November 30-December 1 2008

Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures were recorded across the state of Hawaii Sunday afternoon: 

Lihue, Kauai – 78
Honolulu, Oahu – 79
Kaneohe, Oahu – 79
Kahului, Maui – 83
Hilo, Hawaii – 81
Kailua-kona – 83

Air Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level, and on the highest mountains…at 4 p.m. Sunday afternoon:

Kailua-kona – 81F
Molokai airport – 74F

Haleakala Crater    – 43  (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea summit – 36  (near 14,000 feet on the Big Island)

Precipitation Totals – The following numbers represent the largest precipitation totals (inches) during the last 24 hours on each of the major islands, as of Sunday afternoon:

0.89 Mount Waialaele, Kauai
2.58 Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu
0.16 Molokai
0.01 Lanai
0.08 Kahoolawe
0.52 West Wailuaiki, Maui
0.12 Pahoa, Big Island

Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map showing a ridge of high pressure located over the state of Hawaii, which will result in a light south flow through Tuesday…giving way to trade winds again by Wednesday. 

Satellite and Radar Images: To view the cloud conditions we have here in Hawaii, please use the following satellite links, starting off with the Infrared Satellite Image of the islands to see all the clouds around the state during the day and night. This next image is one that gives close images of the islands only during the daytime hours, and is referred to as a Close-up visible image. This next image shows a larger view of the Pacific…giving perspective to the wider ranging cloud patterns in the Pacific Ocean. To help you keep track of where any showers may be around the islands, here’s the latest animated radar image. 

Hawaii’s Mountains – Here’s a link to the live webcam on the summit of near 14,000 foot Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii. The tallest peak on the island of Maui is the Haleakala Crater, which is near 10,000 feet in elevation. These two webcams are available during the daylight hours here in the islands…and when there’s a big moon rising just after sunset for an hour or two! Plus, during the nights and early mornings you will be able to see stars, and the sunrise too…depending upon weather conditions.

Aloha Paragraphs

      

 
  Volcanic haze thickening across the state
Photo Credit: Flikr.com

Light to moderately strong trade winds give way to lighter south to southeast winds…with increased volcanic haze Sunday afternoon. Our local winds ranged between quite light, to locally stronger and gusty Sunday, then generally lighter everywhere starting Monday. Those breezes are backing around to the southeast direction already Sunday afternoon. We’ll see hazy conditions through Tuesday or Wednesday week, with better visibilities thereafter, as the trade winds return again then.

Generally dry weather prevailed Sunday, with just a few upcountry showers expected Monday afternoon. As we move into the new week, with the lighter south to southeast winds, we’ll find clear cool mornings giving way to afternoon cloudy periods around the mountains…with a few generally light showers spilling locally. As the trade winds return around mid-week, the bias for showers will shift back over to the windward sides then, although nothing heavy is expected anytime soon.

It’s early Sunday evening here in Kula, Maui, as I begin writing this last paragraph.  Sunday was generally quite a nice day, although the breezes had turned to the southeast during the afternoon hours…bringing volcanic haze overhead. Looking down towards the West Maui Mountains, from here in Kula, I can barely see the faint tops of those near 5,800 foot peaks. The day was quite dry, with just a few showers falling here and there, mostly around Kauai and Oahu. The clouds that developed during the day, will mostly dissipate overnight, making way for a fairly clear, and relatively cool Monday morning. ~~~ I didn’t start my car at all today, which was a relief, just hunkering-in over long overdue magazines, and a long lasting cup of coffee. It looked like, at least as of earlier this morning, that the light winds and hazy weather was going to last all week, but this afternoon’s computer readouts suggested that the trade winds would return around Wednesday. This will help to whisk away the volcanic haze, and bring back a few windward showers through the rest of the week. This means that our weather will remain quite nice through the next seven days or so, which will make visitors and residents of the islands both happy. ~~~ I’ll be back very early Monday morning with your next new weather narrative from paradise. I hope you have a great Sunday night until then! Aloha for now…Glenn.

Special Note:  On Sunday and Monday nights, skywatchers in the Americas will be able to see a close pairing of Venus and Jupiter. As you look southwest, they will appear to be separated by only the width of your finger, according to the editors at Sky & Telescope magazine. And on Monday night, the crescent Moon will also appear in close proximity. Appearances are deceiving, as the planets are far from us and far from each other. The moon is 252,000 miles away; Venus is 94 million miles away; and you’d have to go 540 million miles to hit Jupiter, the magazine says. Venus and Jupiter won’t appear this close together in the night sky again until 2013. 

Interesting:

For the past two weeks, parts of Australia have been hit by a series of violent storms, bringing torrential rain and gale force winds. The latest storm hit Huntingdale, Melbourne on Friday, and disrupted play at the Australian Masters golf competition. Eighty golfers were forced off the course, as the hail-laced storm swept through. New South Wales, Victoria and southern Queensland have been the worst affected regions. In Queensland a temporary dam used to hold back flood waters burst, killing one young girl. In the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, 10cm of snow fell, which is unseasonably late in the year. The stormy weather has not just been confined to eastern Australia. In the town of Salmon Gums, Western Australia, there has been some intense rainfall and hail the size of golf balls. Crops have been destroyed and livestock killed. Climate scientists from the ‘Griffith Centre for Coastal Management’ have been researching long-term patterns in the prevailing climate. They theorise that the climate alternates between drought and storm conditions over a 30 to 40 year cycle. Australia may be coming out of a 30-year drought phase and entering a period of more stormy weather.

Interesting2: 

New research shows that we should be looking to the ground, not the sky, to see where climate change could have its most perilous impact on life on Earth. Scientists at the University of Toronto Scarborough have published research findings in the journal Nature Geoscience that show global warming actually changes the molecular structure of organic matter in soil. "Soil contains more than twice the amount of carbon than does the atmosphere, yet, until now, scientists haven’t examined this significant carbon pool closely," says Myrna J. Simpson, principal investigator and Associate Professor of Environmental Chemistry at UTSC. "Through our research, we’ve sought to determine what soils are made up of at the molecular level and whether this composition will change in a warmer world."

Soil organic matter is what makes dirt fertile and able to support plant life – both of which are especially important for agriculture. Organic matter retains water in the soil and prevents erosion. Natural processes of decomposition of soil organic matter provide plants and microbes with the energy source and water they need to grow, and carbon is released into the atmosphere as a by-product of this process. Warming temperatures are expected to speed up this process which will increase the amount of CO2 that is transferred to the atmosphere. "From the perspective of agriculture, we can’t afford to lose carbon from the soil because it will change soil fertility and enhance erosion" says Simpson. "Alternatively, consider all the carbon locked up in permafrost in the Arctic. We also need to understand what will happen to the stored carbon when microbes become more active under warmer temperatures."

Interesting3: Much of the eastern half of the country will experience some wet weather over the weekend. Travel home on Sunday could be especially problematic along the Eastern Seaboard (due to heavy rain) and in the Midwest and Great Lakes (because of snow).

Sopping Southeast – Moderate-to-heavy rain is expected Saturday and Sunday throughout most of the southeastern USA from an intensifying area of low pressure. Some severe thunderstorms are also possible Saturday along the northern Gulf Coast. The wet weather will spread into the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast by late in the day on Sunday, remaining as rain along the coast and changing to snow in inland areas. As much as 3 inches of rain is possible in parts of Georgia and the Carolinas. Other than the travel headaches that might ensue, most of the parched region should welcome the rain.

Midwest mess — After some light snow on Saturday around the Great Lakes and in the upper Midwest, heavier snow is forecast Sunday from Missouri to Michigan, with several inches likely. Airport delays are possible in Chicago, Detroit, and Cleveland.

The West is the best — Most of the West will be dry and mild Saturday and Sunday, with only some light snow forecast at higher elevations of the Rockies and Cascades, especially on Saturday. The recent rainfall in southern California has eased the wildfire threat in that area.

November 29-30 2008

Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures were recorded across the state of Hawaii Saturday afternoon: 

Lihue, Kauai – 72
Honolulu, Oahu – 81
Kaneohe, Oahu – 78
Kahului, Maui – 79
Hilo, Hawaii – 80
Kailua-kona – 81

Air Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level, and on the highest mountains…at 4 p.m. Saturday afternoon:

Kailua-kona – 78F
Kahului, Maui – 70F

Haleakala Crater    – 43  (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea summit – 34  (near 14,000 feet on the Big Island)

Precipitation Totals – The following numbers represent the largest precipitation totals (inches) during the last 24 hours on each of the major islands, as of Saturday afternoon:

1.68 Kokee, Kauai
0.44 Makaha Stream, Oahu
0.08 Molokai
0.00 Lanai
0.11 Kahoolawe
0.35 Puu Kukui, Maui
0.14 Waikii, Big Island

Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map showing a shear line that is expected to stall somewhere between Oahu and Molokai, with winds coming into the state from the northeast into Sunday. Otherwise, fronts moving north of the islands will keep a ridge of high pressure in the vicinity of the state through the forecast period...with lighter winds from the south and southeast Monday and Tuesday.

Satellite and Radar Images: To view the cloud conditions we have here in Hawaii, please use the following satellite links, starting off with the Infrared Satellite Image of the islands to see all the clouds around the state during the day and night. This next image is one that gives close images of the islands only during the daytime hours, and is referred to as a Close-up visible image. This next image shows a larger view of the Pacific…giving perspective to the wider ranging cloud patterns in the Pacific Ocean. To help you keep track of where any showers may be around the islands, here’s the latest animated radar image. 

Hawaii’s Mountains – Here’s a link to the live webcam on the summit of near 14,000 foot Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii. The tallest peak on the island of Maui is the Haleakala Crater, which is near 10,000 feet in elevation. These two webcams are available during the daylight hours here in the islands…and when there’s a big moon rising just after sunset for an hour or two! Plus, during the nights and early mornings you will be able to see stars, and the sunrise too…depending upon weather conditions.

Aloha Paragraphs

      

 
  Showers most frequent from Oahu to Maui
Photo Credit: Flikr.com

Our local winds have become northeast across the state into Sunday. At this point it looks as if the band of clouds, riding down the island chain Saturday afternoon, will finally pull to a stop somewhere between Oahu and Molokai during the evening.  Our local winds will range from quite light, to locally stronger and gusty. Those breezes will back around to the south to southeast direction again on Monday and Tuesday, ahead of a second cold front, which will move by to the north of Kauai. There will be volcanic haze moving up from the Big Island over Maui County and perhaps beyond starting Monday.

