Hawaiian Islands Weather details & Aloha paragraphs / December 16-17, 2011

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

Lihue, Kauai –                   79
Honolulu airport, Oahu –    82  (record high temperature for the date…88F degrees – 1995)
Kaneohe, Oahu –               78
Molokai airport –                78
Kahului airport, Maui –       82  (record high temperature for the date…90F degrees – 1960)
Kona airport –                   81
Hilo airport, Hawaii –         76

Air Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level – and on the highest mountain tops…as of 5pm Friday evening:

Barking Sands, Kauai – 80
Hilo, Hawaii – 74

Haleakala Crater – 43 (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea –        36 (near 13,800 feet on the Big Island)

Hawaii’s Mountains – Here’s a link to the live web cam on the summit of near 13,800 foot Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii. This web cam is available during the daylight hours here in the islands…and when there’s a big moon shining down during the night at times. Plus, during the nights you will be able to see stars, and the sunrise and sunset too…depending upon weather conditions. Here's the Haleakala Crater webcam on Maui…which is working only sometimes lately.

 Aloha Paragraphs

Strengthening trade winds, increased windward
showers on the eastern islands, some locally
heavy…large surf north and west shores 
 

As this weather map shows, we have a near 1031 millibar high pressure system located far to the northeast, and another to the north of the Hawaiian Islands Friday evening.  These high pressure cells have ridges that run east and west from their centers, to the north of the state. A weak and dissipating cold front breaks through their ridges to the north of Hawaii. The trade winds will become stronger from the trade wind direction Saturday and Sunday.

The following numbers represent the strongest wind gusts (mph), along with directions Friday evening:

24                 Port Allen, Kauai – ENE
31                 Makua Ridge, Oahu – NE
32                 Molokai – NE
33                 Kahoolawe – NE
28                 Kapalua, Maui – NE
39                    Lanai – SE
33                 Kealakomo, Big Island – NNE

We can use the following links to see what’s going on in our area of the north central Pacific Ocean Friday evening. Looking at this NOAA satellite picture we find that the high and middle level clouds remain well to the southeast and east of the Big Island…over the ocean. We can use this looping satellite image to see this high level moisture streaming up from the southwest…which continues to shift gradually eastward, along with a dissipating cold front not too far north of Kauai…that is in the process of dissipating.  Otherwise, skies are mostly clear to partly cloudy elsewhere. Checking out this looping radar image we see just a few showers over the ocean, most of which are in the light to moderately heavy category, most concentrated over the ocean to the southeast of the Big Island.

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

0.08               North Wailua Ditch, Kauai
0.25               Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu
0.01               Molokai
0.00               Lanai
0.00               Kahoolawe
0.04               Puu Kukui, Maui
0.68                 Mountain View, Big Island

Sunset Commentary:  The Hawaiian Islands had relatively light winds this morning, although we saw stronger trade winds developing during the day.  These strengthening trade winds will become more dynamic this weekend, and will continue right on into the new week ahead. Small craft wind advisories are up over most of the coastal marine and channel waters, which will carry forth through the weekend. It's going to be a windy weekend, especially during the late morning through early evening hours. As usual, the eastern side of the state, around Maui County and the Big Island will probably have the strongest gusts, topping out around 40 mph…or even a little higher than that in those windiest areas.

As far as precipitation goes, there will be quite a bit of that along our windward sides, although generally restricted to the Big Island and Maui County for the most part. There is a decent chance that some of these showers will be heavy, with the slight chance of a few thunderstorms popping-up near the Big Island, or maybe even Maui this weekend too. These showers won't be falling only on the windward sides, as some of these showers will stretching over into the leeward slopes…especially during the afternoon hours. Looking into the new week, these strong and gusty winds, and showers are apt to stick around into the first part of the week. 

I'm going to see a new film this evening, called Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law…among many others. I've seen the trailer for this film several times over the last month or so, and each time I think to myself, that looks like a good film. The synopsis: London's greatest detective investigates the evil plot of a new criminal mastermind.  The critics are giving this film a 64% on a scale of 1-100, which isn't bad, while I only saw one viewers opinion, which was an A grade. I'm going to see this lengthy film, over two hours long, and will let you know my thoughts Saturday morning. Here's a trailer a for this film, you may enjoy seeing if you a have an extra couple of minutes.

