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

79  Lihue, Kauai
79  Honolulu, Oahu
80  Molokai
83  Kahului, Maui
82  Kona, Hawaii
82  Hilo, Hawaii


Air Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level – and on the highest mountain tops on Maui and the Big Island…as of 743pm Monday evening:

 

Kailua Kona – 77
Poipu, Kauai – 70


Haleakala Summit –   37 (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea Summit – 32 (13,000+ 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.

 


Aloha Paragraphs

http://radar.weather.gov/Conus/RadarImg/hawaii.gif

blue and green equals light to moderate rain –
yellow/red – moderate to heavy


We’ll find light winds continuing through most of this
week…periods of volcanic haze (vog)

Spotty showers falling locally at times, a few will be
quite generous over Oahu this evening, and perhaps
the Big Island too…even the chance of an isolated
thunderstorm

Drier weather gradually arriving by mid-week,  with a
few afternoon upcountry showers locally…and a few
windward showers if the trades return briefly Friday

A major high surf event will arrive along our north
and west shores Thursday through Friday




The following numbers represent the most recent top wind gusts (mph), along with directions as of Monday evening:

16  Makaha Ridge, Kauai – SE
20  Waianae Valley, Oahu – NNE
07  Molokai – SE
13  Lanai – SW
10  Kahoolawe -SE
10  Kaupo Gap, Maui – SE
17  South Point, Big Island – ESE


Here are the latest 24-hour precipitation totals (inches) for each of the islands as of Monday evening (545pm totals):

1.44  Waiakoali, Kauai
0.88  Schofield South, Oahu
0.22  Molokai
0.11  Lanai
0.00  Kahoolawe
0.24  Kaupo Gap, Maui
1.00  Kealakekua,- Big Island


We can use the following links to see what’s going on in our area of the north central Pacific Ocean. Here’s the latest NOAA satellite picture – the latest looping satellite image… and finally the latest looping radar image for the Hawaiian Islands.


~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~



Light winds through the week, although a brief period of trade winds may return briefly Friday…then back to light and variable by the weekend. Here’s the latest weather map, showing the Hawaiian Islands, and the rest of the North Pacific Ocean. ~~~ We find a large, near 1037 millibar high pressure system over the ocean far to the northeast of the state…with an associated ridge of high pressure extending southwest over the central islands. At the same time, we see the tail-end of a cold front to the northwest of our islands. This light wind regime will last through most, if not all of this new week, keeping a rather stagnant air mass over our Aloha state.

Satellite imagery shows areas of clouds over the state, dropping rain in places…mostly over the ocean at the time of this writing. The most compact and extensive clouds with embedded showers are currently located over  Oahu…and to the east and southeast of the Big Island at the time of this writing. Here’s the looping radar image, showing moderately heavy showers, and even a few heavy ones, falling over the ocean, and coming in over Oahu and soon to be the Big Island…a few elsewhere. Looking at this larger satellite image, which is in the looping mode, we can still see areas of deep clouds, and their associated rainfall, far to the east, and to the north of Hawaii…slowly pulling away from the islands.

We find a stubborn area of low pressure hanging around…although improving conditions are on the horizon. We’ll continue to see showers falling, some of which will be heavy here and there, although will be spotty…as they have been the last several days. Our winds will remain light, with afternoon clouds and a few showers in the upcountry slopes. The haze will stick around, at least locally, as our light winds have no ventilating power for the time being. The models suggest that we’ll see generally drier weather coming into play, especially by Wednesday onwards, with generally fair weather conditions prevailing thereafter. ~~~ I’ll be back early Tuesday morning with your next new weather narrative, I hope you have a great Monday night wherever you happen to be spending it. Aloha for now…Glenn.



World-wide tropical cyclone activity:


Atlantic Ocean: The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1st through November 30th. Here’s the 2013 hurricane season summary


Here’s a satellite image of the Atlantic Ocean

Caribbean Sea:

Gulf of Mexico:

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

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

Eastern Pacific: The Eastern Pacific hurricane season runs from May 15th through November 30th. Here’s the 2013 hurricane season summary


Here’s a wide satellite image that covers the entire area between Mexico, out through the central Pacific…to the International Dateline.


Central Pacific Ocean: The Central Pacific hurricane season runs from June 1st through November 30th. Here’s the 2013 hurricane season summary


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


Western Pacific Ocean: There are no active tropical cyclones


South Pacific Ocean: Tropical Cyclone 07P (Ian) remains active in the Southwest Pacific Ocean, here’s the JTWC graphical track map…and a NOAA satellite image – Final Warning


North and South Indian Oceans: Tropical Cyclone 08S (Colin) remains active in the South Indian Ocean, here’s the JTWC graphical track map…and a NOAA satellite image

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


Interesting: New Research Uses Popular Literature to Study Climate Change – Walden Pond isn’t just the site of Henry David Thoreau’s two-year stint in which he documented a more simple, natural life, it is now the subject of a climate change study that shows how leaf-out times of trees and shrubs have changed since the 1850s.


As a result of Thoreau’s observations, researchers at Boston University have revealed that the leaf-out times of trees and shrubs at Walden Pond are an average of 18 days earlier than observed by Thoreau in the mid 1800s.


“By comparing historical observations with current experiments, we see that climate change is creating a whole new risk for the native plants in Concord,” said Boston University Professor Richard Primack. “Weather in New England is unpredictable, and if plants leaf out early in warm years, they risk having their leaves damaged by a surprise frost. But if plants wait to leaf out until after all chance of frost is lost, they may lose their competitive advantage.”


However, not all plants respond in the same way, the result of which is that native species eventually may be threatened and lose competitive advantage to more resilient invasive shrubs such as Japanese barberry, according to a study published in the new edition of New Phytologist.


“We started to wonder if all trees and shrubs in Concord are equally responsive to warming temperatures in the spring,” says Caroline Polgar, a graduate student with Primack. What she found was surprising. “All species — no exceptions — are leafing out earlier now than they did in Thoreau’s time,” she said. “On average, woody plants in Concord leaf out 18 days earlier now.”


“Our current observations show that plants in Concord today are leafing out earlier than in Thoreau’s time in response to warm temperatures,” she said. “However, the experiments show that as spring weather continues to warm, it will be the invasive shrubs that will be best able to take advantage of the changing conditions.”