As the front moves across the state, we’ve seen showers falling with it…and out ahead of it too. A period of cooler weather, associated with the northeast winds, will exist with the locally showery band of clouds for the time being. Here’s a looping radar image, which will allow you to keep and eye on just how extensive the showers become as they work their way southeast over Oahu into Maui County…with a few showers elsewhere too. The south to southeast breezes may bring a few showers to the leeward sides to the islands on Monday into Tuesday. 

It’s late Saturday afternoon here in Kula, Maui, as I begin writing this last paragraph. The frontal boundary has brought clouds and showers into the state…although generally missing the Big Island. The largest amount of rain that I saw, fell as would be expected, in the mountains on Kauai. There were high clouds, and quite a few lower level clouds too, many of which dropped light to moderately heavy showers…mostly along the north and east facing coasts and slopes. The chilly northeast breezes kept our maximum temperatures well down below normal, barely able to climb above 80F in those warmest locations. Many areas saw air temperatures rising only into the lower to middle 70F’s along the windward sides, and only into the 60F’s in the upcountry sections. As long as the winds are out of the northeast, into Sunday, we’ll continue to see this tropical cool snap. Things will warm up Monday and Tuesday, as our local winds swing back around to the south or southeast. ~~~ I’m about ready to drive down into lower Kula, to have a visit and dinner with a friend there. Even though its only a 10 minute drive, the temperature here in Kula is currently 63.3F, at 430pm Saturday afternoon…will likely be 10 degrees warmer there. We’ll walk around her property, have a nice glass of premium Napa Valley red wine, hang out with the cat and dog, before enjoying dinner over a long conversation. We see each seldom, so there will be lots to catch up on. ~~~ I hope you have a great Saturday night, and that you may visit this page again at some point on Sunday. I’ll be back online Sunday morning with more updates, and other weather related information. Aloha for now…Glenn.

Special Note:  On Sunday and Monday nights, skywatchers in the Americas will be able to see a close pairing of Venus and Jupiter. As you look southwest, they will appear to be separated by only the width of your finger, according to the editors at Sky & Telescope magazine. And on Monday night, the crescent Moon will also appear in close proximity. Appearances are deceiving, as the planets are far from us and far from each other. The moon is 252,000 miles away; Venus is 94 million miles away; and you’d have to go 540 million miles to hit Jupiter, the magazine says. Venus and Jupiter won’t appear this close together in the night sky again until 2013. 

Interesting:

For the past two weeks, parts of Australia have been hit by a series of violent storms, bringing torrential rain and gale force winds. The latest storm hit Huntingdale, Melbourne on Friday, and disrupted play at the Australian Masters golf competition. Eighty golfers were forced off the course, as the hail-laced storm swept through. New South Wales, Victoria and southern Queensland have been the worst affected regions. In Queensland a temporary dam used to hold back flood waters burst, killing one young girl. In the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, 10cm of snow fell, which is unseasonably late in the year. The stormy weather has not just been confined to eastern Australia. In the town of Salmon Gums, Western Australia, there has been some intense rainfall and hail the size of golf balls. Crops have been destroyed and livestock killed. Climate scientists from the ‘Griffith Centre for Coastal Management’ have been researching long-term patterns in the prevailing climate. They theorise that the climate alternates between drought and storm conditions over a 30 to 40 year cycle. Australia may be coming out of a 30-year drought phase and entering a period of more stormy weather.

Interesting2: 

New research shows that we should be looking to the ground, not the sky, to see where climate change could have its most perilous impact on life on Earth. Scientists at the University of Toronto Scarborough have published research findings in the journal Nature Geoscience that show global warming actually changes the molecular structure of organic matter in soil. "Soil contains more than twice the amount of carbon than does the atmosphere, yet, until now, scientists haven’t examined this significant carbon pool closely," says Myrna J. Simpson, principal investigator and Associate Professor of Environmental Chemistry at UTSC. "Through our research, we’ve sought to determine what soils are made up of at the molecular level and whether this composition will change in a warmer world."

Soil organic matter is what makes dirt fertile and able to support plant life – both of which are especially important for agriculture. Organic matter retains water in the soil and prevents erosion. Natural processes of decomposition of soil organic matter provide plants and microbes with the energy source and water they need to grow, and carbon is released into the atmosphere as a by-product of this process. Warming temperatures are expected to speed up this process which will increase the amount of CO2 that is transferred to the atmosphere. "From the perspective of agriculture, we can’t afford to lose carbon from the soil because it will change soil fertility and enhance erosion" says Simpson. "Alternatively, consider all the carbon locked up in permafrost in the Arctic. We also need to understand what will happen to the stored carbon when microbes become more active under warmer temperatures."

Interesting3: Much of the eastern half of the country will experience some wet weather over the weekend. Travel home on Sunday could be especially problematic along the Eastern Seaboard (due to heavy rain) and in the Midwest and Great Lakes (because of snow).

Sopping Southeast – Moderate-to-heavy rain is expected Saturday and Sunday throughout most of the southeastern USA from an intensifying area of low pressure. Some severe thunderstorms are also possible Saturday along the northern Gulf Coast. The wet weather will spread into the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast by late in the day on Sunday, remaining as rain along the coast and changing to snow in inland areas. As much as 3 inches of rain is possible in parts of Georgia and the Carolinas. Other than the travel headaches that might ensue, most of the parched region should welcome the rain.

Midwest mess — After some light snow on Saturday around the Great Lakes and in the upper Midwest, heavier snow is forecast Sunday from Missouri to Michigan, with several inches likely. Airport delays are possible in Chicago, Detroit, and Cleveland.

The West is the best — Most of the West will be dry and mild Saturday and Sunday, with only some light snow forecast at higher elevations of the Rockies and Cascades, especially on Saturday. The recent rainfall in southern California has eased the wildfire threat in that area.

November 28-29 2008

Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures were recorded across the state of Hawaii Friday afternoon: 

Lihue, Kauai – 78
Honolulu, Oahu – 81
Kaneohe, Oahu – 80
Kahului, Maui – 86
Hilo, Hawaii – 81
Kailua-kona – 82

Air Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level, and on the highest mountains…at 4 p.m. Friday afternoon:

Port Allen, Kauai – 82F
Hilo, Hawaii – 75F

Haleakala Crater    – 52  (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea summit – 36  (near 14,000 feet on the Big Island)

Precipitation Totals – The following numbers represent the largest precipitation totals (inches) during the last 24 hours on each of the major islands, as of Friday afternoon:

0.08 Lihue, Kauai
0.54 Poamoho 2, Oahu
0.03 Molokai
0.00 Lanai
0.00 Kahoolawe
0.02 West Wailuaiki, Maui
0.02 Pahoa, Big Island

Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map showing a high pressure far to our northeast, with a ridge running southwest to a point just northwest of Kauai. This ridge will weaken and erode eastward, allowing south to southeast winds to blow over Kauai and Oahu into Saturday, with east to southeast winds over Maui and the Big Island. 

Satellite and Radar Images: To view the cloud conditions we have here in Hawaii, please use the following satellite links, starting off with the Infrared Satellite Image of the islands to see all the clouds around the state during the day and night. This next image is one that gives close images of the islands only during the daytime hours, and is referred to as a Close-up visible image. This next image shows a larger view of the Pacific…giving perspective to the wider ranging cloud patterns in the Pacific Ocean. To help you keep track of where any showers may be around the islands, here’s the latest animated radar image. 

Hawaii’s Mountains – Here’s a link to the live webcam on the summit of near 14,000 foot Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii. The tallest peak on the island of Maui is the Haleakala Crater, which is near 10,000 feet in elevation. These two webcams are available during the daylight hours here in the islands…and when there’s a big moon rising just after sunset for an hour or two! Plus, during the nights and early mornings you will be able to see stars, and the sunrise too…depending upon weather conditions.

Aloha Paragraphs

      

 
  Some showers moving towards Kauai and Oahu
Photo Credit: Flikr.com

Our local winds have become southeast to south on Kauai and Oahu…with light east to southeast breezes over Maui and the Big Island. The state will find these lighter southeast to south winds taking the place of the trades now, ahead of a cold front scheduled to arrive on Kauai Friday night, reaching Oahu Saturday, with a slight chance of making it down as far as Molokai or Maui later Saturday. Our winds will become NE trade winds again briefly following the frontal passage. Those breezes will back around to the south to southeast direction again on Monday and Tuesday, ahead of a second cold front, which will stall before arriving on Kauai. There may be some periods of volcanic haze moving up from the Big Island at times.

As the cold front arrives Friday night over Kauai, and Oahu on Saturday, we’ll find an increase in clouds and showers there. Again, the chance of showers extending further into the state is minimal, but not totally out of the question. A brief period of slightly cooler weather, associated with the northeast winds, will return after the cold front. Those trade winds may bring some of the remnant clouds and showers to the windward sides of the islands, but not much precipitation is expected. The following south breezes may bring a few showers to the leeward sides on Kauai Monday into Tuesday…with the other islands remaining in a fairly dry state.

It’s early Friday evening here in Kihei, Maui, as I begin writing this last paragraph. The big news, besides the quickly weakening cold front will be edging into the state soon…is the rising surf along our north and west facing shores. This northwest swell has triggered a high surf advisory, with high surf warning level surf at many of the beaches that get really big this time of year. Folks should exercise caution when going to these beaches, and remain on the leeward sides where much smaller waves, or even flat conditions will prevail. This extra large surf will be especially active through Saturday into early Sunday, before backing off. ~~~ I’m just about ready to take the drive over to Kahului, Maui. I’ll be seeing the new film Transporter 3, starring Jason Statham, among many others. It’s one of those that I often see, filled with sequences of intense action, violence, some sexual content and drug material. Geez, not one day past Thanksgiving, and here I go again into one of these radical films that I’m so drawn to! Just in case you want to take a quick sneak peek, here’s a trailer for this film. ~~~ I’ll be back online with your next new weather narrative come early Saturday morning, I hope that you have a great Friday night until then! Aloha for now…Glenn.

Special Note:  On Sunday and Monday nights, skywatchers in the Americas will be able to see a close pairing of Venus and Jupiter. As you look southwest, they will appear to be separated by only the width of your finger, according to the editors at Sky & Telescope magazine. And on Monday night, the crescent Moon will also appear in close proximity. Appearances are deceiving, as the planets are far from us and far from each other. The moon is 252,000 miles away; Venus is 94 million miles away; and you’d have to go 540 million miles to hit Jupiter, the magazine says. Venus and Jupiter won’t appear this close together in the night sky again until 2013. 

