisory…Waianae coast, and Big Island north and east shores

High Surf Warning…north and west shores of Kauai, north shores of Oahu, Molokai and Maui

High Wind Warning…Big Island summits / 45-60 with 75 mph gusts

Gale Warning…offshore waters 40-240 Nautical miles out


~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~

 

Winds will be variable in direction and speed…as the cold front moves through the state. Here’s the latest weather map, showing a high pressure system far north, with another high pressure cell northwest. At the same time, we have gale low pressure systems to the north, with an associated cold front moving into the islands. Winds will be variable in direction with the frontal passage, and locally strong and gusty into the weekend…especially around any thunderstorms that pop up.  Looking further ahead, we should see the return of trade winds around next Tuesday.

A low pressure system is approaching the state to our northwest, which is pushing its associated cold front through the island chain. This in turn will increase showers locally, along with a few thunderstorms Friday into the weekend. These inclement conditions will extend into early next week, with likely the wettest period occurring Sunday and Monday…with the definite chance of localized flooding issues. Following this episode of unsettled weather, we should find numerous windward showers returning, brought in on the trade winds beginning next Tuesday. By the way, there’s a slight chance of snow falling on the summit of Haleakala on Maui, with more certainty on the Big Island summits with time.

Marine environment details: A Small Craft Advisory is active for the coastal waters around Kauai as well as the waters North of Oahu and Maui County, due to a combination of building seas along with strengthening winds behind a cold front moving over the Big Island tonight. The Small Craft Advisory will likely be expanded later tonight and Friday for other coastal waters exposed to large northwest swells and possibly for winds.

A High Surf Advisory remains posted along east facing shores, although the current north-northeast swell will continue to decline tonight and Friday.

A new large northwest swell has reached the buoy northwest of the islands. Surf along north and west facing shores will slowly build tonight and Friday. Also a north-northwest swell, produced by a gale low just north of the area, will begin to affect exposed shorelines. A High Surf Warning has been posted for north and west facing shores of Kauai, and for north facing shores of Oahu and Maui County.

A High Surf Advisory has also been posted for West facing shores of Oahu. The combination of these two swells along with westerly winds across most of the area will cause surf to be very rough and choppy in many locations. Also tides are still running rather high due to the recent full moon tide cycle, so higher than normal coastal runup may also occur. Both of these swells will lower gradually over the weekend.

Later this weekend and on into early next week, a series of northwest swells are expected. Surf heights during the peak of the swells may approach low end advisory levels.

 

 https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/6d/1d/76/6d1d767748522559efe11fbce461fc7a.jpg

Large surf along our north and west shores

 

World-wide tropical cyclone activity…with storms showing up when active


https://icons.wxug.com/data/images/sst_basin/gl_sst_mm.gif


>>> Atlantic Ocean: The 2016 hurricane season has ended

Here’s a satellite image of the Atlantic Ocean

>>> Caribbean: The 2016 hurricane season has ended

>>> Gulf of Mexico: The 2016 hurricane season has ended

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 2016 hurricane season has ended

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 2016 hurricane season has ended

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

>>> Northwest Pacific Ocean: No active tropical cyclones

>>> South Pacific Ocean: No active tropical cyclones


>>> North and South Indian Oceans / Arabian Sea: No active tropical cyclones

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


Interesting: Raw foodies: Europe’s earliest humans did not use fire – New research conducted by scientists at the University of York and the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona reveals for the first time that Europe’s earliest humans did not use fire for cooking, but had a balanced diet of meat and plants – all eaten raw.

Studying dental plaque from a 1.2 million year old hominin (early human species), recovered by the Atapuerca Research Team in 2007 in Sima del Elefante in northern Spain, archaeologists extracted microfossils to find the earliest direct evidence of food eaten by early humans.

These microfossils included traces of raw animal tissue, uncooked starch granules indicating consumption of grasses, pollen grains from a species of pine, insect fragments and a possible fragment of a toothpick.

All detected fibers were uncharred, and there was also no evidence showing inhalation of microcharcoal – normally a clear indicator of proximity to fire.

The timing of the earliest use of fire for cooking is hotly contested, with some researchers arguing habitual use started around 1.8 million years ago while others suggest it was as late as 300,000-400,000 years ago.

Possible evidence for fire has been found at some very early sites in Africa. However, the lack of evidence for fire at Sima del Elefante suggests that this knowledge was not carried with the earliest humans when they left Africa.

The earliest definitive evidence in Europe for use of fire is 800,000 years ago at the Spanish site of Cueva Negra, and at Gesher Benot Ya’aqov, Israel, a short time later.

Taken together, this evidence suggests the development of fire technology occurred at some point between 800,000 and 1.2 million years ago, revealing a new timeline for when the earliest humans started to cook food.

Dr Karen Hardy, lead author and Honorary Research Associate at the University of York and ICREA Research Professor at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, said: “Obtaining evidence for any aspect of hominin life at this extremely early date is very challenging. Here, we have been able to demonstrate that these earliest Europeans understood and exploited their forested environment to obtain a balanced diet 1.2 million years ago, by eating a range of different foods and combining starchy plant food with meat.

“This new timeline has significant implications in helping us to understand this period of human evolution — cooked food provides greater energy, and cooking may be linked to the rapid increases in brain size that occurred from 800,000 years ago onwards.

“It also correlates well with previous research hypothesizing that the timing of cooking is linked to the development of salivary amylase, needed to process cooked starchy food. Starchy food was an essential element in facilitating brain development, and contrary to popular belief about the ‘Paleodiet’, the role of starchy food in the Palaeolithic diet was significant.”

Dr Anita Radini, PhD student at the University of York said: “These results are very exciting, as they highlight the potential of dental calculus to store dietary and environmental information from deep in the human evolutionary past. It is also interesting to see that pollen remains are preserved often in better conditions than in the soil of the same age. Overall this is a very positive step in the discipline, in terms of preservation of material in the calculus matrix.”