Hawaiian Islands Weather Details & Aloha Paragraphs / April 30 – May 1, 2018

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

79 – 63  Lihue, Kauai
81 – 65  Honolulu, Oahu
80 – 65  Molokai AP
79 – 65  Kahului AP, Maui
80 – 70  Kailua Kona
77 – 70  Hilo AP, Hawaii

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

0.22  Wainiha Kauai
0.00  Oahu
0.00  Molokai
0.00  Lanai
0.00  Kahoolawe
0.11   Kula 1, Maui
1.21  Saddle Quarry, Big Island

The following numbers represent the strongest wind gusts (mph) Monday evening:

21  Port Allen, Kauai
18  Kii, Oahu
07  Molokai
12  Lanai
16  Kahoolawe
27  Kula 1, Maui
27  Ahumoa, Big Island

Hawaii’s Mountains – Here’s a link to the live webcam on the summit of our tallest mountain Mauna Kea (nearly 13,800 feet high) on the Big Island of Hawaii. Here’s the webcam for the Haleakala Crater on Maui. These webcams are available during the daylight hours here in the islands, and at night whenever there’s a big moon shining down. Also, at night you will be able to see the stars — and the sunrise and sunset too — depending upon weather conditions.

Aloha Paragraphs

An upper level low is north…with its associated cold front/trough near the islands

High clouds…being carried along from the west-southwest on the jet stream

Partly to mostly cloudy skies…clearing Kauai and Oahu

Just a few showers locally – Looping image

 

~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~

 

High Wind Warning…Big Island summits / 40-55 with gusts over 70 mph

 

Broad Brush Overview: Leftover clouds and showers along an old front, will linger over the Big Island and slowly migrate back across Maui County through Tuesday…while drier conditions will prevail over the rest of the state. Light and slightly cooler than normal northerly breezes will persist, with daytime sea breezes and nighttime land breezes expected over many areas. Unsettled weather will return by mid-week, as an upper trough of low pressure augments and enhances the remnant moisture from the old front.

Details: This late season front remains stalled east of the Big Island, while relatively cool conditions have spread over the rest of the island chain. Multi-layered clouds and deep moisture persist across the Big Island and Maui, while high cirrus clouds remain in place to the west. The light surface flow over the islands will allow a daytime sea breeze and nighttime land breeze weather pattern to continue through Tuesday….with a few afternoon upcountry showers possible.

The models show the moisture along the stalled front will shift back over Maui County through Tuesday night, while a dry airmass remains in place over Oahu and Kauai. Showers are expected over the Big Island and Maui County, while Oahu and Kauai remain mostly dry…with just a few showers possible over interior areas each afternoon.

A wet and unsettled weather pattern will likely return by mid-week, as an upper trough digs southward to our west. This will pull lingering moisture associated with the old front back to the northwest over all of the islands, while additional deep tropical moisture gets drawn up from the southwest ahead of the trough beginning Tuesday night. Therefore, look for increasing rain chances for much of the state…with the potential for heavy showers and thunderstorms.

Looking Ahead: Models show the greatest threat for inclement weather conditions will be across the central and western islands, from Wednesday through early Friday, with the upper trough forecast to pass across the island chain Saturday. Trade winds will strengthen to moderate levels Thursday and Friday as high pressure begins to build to the northwest of the area. However, this high will weaken by Saturday as yet another late season cold front approaches Hawaii.

Here’s a wind profile of the Pacific Ocean – Closer view of the islands / Here’s the vog forecast animation / Here’s the latest weather map

Marine environment details: Light northerly winds, likely giving way to land/sea breeze conditions near the coasts, are expected to continue through the first half of the week, as low pressure remains centered north of the state…and a dissipating front lingers near the Big Island waters. Advisory level seas will hold across portions of the waters, due to a large north-northwest swell, before dipping below advisory levels for all waters tonight.

Low pressure to the north is forecast to begin lifting northeastward and away from the area through the second half of the week, which will allow the local winds to shift back out of a more typical trade wind direction. The remnant frontal boundary however, will drift back over the islands bringing the rain chances back up over the state through the second half of the week.

The large north-northwest swell currently in place, ended up peaking well above guidance yesterday. Another, slightly smaller pulse is currently arriving, which will keep surf heights up, before a steady downward trend begins. Surf should dip below advisory levels along exposed north and west facing shores tonight.

A new south-southwest swell, from recent activity near New Zealand last week, is expected hold…which will keep the surf up along south facing shores. A similar reinforcement is expected by mid-week.

 

 

World-wide Tropical Cyclone activity

Here’s the latest Pacific Disaster Center (PDC) Weather Wall Presentation…covering Tropical Cyclone 21S (Flamboyan) in the South Indian Ocean

>>> 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:

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

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

>>> Central Pacific:

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

>>> Northwest Pacific Ocean: No active tropical cyclones

>>> North and South Indian Oceans / Arabian Sea:

Tropical Cyclone 21S (Flamboyan)

JTWC textual forecast warning
JTWC graphical track map
NOAA satellite image

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


Interesting: Greener ships, cleaner ocean – Drop an electric motor into a ship and you’re all set to sail into a cleaner environment, right? If only it were that simple, says a University of Victoria mechanical engineer whose research focuses on hybrid electric propulsion systems.

Zuomin Dong and his research team have studied and built advanced hybrid vehicles for a decade, winning dozens of awards. His team’s computer modelling tools take all operational factors into account to identify the “sweet spot” where vehicles achieve maximum fuel efficiency and emission reduction without sacrificing performance.

The team is now working on hybrid electric propulsion systems for ships, heavy-duty mining trucks and trains. BC Ferries is one of several industry partners working with Dong, all of them interested in fleet conversion but needing to know more about costs, logistics and impact on performance.

Ships are much more complex and challenging than cars, says Dong, who is also a member of UVic’s Institute for Integrated Energy Systems, a leader in sustainable energy systems research. While cars are mass-produced, mostly the same size and operate in similar conditions, every ship is unique and expensive, produced in small batches and operating on different routes with different cargo loads.

Cars face rain or snow, but marine vessels are up against waves, currents and heavy winds. They have different hulls, propellers and drags that perform differently depending on cargo and marine conditions, and whether the ship is traveling in open or protected waters. “You can’t design one system and use the same template for all others,” says Dong.

For BC Ferries, the challenge is to understand how much electrical energy a ferry will need to travel its route, and how that amount can be added back into the onboard batteries in the short time that a ferry is docked to pick up passengers, says Bruce Paterson, director of naval architecture for BC Ferry Services Inc.

Paterson says Dong’s team has been invaluable in helping the ferry service figure that out—using a computer design model that provides a unique profile of the ship as an integrated system.

Initially given the Brentwood Bay ferry as a testing ground, the team was an impressive 90 per cent right on predicted energy requirements the first time out, he adds.

Ship-induced noise has also been incorporated into the model to inform the design of propulsion systems and operating practices that cause cavitation. Caused by air bubbles from the propeller, cavitation produces a loud and persistent sound underwater that interferes with communication among many marine animals.

The combination of natural gas engines and hybrid electric propulsion shows considerable promise for “greener” ships, says Dong.

Natural gas is a cleaner fuel than diesel but doesn’t combust fully at certain loads. That characteristic limits reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and dramatically increases discharge of hydrocarbons.

But in combination with a hybrid electric system, propulsion systems can be programmed to avoid these engine conditions and switch to electric power at high-risk times. “When we tested that using our model, we were able to reduce GHG by 19 per cent, and cut fuel costs by 39 per cent,” says Dong.