Interesting:

For the past two weeks, parts of Australia have been hit by a series of violent storms, bringing torrential rain and gale force winds. The latest storm hit Huntingdale, Melbourne on Friday, and disrupted play at the Australian Masters golf competition. Eighty golfers were forced off the course, as the hail-laced storm swept through. New South Wales, Victoria and southern Queensland have been the worst affected regions. In Queensland a temporary dam used to hold back flood waters burst, killing one young girl. In the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, 10cm of snow fell, which is unseasonably late in the year. The stormy weather has not just been confined to eastern Australia. In the town of Salmon Gums, Western Australia, there has been some intense rainfall and hail the size of golf balls. Crops have been destroyed and livestock killed. Climate scientists from the ‘Griffith Centre for Coastal Management’ have been researching long-term patterns in the prevailing climate. They theorise that the climate alternates between drought and storm conditions over a 30 to 40 year cycle. Australia may be coming out of a 30-year drought phase and entering a period of more stormy weather.

Interesting2: 

New research shows that we should be looking to the ground, not the sky, to see where climate change could have its most perilous impact on life on Earth. Scientists at the University of Toronto Scarborough have published research findings in the journal Nature Geoscience that show global warming actually changes the molecular structure of organic matter in soil. "Soil contains more than twice the amount of carbon than does the atmosphere, yet, until now, scientists haven’t examined this significant carbon pool closely," says Myrna J. Simpson, principal investigator and Associate Professor of Environmental Chemistry at UTSC. "Through our research, we’ve sought to determine what soils are made up of at the molecular level and whether this composition will change in a warmer world."

Soil organic matter is what makes dirt fertile and able to support plant life – both of which are especially important for agriculture. Organic matter retains water in the soil and prevents erosion. Natural processes of decomposition of soil organic matter provide plants and microbes with the energy source and water they need to grow, and carbon is released into the atmosphere as a by-product of this process. Warming temperatures are expected to speed up this process which will increase the amount of CO2 that is transferred to the atmosphere. "From the perspective of agriculture, we can’t afford to lose carbon from the soil because it will change soil fertility and enhance erosion" says Simpson. "Alternatively, consider all the carbon locked up in permafrost in the Arctic. We also need to understand what will happen to the stored carbon when microbes become more active under warmer temperatures."

Interesting3: Much of the eastern half of the country will experience some wet weather over the weekend. Travel home on Sunday could be especially problematic along the Eastern Seaboard (due to heavy rain) and in the Midwest and Great Lakes (because of snow).

Sopping Southeast – Moderate-to-heavy rain is expected Saturday and Sunday throughout most of the southeastern USA from an intensifying area of low pressure. Some severe thunderstorms are also possible Saturday along the northern Gulf Coast. The wet weather will spread into the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast by late in the day on Sunday, remaining as rain along the coast and changing to snow in inland areas. As much as 3 inches of rain is possible in parts of Georgia and the Carolinas. Other than the travel headaches that might ensue, most of the parched region should welcome the rain.

Midwest mess — After some light snow on Saturday around the Great Lakes and in the upper Midwest, heavier snow is forecast Sunday from Missouri to Michigan, with several inches likely. Airport delays are possible in Chicago, Detroit, and Cleveland.

The West is the best — Most of the West will be dry and mild Saturday and Sunday, with only some light snow forecast at higher elevations of the Rockies and Cascades, especially on Saturday. The recent rainfall in southern California has eased the wildfire threat in that area.

November 27-28 2008

Happy Thanksgiving!

Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures were recorded across the state of Hawaii Wednesday afternoon: 

Lihue, Kauai – 79
Honolulu, Oahu – 84
Kaneohe, Oahu – 80
Kahului, Maui – 84
Hilo, Hawaii – 75
Kailua-kona – 82

Air Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level, and on the highest mountains…at 6 a.m. Thanksgiving morning:

Barking Sands, Kauai – 75F
Kahului, Maui – 63F

Haleakala Crater    – 50  (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea summit – 36  (near 14,000 feet on the Big Island)

Precipitation Totals – The following numbers represent the largest precipitation totals (inches) during the last 24 hours on each of the major islands, as of Thanksgiving morning:

0.79 Mount Waialaele, Kauai
0.02 Waimanalo, Oahu
0.03 Molokai
0.00 Lanai
0.00 Kahoolawe
0.20 West Wailuaiki, Maui
0.37 Glenwood, Big Island

Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map showing high pressure far to the northeast of the state will be moving northeast and away from the islands today. The trades will slacken and become light southerly tonight. A cold front will reach Kauai by Friday night and then will dissipate near Oahu this weekend. Winds will speed up in association with the front, but will return southerly early next week.

Satellite and Radar Images: To view the cloud conditions we have here in Hawaii, please use the following satellite links, starting off with the Infrared Satellite Image of the islands to see all the clouds around the state during the day and night. This next image is one that gives close images of the islands only during the daytime hours, and is referred to as a Close-up visible image. This next image shows a larger view of the Pacific…giving perspective to the wider ranging cloud patterns in the Pacific Ocean. To help you keep track of where any showers may be around the islands, here’s the latest animated radar image. 

Hawaii’s Mountains – Here’s a link to the live webcam on the summit of near 14,000 foot Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii. The tallest peak on the island of Maui is the Haleakala Crater, which is near 10,000 feet in elevation. These two webcams are available during the daylight hours here in the islands…and when there’s a big moon rising just after sunset for an hour or two! Plus, during the nights and early mornings you will be able to see stars, and the sunrise too…depending upon weather conditions.

Aloha Paragraphs

      

 
  Nice Thanksgiving Day in the islands!
Photo Credit: Flikr.com

Lighter trade winds will give way to southeast to southwest breezes into Friday. These gusty winds continue to be strong enough now, that a small craft wind advisory remains active across the Alenuihaha Channel between Maui and the Big Island, southward. The state will find lighter southeast to southwest winds taking the place of the trades later on Thanksgiving, ahead of a cold front scheduled to arrive on Kauai Friday night. Our winds will turn cooler from the north and northeast briefly following the frontal passage, at least near Kauai and probably Oahu. Those breezes will back around to the south Kona direction Sunday into Monday, ahead of a second cold front that will stall before arriving on Kauai.

Other than a few windward showers, our weather will remain dry for the most part through Thanksgiving…with a few minor showers expected Friday. As the cold front arrives Friday night over Kauai, we’ll find an increase in clouds and showers there. The computer models continue to suggest that the front will stall somewhere between Kauai and Oahu. A brief period of cool weather will return after the cold front on those islands…although other than some small drop precipitation across the north facing slopes, conditions will remain generally dry elsewhere. The following south breezes may bring a few showers to the leeward sides on Monday into Tuesday.

It’s early Thanksgiving morning here in Kula, Maui, as I begin writing this last paragraph.  Despite the approach of two cold fronts over the next week, our weather will remain generally quite good across the Aloha state. As I mentioning in yesterday’s narrative, the winds will be going through their changes, but rainfall won’t be much of a problem. The next chance for a more dynamic rainfall event will likely wait until next Wednesday or Thursday. ~~~ The big Day has finally arrived, the first of the big ones as we move towards Christmas and New Years. Thanksgiving is definitely an important date, as it allows family and friends to join together for a feast of food and companionship. I have many fond memories of growing up in the James Family, back in southern California. I’m sure most of us have those same family oriented thoughts of the past. I hope that each of you have something good to do today, and are able to break bread with others that you trust and enjoy being with. I’ll be going over to some friends house on the windward side, in Haiku, where I’ve been going for many years now. There will be two organic turkeys, and all the food and wine that all of us could possibly want. It’s a time to celebrate, and to rejoice our personal connections, and to be thankful for what we have. Meanwhile, the economic troubles worldwide, along with the news that keeps coming our way from the current hot spots of Mumbai, Bangkok airport, and elsewhere…are hard to ignore! ~~~ Here’s wishing you and yours the most joyful day, filled with deep friendship and love between family and all the others in our precious lives! I’ll come back a couple of times during the day, if I find myself around a computer, otherwise, I’ll be back again early Friday morning with your next new weather narrative from paradise. Aloha for now…Glenn. Happy Thanksgiving!

Special Note: It’s not just families that are getting together this Thanksgiving week. The three brightest objects in the night sky — Venus, Jupiter and a crescent moon — will crowd around each other for an unusual group shot.

Starting Thanksgiving evening, Jupiter and Venus will begin moving closer so that by Sunday and Monday, they will appear 2 degrees apart, which is about a finger width held out at arm’s length, said Alan MacRobert, senior editor at Sky and Telescope magazine. Then on Monday night, they will be joined by a crescent moon right next to them, he said.

Look in the southwestern sky around twilight — no telescope or binoculars needed. The show will even be visible in cities if it’s a clear night.

"It’ll be a head-turner," MacRobert said. "This certainly is an unusual coincidence for the crescent moon to be right there in the days when they are going to be closest together."

The moon is the brightest, closest and smallest of the three and is 252,000 miles away. Venus, the second brightest, closest and smallest, is 94 million miles away. And big Jupiter is 540 million miles away.

The three celestial objects come together from time to time, but often they are too close to the sun or unite at a time when they aren’t so visible. The next time the three will be as close and visible as this week will be Nov. 18, 2052, according to Jack Horkheimer, director of the Miami Space Transit Planetarium.

But if you are willing to settle for two out of three — Venus and the crescent moon only — it will happen again on New Year’s Eve, MacRobert said.

Interesting:

Despite plummeting gas prices and unusual last-minute holiday deals on airplane tickets, more people are expected to stick close to home this Thanksgiving. In fact, the Automobile Association of America says the 41 million Americans expected to take trips at least 50 miles for Thanksgiving is about 600,000 less than traveled last Thanksgiving. The reason, as a surly economist might say? It’s the economy, stupid. "The economy is in such bad shape. They’re still really hesitant to take that trip," said Beth Mosher, spokeswoman for AAA Chicago. In comparison, over the July 4 weekend when gas prices were far higher than the same weekend the previous year, the number of travelers dropped just 2.3 percent, she said. At that time, the economic news wasn’t as dire as it is now.

Interesting2: 

Ever wonder how hundreds of ants are able to go up and down a narrow twig without bumping into each other? A team of German scientists want to find out how ants avoid collisions so that they can apply the same principles to cars on the motorways.  The scientists built an ingenious super "ant farm" complete with roads and bridges and a veritable city of ants. Then they observed the traffic patterns of the ants and fed their findings in to a computer.  The Dresden Institute of Technology collective intelligence expert Dirk Helbing and his team set up an ant highway with two routes of different widths from the nest to some sugar syrup, according to their findings, published in New Scientist.  Unsurprisingly, the narrower route soon became congested.