Here in Kihei, Maui at around 530pm Friday evening, it was mostly clear, with the trade winds having calmed down, after a rather windy afternoon. As noted above, we're moving into a windy episode, one that will be showery, or even quite wet at times along the windward sides on the eastern islands. There's always that chance of seeing a flood advisory going up, with the outside chance of a thunderstorm on the Big Island or Maui. Kauai and Oahu will likely be less showery, but will get the strong trade winds. I'll be back in the morning with more news on this trade wind weather pattern, I hope you have a great Friday night until then! Aloha for now…Glenn.

Interesting:   Parents of some obese children could save up to about $10 each week by changing their shopping habits and opting for a healthier diet, according to research published in the latest issue of the British Journal of General Practice. The study on the theme of obesity shows that healthier eating does not have to be more expensive, challenging one of the commonly cited barriers to dietary change.

The figures showed that healthier eating could cost no more than $4 extra a week, and that in some cases, savings of up to $10 a week could by made by switching. The research tests the perception of both parents and some health professionals that healthy eating is, by necessity, more expensive.

It demonstrates that it is possible to switch from an unhealthy to a healthy diet, and still reduce food costs. Professor Julian Hamilton-Shield, from the University of Bristol’s School of Clinical Sciences and Bristol Royal Hospital for Children, said: "Food cost is frequently cited as a reason for failure to address eating behaviors in clinical practice, and this study demonstrates that for many this is a perceived rather than real barrier."

The food diaries of obese children were analyzed for various aspects of nutritional content then converted by qualified dieticians into healthier option daily menus, following the guidelines of the Eatwell plate. The eat well plate is a pie chart that shows you how much of different types of food you should eat in your daily life. Chocolate and sugars are not a huge part of the eat well plate and the fruit and vegetable part is bigger because they are better for you.

Junk foods are typically ready-to-eat convenience foods containing high levels of saturated fats, salt, or sugar, and little or no fruit, vegetables, or dietary fiber; and are considered to have little or no health benefits. Common junk foods include salted snack foods like chips (crisps), candy, gum, most sweet desserts, fried fast food and carbonated beverages (sodas) as well as alcoholic beverages.

A healthy diet is one that helps maintain or improve general health. It is important for lowering many chronic health risks, such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and cancer. A healthy diet involves consuming appropriate amounts of all essential nutrients and an adequate amount of water.

The participants’ diaries showed that on average they consumed 221 calories per day more than the estimated average requirements (EAR). The adjusted healthier menus reduced this to just seven calories per day above the EAR. Comparing the cost of the two menus if bought from budget supermarkets, mid-range supermarkets and local street stores showed that shoppers at a mid-range supermarket who ate a diet of low nutritional quality could switch to a healthy diet by shopping in a budget supermarket and still save money.

While recognizing that other factors play a part in diet — taste preferences, the time people are able to spend cooking, cooking skills, and other family circumstances — the results do suggest that as pressure grows on family finances, there are healthy eating options that will not break the bank.

Interesting2: Japan declared its tsunami-stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant to be in cold shutdown on Friday in a major step toward resolving the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years. The Fukushima Daiichi plant, 240 km (150 miles) northeast of Tokyo, was wrecked on March 11 by a huge earthquake and a towering tsunami which knocked out its cooling systems, triggering meltdowns, radiation leaks and mass evacuations.

In making the much-anticipated announcement, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda drew a line under the crisis phase of the emergency at the plant and highlighted the next challenges: post-disaster clean-up and the safe dismantling of the plant, something experts say could take up to 40 years. "The reactors have reached a state of cold shutdown," Noda told a government nuclear emergency response meeting. "A stable condition has been achieved.

It is judged that the accident at the plant itself has ceased," he added, noting radiation levels at the boundary of the plant could now be kept at low levels, even in the event of "unforeseeable incidents." "The government is due to set a clear road map and will do the utmost to decommission the plant," Noda later told a news conference. A cold shutdown is when water used to cool nuclear fuel rods remains below boiling point, preventing the fuel from reheating.

One of the chief aims of the plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco), had been to bring the reactors to cold shutdown by the year-end. After months of efforts, the water temperature in all three of the affected reactors fell below boiling point by September, but Tepco has been cautious about declaring a cold shutdown, saying it had to see if temperatures and the amount of radiation emitted from the plant remained stable.

The declaration of a cold shutdown could have repercussions well beyond the plant. It is a government pre-condition for allowing about 80,000 residents evacuated from within a 20 km (12 mile) radius of the plant to go home. But Kazuhiko Kudo, professor of nuclear engineering at Kyushu University, said authorities still needed to determine exactly the status of melted fuel inside the reactors and stabilize a makeshift cooling system, which handles the tens of thousands of tons of contaminated water accumulated on-site. "What is more important is the next steps the government and Tepco decide to take," Kudo said.