But to the amazement of the scientists, they found that just before the shortest route became completely clogged, outgoing ants diverted incoming ants to another route and traffic jams along the sugar syrup meal corridor never formed. The German researchers then applied what they learned by studying the insects and created a computer model of more complex networks of routes of varying lengths.  They discovered that ants continued to do the same thing, redirecting incoming ants to less congested corridors and even if the incoming ants were pushed into a longer route, they still managed to get to the food quickly and efficiently. The trick now is to find out how ants pass on these "traffic reports" to each other. The scientists say that when they have unlocked that mystery, the day may not be far off when human drivers travelling in opposite directions could pass congestion information to each other in this same way.

November 26-27 2008

Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures were recorded across the state of Hawaii Wednesday afternoon: 

Lihue, Kauai – 79
Honolulu, Oahu – 84
Kaneohe, Oahu – 80
Kahului, Maui – 84
Hilo, Hawaii – 75
Kailua-kona – 82

Air Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level, and on the highest mountains…at 4 p.m. Wednesday afternoon:

Barking Sands, Kauai – 82F
Hilo, Hawaii – 72F

Haleakala Crater    – 50  (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea summit – 36  (near 14,000 feet on the Big Island)

Precipitation Totals – The following numbers represent the largest precipitation totals (inches) during the last 24 hours on each of the major islands, as of Wednesday afternoon:

0.68 Mount Waialaele, Kauai
0.08 Poamoho 2, Oahu
0.03 Molokai
0.00 Lanai
0.00 Kahoolawe
0.33 West Wailuaiki, Maui
0.43 Glenwood, Big Island

Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map showing showing a surface high pressure system northeast of Oahu, which will be moving rapidly northeast tonight. A cold front will reach Kauai Friday, stall and weaken over the central islands early Saturday. Moderate to strong northeast winds will briefly follow the front. The front dissipates over the central islands by Sunday.

Satellite and Radar Images: To view the cloud conditions we have here in Hawaii, please use the following satellite links, starting off with the Infrared Satellite Image of the islands to see all the clouds around the state during the day and night. This next image is one that gives close images of the islands only during the daytime hours, and is referred to as a Close-up visible image. This next image shows a larger view of the Pacific…giving perspective to the wider ranging cloud patterns in the Pacific Ocean. To help you keep track of where any showers may be around the islands, here’s the latest animated radar image. 

Hawaii’s Mountains – Here’s a link to the live webcam on the summit of near 14,000 foot Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii. The tallest peak on the island of Maui is the Haleakala Crater, which is near 10,000 feet in elevation. These two webcams are available during the daylight hours here in the islands…and when there’s a big moon rising just after sunset for an hour or two! Plus, during the nights and early mornings you will be able to see stars, and the sunrise too…depending upon weather conditions.

Aloha Paragraphs

      

 
  Good weather on Thanksgiving Day!
Photo Credit: Flikr.com

The gusty trade winds will give way to lighter winds tomorrow, becoming southeast to southwest by nightfall on Thanksgiving. These gusty winds continue to be strong enough now, that a small craft wind advisory flag remains active across the area from the islands around Maui County, down to the Big Island. Strong winds over the summits of Maui and the Big Island will be on the increase…thus the wind advisory there now too. The computer models suggest that lighter southeast to southwest winds will take the place of the trades later on Thanksgiving, ahead of a cold front scheduled to arrive on Kauai Friday night. Our winds will turn cooler from the north and northeast briefly following the frontal passage, at least near Kauai and probably Oahu. Those chilly breezes will back around to the south Kona direction Sunday into Monday, ahead of a second cold front that will stall before arriving on Kauai.

Other than a few windward showers, our weather will remain dry for the most part through Thanksgiving…with a few showers expected Friday. The gusty trade winds will carry clouds to the windward sides Wednesday night, but the air mass is quite dry…which will limit the amount of showers. As the cold front arrives Friday night over Kauai, we’ll find an increase in clouds and showers. The computer models continue to suggest that the front will stall somewhere between Kauai and Oahu. A brief period of cool weather will return after the cold front on those islands…although other than some small drop precipitation across the north facing slopes, conditions will remain generally dry elsewhere. The following south breezes may bring a few showers to the leeward sides on Monday into Tuesday.

It’s early Wednesday evening here in Kihei, Maui, as I begin writing this last l paragraph. The trade winds remained locally quite strong Wednesday, with the strongest gust at 4pm noted at South Point on the Big Island…topping out at 42 mph. There were a couple of 30+ mph gusts elsewhere, with the 37 mph gust at Kahului, Maui, the second strongest around the state. These trade winds will remain in force through the first part of Thanksgiving Day, but then begin to recede later in the day, becoming lighter from the southeast. The approaching cold front is discussed in some detail in the paragraphs above, but the bottom line is that it won’t bring heavy rain, and be restricted to Kauai and Oahu. A second cold front will approach early next week, but it won’t even reach Kauai, according to the models now. ~~~ Thanksgiving Day here in the islands should exhibit nice conditions, just the way we like it. I’m about ready to take the drive upcountry to Kula, where I’ll remain until later tomorrow, when I head over to Haiku, for a big dinner with friends there. I’ll be back here early Thursday morning with another new narrative, and more about the dinner, which I’ll be attending on the windward side of east Maui. I hope you have a great Wednesday night, leading into a great Thanksgiving! Aloha for now…Glenn.

Special Note: It’s not just families that are getting together this Thanksgiving week. The three brightest objects in the night sky — Venus, Jupiter and a crescent moon — will crowd around each other for an unusual group shot.

Starting Thanksgiving evening, Jupiter and Venus will begin moving closer so that by Sunday and Monday, they will appear 2 degrees apart, which is about a finger width held out at arm’s length, said Alan MacRobert, senior editor at Sky and Telescope magazine. Then on Monday night, they will be joined by a crescent moon right next to them, he said.

Look in the southwestern sky around twilight — no telescope or binoculars needed. The show will even be visible in cities if it’s a clear night.

"It’ll be a head-turner," MacRobert said. "This certainly is an unusual coincidence for the crescent moon to be right there in the days when they are going to be closest together."

The moon is the brightest, closest and smallest of the three and is 252,000 miles away. Venus, the second brightest, closest and smallest, is 94 million miles away. And big Jupiter is 540 million miles away.

The three celestial objects come together from time to time, but often they are too close to the sun or unite at a time when they aren’t so visible. The next time the three will be as close and visible as this week will be Nov. 18, 2052, according to Jack Horkheimer, director of the Miami Space Transit Planetarium.

But if you are willing to settle for two out of three — Venus and the crescent moon only — it will happen again on New Year’s Eve, MacRobert said.

Interesting:

Despite plummeting gas prices and unusual last-minute holiday deals on airplane tickets, more people are expected to stick close to home this Thanksgiving. In fact, the Automobile Association of America says the 41 million Americans expected to take trips at least 50 miles for Thanksgiving is about 600,000 less than traveled last Thanksgiving. The reason, as a surly economist might say? It’s the economy, stupid. "The economy is in such bad shape. They’re still really hesitant to take that trip," said Beth Mosher, spokeswoman for AAA Chicago. In comparison, over the July 4 weekend when gas prices were far higher than the same weekend the previous year, the number of travelers dropped just 2.3 percent, she said. At that time, the economic news wasn’t as dire as it is now.

Interesting2: 

Ever wonder how hundreds of ants are able to go up and down a narrow twig without bumping into each other? A team of German scientists want to find out how ants avoid collisions so that they can apply the same principles to cars on the motorways.  The scientists built an ingenious super "ant farm" complete with roads and bridges and a veritable city of ants. Then they observed the traffic patterns of the ants and fed their findings in to a computer.  The Dresden Institute of Technology collective intelligence expert Dirk Helbing and his team set up an ant highway with two routes of different widths from the nest to some sugar syrup, according to their findings, published in New Scientist.  Unsurprisingly, the narrower route soon became congested.

But to the amazement of the scientists, they found that just before the shortest route became completely clogged, outgoing ants diverted incoming ants to another route and traffic jams along the sugar syrup meal corridor never formed. The German researchers then applied what they learned by studying the insects and created a computer model of more complex networks of routes of varying lengths.  They discovered that ants continued to do the same thing, redirecting incoming ants to less congested corridors and even if the incoming ants were pushed into a longer route, they still managed to get to the food quickly and efficiently. The trick now is to find out how ants pass on these "traffic reports" to each other. The scientists say that when they have unlocked that mystery, the day may not be far off when human drivers travelling in opposite directions could pass congestion information to each other in this same way.

November 25-26 2008

Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures were recorded across the state of Hawaii Tuesday afternoon: 

Lihue, Kauai – 78
Honolulu, Oahu – 83
Kaneohe, Oahu – 80
Kahului, Maui – 82
Hilo, Hawaii – 77
Kailua-kona – 83

Air Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level, and on the highest mountains…at 4 p.m. Tuesday afternoon:

Port Allen, Kauai – 81F
Hilo, Hawaii – 74F

Haleakala Crater    – 52  (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea summit – 39  (near 14,000 feet on the Big Island)

Precipitation Totals – The following numbers represent the largest precipitation totals (inches) during the last 24 hours on each of the major islands, as of Tuesday afternoon:

0.45 Mount Waialaele, Kauai
0.18 Kalaeloa airport, Oahu
0.00 Molokai
0.00 Lanai
0.00 Kahoolawe
0.20 West Wailuaiki, Maui
0.07 Glenwood, Big Island

Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map showing a surface high northeast of the islands will be closer tonight into Wednesday…with strong and gusty trade winds the net result. As a cold front approaches from the northwest on Thursday, the high will move quickly northeast, and winds will veer to the south. The front will reach Kauai late Friday, and dissipate as it stalls near the central islands on Saturday. Fresh and cool north to northeast winds will briefly follow the front.

Satellite and Radar Images: To view the cloud conditions we have here in Hawaii, please use the following satellite links, starting off with the Infrared Satellite Image of the islands to see all the clouds around the state during the day and night. This next image is one that gives close images of the islands only during the daytime hours, and is referred to as a Close-up visible image. This next image shows a larger view of the Pacific…giving perspective to the wider ranging cloud patterns in the Pacific Ocean. To help you keep track of where any showers may be around the islands, here’s the latest animated radar image. 

Hawaii’s Mountains – Here’s a link to the live webcam on the summit of near 14,000 foot Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii. The tallest peak on the island of Maui is the Haleakala Crater, which is near 10,000 feet in elevation. These two webcams are available during the daylight hours here in the islands…and when there’s a big moon rising just after sunset for an hour or two! Plus, during the nights and early mornings you will be able to see stars, and the sunrise too…depending upon weather conditions.

Aloha Paragraphs

      

 
  Stronger trade winds on Wednesday
Photo Credit: Flikr.com

Trade wind weather pattern continues, with some increase in wind speeds expected on Wednesday. These gusty winds continue to be strong enough now, that a small craft wind advisory flag remains active across the area from Oahu through Maui, down to the Big Island. The computer models suggest that lighter southeast to south winds will take the place of the trades later on Thanksgiving, ahead of a cold front scheduled to arrive on Kauai by Friday night, moving down the island chain to Oahu, or perhaps as far as Maui on Saturday. Our winds will turn cooler from the north and northeast briefly following the frontal passage.

The mostly dry trade wind weather pattern will continue, with a slight increase in windward showers Wednesday. The gusty trade winds will carry just a few clouds to the windward sides, but the air mass is quite dry…which will limit the amount of showers greatly. A rising of the trade wind inversion Wednesday, may act to allow a few more showers to arrive then. Thereafter, we should find some changes, as a cold front arrives Friday into Saturday. This late autumn frontal system will bring clouds and showers to the islands as it passes down into the state, stopping short of Maui and the Big Island later Saturday. A brief period of cool weather will return after the cold front…although the latest model runs show a second cold front approaching shortly thereafter, prompting our winds back around to the south again later Sunday into Monday.

It’s early Tuesday evening here in Kihei, Maui, as I begin writing this last l paragraph.  The trade winds eased up Tuesday, at least compared to the very windy conditions that we saw on Monday. Rather than having the trade winds stay lighter Wednesday, they will surge again, back into the strong and gusty realms. This will be a short lived thrust of the trades however, as an approaching cold front will turn our winds lighter and from the southeast during the day Thursday. As noted above, we may see a modest increase in windward biased showers Wednesday, and then some afternoon upcountry showers on Thursday. As we move into later Friday and Saturday, a weakening cold front will bring some increase in showers to Kauai and Oahu, but the latest model runs are showing the cloud band skidding to a stop before moving on to Maui and the Big Island. It wouldn’t surprise me though, if the front did actually make it down to Maui, although the Big Island may be too much to hope for at this time. ~~~ Tuesday, with the lighter winds, got a little cloudier in places, especially along the leeward sides of the mountains. The windward sides remained quite clear in most areas, with little rainfall noted anywhere however. ~~~ I’m about ready to drive home to Kula, and if something catches my eye along the way, I’ll get back online and write about it. Otherwise, I’ll catch up with you very early Wednesday morning, when I’ll be back with your next new weather narrative from paradise. I hope you have a great Tuesday night wherever you happen to be spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.

Interesting:

A plunge of cold Arctic air continues to head south across Europe, bringing freezing temperatures and snow falls. For the UK the first signs of the cold weather were across Scotland on Friday, with snow showers affecting northern and eastern areas. Over the weekend the cold took hold, particularly over Saturday night and early Sunday, with an Atlantic weather front moving in from the west prompting warnings of snow and black ice. Sweden, Finland and Russia, were also hit by the cold northerly winds. A blanket of snow forced runway closures at Helsinki and Stockholm airports, while thousands of residents were left without power.

The winter weather also spread south across France and the Netherlands, and arrived in northern Spain on Monday. Six provinces across the north of the country were put on alert for snow and freezing temperatures. Cantabria and Asturias remain on orange alert today, with up to 6 inches of snow forecast. Snow has arrived early across Europe this year prompting many ski resorts to open earlier than scheduled. Even across southern Spain, the Sierra Nevada resort has opened early for the first time in 20 years. While the cold weather will continue south across Spain over the next few days, the UK will see temperatures slowly creeping up. Atlantic weather fronts pushing across the UK from the northwest are expected to introduce some milder conditions.

Interesting2: 

Australian scientists are using mobile telephones to eavesdrop on koalas to understand what they are saying when they bellow and how this can help conserve the marsupial which is threatened by habitat destruction. The researchers tagged koalas on St Bees Island off northeast Australia with satellite tracking devices to monitor movements and placed mobile telephones in the trees which are programmed to turn on every 30 minutes and record for two minutes. The mobiles, charged by solar power and car batteries, record the koala bellows, then download the recordings to a computer at the University of Queensland in Brisbane. "Koala bellows can go from really quite short, sharp, and quite agitated sounding bellows to long, slow, deep bellows that can last for over a minute," said researcher Bill Ellis.

"Interestingly most of the bellowing seems to occur around midnight, not around dawn or dusk when we thought it might’ve occurred," he said on Tuesday. Ellis said he was studying whether male koalas communicate by bellowing to each other to mark out territory and whether bellowing was used to attract females during breeding season. "Over the breeding season males are quiet active at the start but their movements die down and females have a spike in movement somewhere in the breeding season," Ellis said. "After a male and female encounter, and we can’t see what they are doing, the female lets out a high-pitched scream and immediately after the male emits a loud bellow," he said. Ellis said results from his study could help manage koala populations by informing wildlife officials when is the best time to introduce new animals to a population and when is best time to allow changes to koala habitats such as urban development.

Interesting3: 

As many Americans get ready to fly to their aunt’s house in Milwaukee or grandmother’s house in Syracuse for Thursday’s traditional Thanksgiving meal, many critics are chiming in again about the polluting and wasteful nature of the air travel industry. In fact, air travel has come under severe criticism this year not only for how much fossil fuels are used and how many carbon emissions are produced, but also for many companies’ attempts at green washing the industry. However, according to an article in the San Francisco Chronicle earlier this month, United Airlines recently flew a flight from Sydney to San Francisco saving 1,664 gallons of fuel and 32,656 pounds of carbon emissions by using new technologies and more accommodating air traffic control procedures. In February, Virgin Atlantic flew what was touted as a groundbreaking flight from London to Amsterdam using a conventional Boeing 747 aircraft run on biofuels.

The biofuel was a mixture of coconut and babassu oils, a native tree to Brazil. Sir Richard Branson said, “This pioneering flight will enable those of us who are serious about reducing our carbon emissions to go on developing the fuels of the future, fuels which will power our aircraft in the years ahead through sustainable next-generation oils, such as algae." Greenpeace  called the demonstration a “high altitude green wash,” however, inciting the indirect effects of using biofuels such as these such as food crop displacement and the high costs that go into their production. Regardless, United’s demonstration this month seemed to be of a different character. There were no tanned CEOs with rebellious silvery-blond hair sipping coconut juice in front of the airliner. It was just the flight crew utilizing simple, state-of-the-art techniques to be more efficient with the flight patterns and air traffic control.

Interesting4: As many as 100 million people in southwestern China could lose the land they depend on within 35 years if soil erosion continues at the current rate, according to a nationwide survey. Deforestation and farming practices are the principal drivers of the erosion, the survey from China’s bio-environment security research team said. The report predicts harvests in northeastern — known as the national breadbasket — could fall by 40 percent within half a century on current trends, even as the country’s population of 1.3 billion continues to grow. "If we don’t conduct effective measures, erosion will cause major damage to social and economic development," Chen Lei, the director of the Ministry of Water Resources, told state media. The costs of erosion are expected to total $29 billion (200 billion yuan) in this decade alone, the report said, noting that poor people, many of whom live in coastal areas, will be the hardest hit.

Interesting5:

Enormous cave bears that once inhabited Europe were the first of the mega-mammals to die out, going extinct around 13 millennia earlier than was previously thought, according to a new estimate. Why’d they go? In part because they were vegetarians. The new extinction date, 27,800 years ago, coincides with a period of significant climate change, known as the Last Glacial Maximum, when a marked cooling in temperature resulted in a reduction or total loss of the vegetation that the cave bears ate (today’s brown bears are omnivores). The loss of this food supply led to the extinction of the cave bear, Ursus spelaeus, one of a group of "megafauna" — including the woolly mammoth, woolly rhinoceros, giant deer and cave lion — to disappear during the last Ice Age, the researchers wrote in a research paper published online Nov. 26 in the journal Boreas. Over the years, numerous cave bear remains have been discovered in caves where the animals probably died during winter hibernation.

Cave bears were huge, with males growing up to around 2,200 pounds. The maximum recorded weight of both Kodiak bears and polar bears — the largest bears living today — is 1,760 pounds, with averages of around 1,100 pounds. During the Middle Ages, the bones of cave bears, thought to be the remains of dragons, were collected and used for medicine, the researchers say. The question of what caused cave bears, woolly mammoths and the other large mammals to go extinct has been a mystery. Some researchers think humans hunted the mega-mammals to extinction, but researcher Martina Pacher of the University of Vienna and her colleague Anthony J. Stuart of the Natural History Museum, London, found no convincing evidence for this idea regarding cave bears.  Another theory is that some virus or bacteria could have sickened populations of mega-mammals, but Pacher and Stuart think such a "hyperdisease" is unlikely to explain the timing of the extinctions or the fact that body sizes of the dying-out animals varied so much.

November 24-25 2008

Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures were recorded across the state of Hawaii Monday afternoon: 

Lihue, Kauai – 79
Honolulu, Oahu – 83
Kaneohe, Oahu – 80
Kahului, Maui – 82
Hilo, Hawaii – 81
Kailua-kona – 83

Air Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level, and on the highest mountains…at 4 p.m. Monday afternoon:

Barking Sands, Kauai – 82F
Molokai airport – 77F

Haleakala Crater    – 47  (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea summit – 34  (near 14,000 feet on the Big Island)

Precipitation Totals – The following numbers represent the largest precipitation totals (inches) during the last 24 hours on each of the major islands, as of Monday afternoon:

0.56 Mount Waialaele, Kauai
0.40 Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu
0.00 Molokai
0.01 Lanai
0.00 Kahoolawe
0.07 Hana airport, Maui
0.30 Pahoa, Big Island

Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map showing a surface high far northeast of the islands will be nearly stationary through Thursday. As a cold front approaches from the northwest on Thursday, the high will move quickly northeast, and winds will veer to the south. The front will reach Kauai late Friday, and dissipate as it stalls near the central islands on Saturday. Fresh and cool north to northeast winds will briefly follow the front.

Satellite and Radar Images: To view the cloud conditions we have here in Hawaii, please use the following satellite links, starting off with the Infrared Satellite Image of the islands to see all the clouds around the state during the day and night. This next image is one that gives close images of the islands only during the daytime hours, and is referred to as a Close-up visible image. This next image shows a larger view of the Pacific…giving perspective to the wider ranging cloud patterns in the Pacific Ocean. To help you keep track of where any showers may be around the islands, here’s the latest animated radar image. 

Hawaii’s Mountains – Here’s a link to the live webcam on the summit of near 14,000 foot Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii. The tallest peak on the island of Maui is the Haleakala Crater, which is near 10,000 feet in elevation. These two webcams are available during the daylight hours here in the islands…and when there’s a big moon rising just after sunset for an hour or two! Plus, during the nights and early mornings you will be able to see stars, and the sunrise too…depending upon weather conditions.

Aloha Paragraphs

      

 
  Great beach weather, with gusty winds
Photo Credit: Flikr.com

The trade winds blew strongly during the day Monday…topping out near 50 mph in those windiest areas! These gusty winds are strong enough now that a small craft wind advisory flag remains active across much of the entire state. The strongest winds of this windy episode are expected across the highest elevations of Maui and the Big Island, where a wind advisory is now in force. The computer models suggest that lighter southeast to south winds will return later on Thanksgiving evening, ahead of a cold front scheduled to arrive on Kauai by Friday night, moving down into the chain a distance on Saturday. Our winds may turn cooler from the north and northeast following the frontal passage.

Island skies will remain quite sunny, especially along the leeward beaches…with areas of high clouds. The gusty trade winds will carry just a few clouds to the windward sides, but the air mass is quite dry…which will limit the amount of showers greatly. This dry reality will stick with us through the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. Thereafter, we should find some changes, as a cold front arrives Friday into Saturday. This late autumn frontal system will bring showers to the islands as it passes down into the state a distance. Drier weather will return after the cold front, although the windward sides may find drizzle or mist falling for a day or so.

It’s early Monday evening here in Kula, Maui, as I begin writing this last paragraph. Monday was one of those days really nice late autumn days, as long as you didn’t mind being buffeted by the gusty trade winds. These trades weren’t felt everywhere, as the winds were coming in at such a direct easterly dirction. This helps put some part of the state in relatively light to moderately strong winds only. Here in Kihei, where I spent the day working at the Pacific Disaster Center, there were light winds in general. This made for an exceptionally nice day to go beaching. In contrast, there were those wind exposed areas that had wind whipping around at near 50 mph in contrast! The winds will remain blustery Tuesday, although once again continue blowing from the east direction. These gusty winds will ease up a bit on Wednesday, and then further on Thursday, ahead of an approaching cold front to the northwest. ~~~ I’ll be back very early Tuesday morning with your next new weather narrative from paradise. I see very little that will be different however then, with lots of sunshine, and dry weather almost everywhere. I hope you have a great Monday night wherever you happen to be spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.

Interesting: A week of incessant rains in the northern Philippines has left at least six people dead and flooded over 200 farming villages. Swollen rivers burst their banks causing extensive damage to property and crops. At least 10,000 people have fled to evacuation centres on higher ground, but the distribution of relief materials is being hampered as several major roads and bridges remain underwater and impassable. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) issued flood advisories across central and northern Luzon and a state of calamity was declared in the provinces of Isabela and Carayan.

The heavy rains began last Monday, sparked by an active cold front embedded within the Inter-tropical convergence zone (ITCZ). The ITCZ is a belt of low pressure around the Earth, formed due to large scale ascent of air where trade winds from the north and south meet near the equator. The position of the ITCZ varies depending on the time of year, resulting in the wet and dry seasons of the tropics. The Philippines are prone to flooding, many are blaming the recent severe floods on illegal logging. Extensive removal of large areas of trees can lead to increased run-off and silting in major rivers, exacerbating the flooding in low-lying areas.

Interesting2: 

The Southern Ocean has proved more resilient to global warming than previously thought and remains a major store of mankind’s planet-warming carbon dioxide, a study has found. Oceans absorb a large portion of the extra CO2 released by mankind through burning fossil fuels or deforestation, acting as a brake on climate change, and the Southern Ocean is the largest of these "carbon sinks."  Previous research has suggested the vast ocean between Australia and Antarctica was losing its potency because climate change had affected its currents and increased powerful westerly winds. The latest study compares ship-based measurements of the ocean since the 1960s and more recent data from hundreds of robotic floats. The analysis shows the Southern Ocean has maintained its ability to soak up excess carbon despite changes to currents and wind speeds.

"It’s a positive thing. It’s one thing it looks like we don’t have to worry about as much as we thought," said Steve Rintoul of the Center for Australian Weather and Climate Research, part of a team researchers that also included scientists from the Institute for Marine Research at the University of Kiel in Germany. Rintoul said the data showed, as had earlier studies, the Southern Ocean was becoming warmer, and also fresher. The study was published this week in Nature. He said with data on salinity and temperature, the team could measure density of sea water and how that density changed from one place to another in relation to how fast water was moving between two places. "By looking at the density we could say something about the way the major currents were or were not changing. "And this was the surprise. We found that the currents had not changed. They had shifted their position, they’d shifted closer to Antarctica but not become stronger or weaker.

Interesting3: 

In “Dover Beach,” the 19th Century poet Matthew Arnold describes waves that “begin, and cease, and then again begin…and bring the eternal note of sadness in.”  But in the warming world of the 21st Century, waves could be riding oceans that will rise anywhere from 19 inches to 55 inches, and researchers believe there’s a good chance they will stir stronger feelings than melancholia. Several scientists from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego are finding that sea level rise will have different consequences in different places but that they will be profound on virtually all coastlines. Land in some areas of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States will simply be underwater. On the West Coast, with its different topography and different climate regimes, problems will likely play out differently.

The scientists’ most recent conclusions, even when conservative scenarios are involved, suggest that coastal development, popular beaches, vital estuaries, and even California’s supply of fresh water could be severely impacted by a combination of natural and human-made forces. Scripps climate scientists often consider changes in average conditions over many years but, in this case, it’s the extremes that have them worried. A global sea level rise that makes gentle summer surf lap at a beachgoer’s knees rather than his or her ankles is one thing. But when coupled with energetic winter El Niño-fueled storms and high tides, elevated water levels would have dramatic consequences. The result could transform the appearance of the beaches at the heart of California allure. As sea level goes up, some beaches are going to shrink, said Scripps oceanographer Peter Bromirski.

Interesting4: 

Rich nations should make the first cuts in greenhouse gases while developing countries carry on business-as-usual for the time being, according to a report published on Monday by HarvardUniversity. This is among proposals by the American university’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs to negotiators who meet for U.N. climate talks next week in Poland. The current climate pact, the Kyoto Protocol, expires in 2012 and governments are scrambling to agree a new treaty by the end of next year. "The new agreement should be scientifically sound, economically rational and politically pragmatic," Professor Robert Stavins of the Harvard Project on International Climate Agreements said. The Harvard report calls on rich nations to lead in cutting emissions, while developing countries can "maintain their business-as-usual emissions in the first decades, but over the longer term agree to binding targets that ultimately reduce emissions below business as usual.

Interesting5:

Carbon dioxide, a potential fingerprint of life, has been discovered for the first time in the atmosphere of a planet orbiting another star. However, the planet, HD 189733b, is too hot to be habitable. But the discovery nonetheless has scientists excited, because carbon dioxide is one of four chemicals that life can generate, so being able to detect it shows that astronomers have the ability to find the signs of life on other worlds. "This is the first detection of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of an extra-solar planet, which means that three of the Big Four biomarkers for habitable/inhabited worlds have now been seen: water, methane, and now carbon dioxide," explained Alan Boss, a planet-formation theorist at the Carnegie Institution of Washington who was not involved in the finding. "The only one that has not yet been detected is oxygen/ozone." Boss told SPACE.com that the detections provide "proof of concept" for what astronomers would search for in looking at an Earth-like world. The detection of carbon dioxide, Boss said, was made with a low degree of resolving power, the sort that could be provided by NASA’s planned Terrestrial Planet Finder. HD 189733b is about 65 light-years away. It is a giant, gaseous world known as a "hot Jupiter" because it orbits very close to its host star.

Interesting6:

The Grand Canyon seems to be fixed in time, but it is hardly permanent, and lately, neither are geologists’ estimates for its age, sparking what one scientist calls "the Grand Canyon Wars."  While a recent study in the journal Science suggested that the Grand Canyon was about 16 million to 17 million years old (much older than previously thought), a new study, detailed in the journal Geology, argues that geological evidence still supports the long-standing age of 6 million years. The new study also proposes that the carving of the canyon’s iconic burnt-orange walls by the Colorado River was triggered by tectonic uplift. The Science study had dated mineral deposits in cave formations in one layer of the Grand Canyon. The deposits, called mammillaries, form when the mineral calcium carbonate precipitates out of the water and deposits on the existing rock walls.

These formations, also called speleothems, form when the water table is at the level of the caves, and so give a record of when the river cut past that particular layer of rock, said co-author of the Science study Carol Hill, of the University of New Mexico. Hill and her colleagues used the dates to propose that an earlier river had begun to carve out the western end of the Grand Canyon around 16 million to 17 million years ago. Around 6 million years ago, the eastern and western portions of the Grand Canyon connected, allowing the Colorado to flow all the way through, eventually carving out the 277-mile (446-kilometer) long and 1-mile (1.6-kilometer) deep canyon which exists today. The study created a stir amongst geologists who study the Grand Canyon and spurred what Hill calls "the Grand Canyon Wars," with other geologists writing in responses to their paper and submitting studies of their own, one being the new Geology study.

Interesting7:

At the Automotive News Green Car Conference, aluminum was deemed a cost-effective solution to future automotive development, especially in key areas such as fuel economy, reduced emissions, high recyclability and improved safety. Dr. Rick Winter, director of development, AlcoaTechnologyCenter, said North American automotive aluminum content has more than tripled in the last three decades because of its “environmental, safety and driving performance” advantages. "Since 1990, increased use of aluminum in the world’s vehicles has avoided burning 84 billion liters of gasoline and more than one billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions," said Winter. "In fact, it is projected that the growing use of aluminum in the transportation market will help make the aluminum industry greenhouse gas neutral by 2025."

Recycling scrap aluminum requires only five percent of the energy required to make new aluminum from virgin materials. Because of its significantly lighter weight, each pound of aluminum that replaces two pounds of iron or steel in a car can save a net 20 pounds of CO₂ emissions over the vehicle’s lifetime – even allowing for the CO₂ generated by the by the initial production of aluminum. Alcoa has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 33 percent since 1990. The company is also a founding member of the United States Climate Action Partnership and the Global Roundtable on Climate Change.

November 23-24 2008

Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures were recorded across the state of Hawaii Sunday afternoon: 

Lihue, Kauai – 80
Honolulu, Oahu – 82
Kaneohe, Oahu – 80
Kahului, Maui – 85
Hilo, Hawaii – 78
Kailua-kona – 82

Air Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level, and on the highest mountains…at 4 p.m. Sunday afternoon:

Kailua-kona – 82F
 Hilo, Hawaii– 71F

Haleakala Crater    – 48  (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea summit – 32  (near 14,000 feet on the Big Island)

Precipitation Totals – The following numbers represent the largest precipitation totals (inches) during the last 24 hours on each of the major islands, as of Sunday afternoon:

0.64 Lihue, Kauai
0.42 Maunawili, Oahu
0.09 Molokai
0.10 Lanai
0.01 Kahoolawe
0.14 Oheo Gulch, Maui
0.18 Piihonua, Big Island

Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map showing a surface high far northeast of the islands will move south through tonight, becoming stationary far northeast of the Big Island Tuesday. Our local trade winds will be strong and gusty through Wednesday. A cold front will approach from the northwest on Thursday, with winds veering to the south and southwest. The front will approach Kauai late Friday.

Satellite and Radar Images: To view the cloud conditions we have here in Hawaii, please use the following satellite links, starting off with the Infrared Satellite Image of the islands to see all the clouds around the state during the day and night. This next image is one that gives close images of the islands only during the daytime hours, and is referred to as a Close-up visible image. This next image shows a larger view of the Pacific…giving perspective to the wider ranging cloud patterns in the Pacific Ocean. To help you keep track of where any showers may be around the islands, here’s the latest animated radar image. 

Hawaii’s Mountains – Here’s a link to the live webcam on the summit of near 14,000 foot Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii. The tallest peak on the island of Maui is the Haleakala Crater, which is near 10,000 feet in elevation. These two webcams are available during the daylight hours here in the islands…and when there’s a big moon rising just after sunset for an hour or two! Plus, during the nights and early mornings you will be able to see stars, and the sunrise too…depending upon weather conditions.

Aloha Paragraphs

      

 
  Gradually clearing skies into Monday
Photo Credit: Flikr.com

The trade winds have filled back into our Hawaiian Island weather picture now…which are blustery. The recent southeasterly winds brought lots of moisture up from the deeper tropics, along with higher humidity levels…and localized volcanic haze. These southeast winds have given way to fresh trade winds today. The latest model runs show that they will stick around into the first half of the new week ahead. The long range computer models suggest that lighter southeast winds will return as we move into the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, ahead of a cold front scheduled to arrive on Kauai by Friday. Our winds will turn cooler from the north and northeast following the frontal passage.

A surface trough of low pressure, which brought wet weather to the islands Saturday, continues moving westward away from our islands.  As the trade winds fill back in now, there will be a drier reality returning, although with a few windward biased showers as we move into the new week. The leeward beaches will finally break back into their normal sunnier skies again soon. The trade winds, with their generally fair weather conditions, will prevail through mid-week, with a change in store later in the week.

A small craft wind advisory remains in effect over most areas on the Big Island and Maui. As the aforementioned trough moves away westward, and the trade winds gain strength, our local weather is trending back into the favorably inclined side of our weather spectrum. The windward sides are apt to see a few showers, as is almost always the case with the trade winds blowing.The leeward sides will be flooded with warm November sunshine as we move into the new week ahead.

It’s early Sunday evening here in Kula, Maui, as I begin writing this last paragraph. As the wet weather pattern gives way to the strong and gusty trade winds…our skies are clearing quickly. Speaking of the trade winds, which will dominate our local conditions through the next several days…they will be strong and gusty in places. At the 5pm hour, they were gusting well into the 20’s and 30 mph range…with the windy Maalaea Bay, here on Maui, topping out at a rather impressive 38 mph. At the same time, I see much more blue skies out there than I have for the last several days! Yes, the clouds are parting, which is nice thing after having our famous Hawaiian sunshine being on vacation…lately. ~~~ As noted in the paragraphs above, and as a summary, trade wind weather, with just a few windward showers will make life good here in the islands through Wednesday. Thanksgiving day will be fine too, although we’ll start to see some changes then, in terms of our wind direction. A cold front, which will be approaching Friday, will turn our winds to the potentially voggy southeast Thursday into Friday. This late autumn cold front will bring showers into the state towards the weekend, followed by cooler north to northeast breezes. I’ll have more about this over the next several days, but back to the present, things are looking up! ~~~ I’ll be back very early Monday morning with your next new weather narrative, I hope you have a great Sunday night until then! Aloha for now…Glenn. 








 
Interesting:

Little more than a week after enduring what was said to be Queensland’s worst storms in over 25 years, the state has been pummeled once again. A series of violent storms first tore across Australia’s east coast last weekend. The storms especially affected Brisbane and the popular tourist areas of the Sunshine and Gold coasts. Just when residents might have thought things were returning to some normality, most of the same areas were hit again Thursday by a second spate of storms. The first storm hit early in the day dumping almost 200mm (8 inches) of rain across Queensland’s capital Brisbane and surrounding areas. Much of this fell in a matter of hours triggering flash floods. Troops were deployed once again to help thousands of residents. Although the weather improved across Queensland on Thursday the Australian Bureau of Meteorology issued an advisory concerning severe weather and potential flooding for eastern Victoria this weekend. An intense area of low pressure is expected to develop over the eastern Bass Strait on Saturday bringing widespread heavy rain and some very strong winds across parts of Victoria.





























































































Interesting2:

Over a third of China’s land is being scoured by serious erosion that is putting its crops and water supply a risk, a three-year nationwide survey has found. Soil is being washed and blown away not only in remote rural areas, but near mines, factories and even in cities, the official Xinhua agency cited the country’s bio-environment security research team saying. Each year some 4.5 billion tons of soil are lost, threatening the country’s ability to feed itself. If the loss continues at this rate, harvests in China‘s northeastern breadbasket could fall 40 percent in 50 years, adding to erosion costs estimated at 200 billion yuan ($29 billion) in this decade alone.

"China has a more dire situation than India, Japan, the United States, Australia and many other countries suffering from soil erosion," Xinhua quoted the research team saying. Beijing has long been worried about the desertification of its northern grasslands, and scaled back logging after rain rushing down denuded mountainsides caused massive flooding along the Yangtze in the late 1990s. But around 1.6 million square km of land are still being degraded by water erosion, with almost every river basin affected. Another 2.0 million square km are under attack from wind, the report said. The survey was the largest on soil conservation since the Communist Party took control of China in 1949.

Interesting3: Two plucky spiders on the International Space Station have bounced back from a tangled false start to weave amazing new webs in zero gravity, astronauts said Friday. The orb-weaving spiders were transported to the station aboard NASA’s shuttle Endeavour earlier this week, but initially wove an aimless concoction in their lab enclosure during their first days in weightlessness. But now they’ve taken another stab at weightless web construction. "We noticed the spiders’ made a symmetrical web," the space station’s current skipper Michael Fincke radioed to Mission Control today. "It looks beautiful." Fincke said he was amazed at how fast the two eight-legged creatures appear to have adapted to living in space.

The spiders are part of an experiment aimed at sparking interest in science among students on Earth. The arachnids are the same kind of spider as "Charlotte" in the children’s book "Charlotte’s Web" by E.B. White. Students on Earth will compare the webs of the space station’s spiders with those of similar arachnids on Earth for the next few months. They’ll also follow the lifecycle of painted lady butterfly larvae, which also are part of the experiment. The University of Colorado at Boulder is overseeing the experiment and provided an ample supply of fruit flies to feed the spiders, and nectar for the butterflies that will eventually emerge.

November 22-23 2008

Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures were recorded across the state of Hawaii Saturday afternoon: 

Lihue, Kauai – 73
Honolulu, Oahu – 71
Kaneohe, Oahu – 74
Kahului, Maui – 75
Hilo, Hawaii – 79
Kailua-kona – 79

Air Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level, and on the highest mountains…at 4 p.m. Saturday afternoon:

Kailua-kona – 78F
Lihue, Kauai – 68F

Haleakala Crater    – missing  (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea summit – missing  (near 14,000 feet on the Big Island)

Precipitation Totals – The following numbers represent the largest precipitation totals (inches) during the last 24 hours on each of the major islands, as of Saturday afternoon:

3.35 Kokee, Kauai
5.05 St. Stephens, Oahu
1.89 Molokai
0.65 Lanai
0.00 Kahoolawe
0.39 Hana Airport, Maui
0.12 Kealakekua, Big Island

Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map showing a surface trough located about 180 nautical miles west of Kauai, which is expected to move slowly east today, before it shifts westward away from the state on Sunday. A surface high will be far northeast of the islands from Sunday through Wednesday…bringing the trade winds back.

Satellite and Radar Images: To view the cloud conditions we have here in Hawaii, please use the following satellite links, starting off with the Infrared Satellite Image of the islands to see all the clouds around the state during the day and night. This next image is one that gives close images of the islands only during the daytime hours, and is referred to as a Close-up visible image. This next image shows a larger view of the Pacific…giving perspective to the wider ranging cloud patterns in the Pacific Ocean. To help you keep track of where any showers may be around the islands, here’s the latest animated radar image. 

Hawaii’s Mountains – Here’s a link to the live webcam on the summit of near 14,000 foot Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii. The tallest peak on the island of Maui is the Haleakala Crater, which is near 10,000 feet in elevation. These two webcams are available during the daylight hours here in the islands…and when there’s a big moon rising just after sunset for an hour or two! Plus, during the nights and early mornings you will be able to see stars, and the sunrise too…depending upon weather conditions.

Aloha Paragraphs

      

 
  Gradually clearing skies later Sunday
Photo Credit: Flikr.com

The trade winds will gradually fill into our Hawaiian Island weather picture later Sunday into Monday. The recent southeasterly brought lots of moisture up from the deeper tropics, along with higher humidity levels…and localized volcanic haze. These southeast winds will give way to returning fresh trade winds later Sunday…into the first half of the new week ahead. The long range computer models suggest that lighter southeast winds will return as we move into the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, ahead of a cold front scheduled to arrive on Kauai by Friday.

The troughs of low pressure, which brought wet weather from Kauai down into Maui Saturday, will gradual recede westward later Sunday into Monday. This trough of low pressure, with its cold air aloft, kept our air mass very shower prone. There have been, most recently, periods of localized moderate rains from Oahu into Maui, with the Big Island finally seeing some of this showery weather on its northwest side…although Kona seems to be getting into the act now too. Windward biased showers will return as we move into the new the week. The leeward beaches will finally break back into their normal sunny skies later Sunday or by Monday.

The NWS forecast office in Honolulu continues its flash flood watch, although the Big Island has now been dropped. At the same time, we find a new small craft wind advisory over most areas on the Big Island and Maui. As the aforementioned troughs move away westward, and the trade winds return, our local weather will gradually trend back into the favorably inclined side of our weather spectrum later Sunday into the first part of the new week. The windward sides are apt to see some showers, with dry and sunny weather on tap for the leeward sides quite after the weekend.

The islands of Oahu down to the islands of Maui County are finding the most generous rainfall Saturday evening.  Here’s the latest looping satellite imagery, showing the copious cloud cover that continues to develop to the west and southwest of our islands…moving northeast over us. Here’s the looping radar image, which as of Saturday evening showed the wet weather moving most generously over the central islands, just clipping the northern part of the Big Island. I will leave these two live images available here, as they will make it easiest to see where the heaviest rainfall is occurring. 

It’s early Saturday evening here in Kula, Maui, as I begin writing this last paragraph. Last evening after work I went to see Quantum of Solace (2008), the new James Bond film, starring Daniel Craig, Judi Dench among many others. This newest version of the James Bond series is billed as an action, adventure, thiller…adaptation and sequel. These words of course were "right down my alley", and have had me looking forward to seeing this new movie ever since I found it was coming our way. The truth is that I really liked this film, right from the first frame, right through to the last! It was a very fast paced film, and had me on the edge of my seat off and on through the one hour and 45 minutes that it played. If this has triggered your curiosity, here’s a trailer for your viewing pleasure. ~~~  I’m home here in Kula a bit before darkness falls, and the clouds are getting thicker by the minute. Rains here on Maui were light most of the day, never really breaking into the heavy stuff that the areas from Kauai down through Molokai have received during the last 24 hours. Looking at the radar image, in the paragraph above, it appears that rain will again start falling in my area, and it certainly feels that way out on my weather deck right now! ~~~ I’ll come back online and let you know if the rains really start to come down, otherwise, I’ll be back again Sunday morning with my next report. I hope you have a great Saturday night wherever you happen to be reading from! Aloha for now…Glenn.








 
Interesting:

Little more than a week after enduring what was said to be Queensland’s worst storms in over 25 years, the state has been pummeled once again. A series of violent storms first tore across Australia’s east coast last weekend. The storms especially affected Brisbane and the popular tourist areas of the Sunshine and Gold coasts. Just when residents might have thought things were returning to some normality, most of the same areas were hit again Thursday by a second spate of storms. The first storm hit early in the day dumping almost 200mm (8 inches) of rain across Queensland’s capital Brisbane and surrounding areas. Much of this fell in a matter of hours triggering flash floods. Troops were deployed once again to help thousands of residents. Although the weather improved across Queensland on Thursday the Australian Bureau of Meteorology issued an advisory concerning severe weather and potential flooding for eastern Victoria this weekend. An intense area of low pressure is expected to develop over the eastern Bass Strait on Saturday bringing widespread heavy rain and some very strong winds across parts of Victoria.





























































































Interesting2:

Over a third of China’s land is being scoured by serious erosion that is putting its crops and water supply a risk, a three-year nationwide survey has found. Soil is being washed and blown away not only in remote rural areas, but near mines, factories and even in cities, the official Xinhua agency cited the country’s bio-environment security research team saying. Each year some 4.5 billion tons of soil are lost, threatening the country’s ability to feed itself. If the loss continues at this rate, harvests in China‘s northeastern breadbasket could fall 40 percent in 50 years, adding to erosion costs estimated at 200 billion yuan ($29 billion) in this decade alone.

"China has a more dire situation than India, Japan, the United States, Australia and many other countries suffering from soil erosion," Xinhua quoted the research team saying. Beijing has long been worried about the desertification of its northern grasslands, and scaled back logging after rain rushing down denuded mountainsides caused massive flooding along the Yangtze in the late 1990s. But around 1.6 million square km of land are still being degraded by water erosion, with almost every river basin affected. Another 2.0 million square km are under attack from wind, the report said. The survey was the largest on soil conservation since the Communist Party took control of China in 1949.

Interesting3: Two plucky spiders on the International Space Station have bounced back from a tangled false start to weave amazing new webs in zero gravity, astronauts said Friday. The orb-weaving spiders were transported to the station aboard NASA’s shuttle Endeavour earlier this week, but initially wove an aimless concoction in their lab enclosure during their first days in weightlessness. But now they’ve taken another stab at weightless web construction. "We noticed the spiders’ made a symmetrical web," the space station’s current skipper Michael Fincke radioed to Mission Control today. "It looks beautiful." Fincke said he was amazed at how fast the two eight-legged creatures appear to have adapted to living in space.

The spiders are part of an experiment aimed at sparking interest in science among students on Earth. The arachnids are the same kind of spider as "Charlotte" in the children’s book "Charlotte’s Web" by E.B. White. Students on Earth will compare the webs of the space station’s spiders with those of similar arachnids on Earth for the next few months. They’ll also follow the lifecycle of painted lady butterfly larvae, which also are part of the experiment. The University of Colorado at Boulder is overseeing the experiment and provided an ample supply of fruit flies to feed the spiders, and nectar for the butterflies that will eventually emerge.

November 21-22 2008

Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures were recorded across the state of Hawaii Friday afternoon: 

Lihue, Kauai – 73
Honolulu, Oahu – 83
Kaneohe, Oahu – 81
Kahului, Maui – 87
Hilo, Hawaii – 82
Kailua-kona – 82

Air Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level, and on the highest mountains…at 4 p.m. Friday afternoon:

Kahului, Maui – 82F
Lihue, Kauai – 69F

Haleakala Crater    – 48  (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea summit – 36  (near 14,000 feet on the Big Island)

Precipitation Totals – The following numbers represent the largest precipitation totals (inches) during the last 24 hours on each of the major islands, as of Friday afternoon:

0.68 Mohihi Crossing, Kauai
1.53 Schofield Barracks, Oahu
0.00 Molokai
0.00 Lanai
0.00 Kahoolawe
0.03 Hana Airport, Maui
0.20 Pali 2, Big Island

Weather Chart – Here’s the latest (automatically updated) weather map showing a high pressure system remaining in place far northeast of the islands. A trough of low pressure has formed and will linger near Kauai into Sunday. A large high far northwest of the state will settle north of the islands late Saturday into Sunday. The high will drift slowly eastward Monday as the trough drifts westward and weakens. Our local winds will remain quite light and from the south to southeast.

Satellite and Radar Images: To view the cloud conditions we have here in Hawaii, please use the following satellite links, starting off with the Infrared Satellite Image of the islands to see all the clouds around the state during the day and night. This next image is one that gives close images of the islands only during the daytime hours, and is referred to as a Close-up visible image. This next image shows a larger view of the Pacific…giving perspective to the wider ranging cloud patterns in the Pacific Ocean. To help you keep track of where any showers may be around the islands, here’s the latest animated radar image. 

Hawaii’s Mountains – Here’s a link to the live webcam on the summit of near 14,000 foot Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii. The tallest peak on the island of Maui is the Haleakala Crater, which is near 10,000 feet in elevation. These two webcams are available during the daylight hours here in the islands…and when there’s a big moon rising just after sunset for an hour or two! Plus, during the nights and early mornings you will be able to see stars, and the sunrise too…depending upon weather conditions.

Aloha Paragraphs

      

 
  Wet weather weekend coming up
Photo Credit: Flikr.com

The winds across the Hawaiian Islands are coming up from the southeast near the Big Island…and the southwest near Kauai Friday night. These southerly oriented winds will be lighter in general than the gusty trade winds that we saw blowing earlier in the week. An air flow from these directions will bring surface moisture up from the deeper tropics, along with higher humidity levels…and localized volcanic haze. Kona winds will prevail through Saturday into Sunday, then give way to returning fresh trade winds later Sunday…into the first half of the new week ahead. The long range computer models suggest that lighter southeast winds will return as we move into the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday.

A deepening trough of low pressure has become well established to our west and northwest…which is making our local atmosphere much more shower prone now. This trough of low pressure, with its cold air aloft, will destabilize the air mass around Hawaii. This influence will set the stage for localized heavy rains during the weekend. Niihau, Kauai and Oahu will see the heaviest rains, although the other islands will find rainfall too. The heaviest showers should start diminishing later in the day Sunday. Windward biased showers will return as we move into early next week…with hopefully clearing skies for leeward beaches then.

The NWS forecast office in Honolulu continues its statewide issued flash flood watch through late Saturday night. As this heavy rainfall event unfolds Saturday, this watch will likely shift into localized flash flood warnings. This tropical rainfall will vary in its intensity, but there will be heavy downpours, which will cause localized flooding in many areas. Thunderstorms could easily form in this wet weather situation, adding extra heavy rainfall into this inclement mix. It would be wise to stay home, or under cover during this rainy period if possible. Driving of course becomes more dangerous, and increases the chance of mishaps.

Niihau and Kauai experienced steady showers Friday, which began moving over Oahu during the evening hours. Maui began to pick up some shower activity towards sunset as well, with still the chance that the Big Island will shift to a wet reality with time as well. Here’s the latest looping satellite imagery, showing the copious cloud cover that continues to develop to the west and southwest of our islands…moving northeast over us. Here’s the looping radar image, which as of Friday evening showed the wet weather moving most generously over the islands of Niihau and Kauai. I will leave these two live images available here, as they will become handy to see where the heaviest rainfall is occurring, as move through the weekend. I would highly recommend that everyone here in the islands stays tuned into this wet weather episode as it develops.

It’s early Friday evening here in Kihei, Maui, as I finish a long work day. I’m about ready to take the drive over to Kahului, to see a new film. This time I’ll see Quantum of Solace (2008), the new James Bond movie, starring Daniel Craig, Judi Dench among others. This newest version of the James Bond series is being billed as an action, adventure, thiller, adaptation and sequel. These words of course are "right down my alley", and have had me looking forward to seeing this new movie ever since I found it was coming our way. I’ll of course let you know what I thought of it Saturday morning, when I return here, but until then, here’s a trailer for your viewing pleasure. ~~~







I’ll return early Saturday with the latest updates and information about this well advertised wet weather episode here in the islands, be well and stay dry until then!. Aloha for now…Glenn.
 
Interesting:

Little more than a week after enduring what was said to be Queensland’s worst storms in over 25 years, the state has been pummeled once again. A series of violent storms first tore across Australia’s east coast last weekend. The storms especially affected Brisbane and the popular tourist areas of the Sunshine and Gold coasts. Just when residents might have thought things were returning to some normality, most of the same areas were hit again Thursday by a second spate of storms. The first storm hit early in the day dumping almost 200mm (8 inches) of rain across Queensland’s capital Brisbane and surrounding areas. Much of this fell in a matter of hours triggering flash floods. Troops were deployed once again to help thousands of residents. Although the weather improved across Queensland on Thursday the Australian Bureau of Meteorology issued an advisory concerning severe weather and potential flooding for eastern Victoria this weekend. An intense area of low pressure is expected to develop over the eastern Bass Strait on Saturday bringing widespread heavy rain and some very strong winds across parts of Victoria.





























































































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