Hawaiian Islands Weather Details & Aloha Paragraphs / May 22-23, 2018

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

81 – 73  Lihue, Kauai
84 – 74  Honolulu, Oahu
82 – 74  Molokai AP
81 – 69  Kahului AP, Maui
87 – 75  Kailua Kona
82 – 70  Hilo AP, Hawaii

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

1.13  Kilohana, Kauai
0.23  Manoa Lyon Arboretum, Oahu
0.25  Molokai
0.00  Lanai
0.00  Kahoolawe
0.69  West Wailuaiki, Maui
1.12  Kawainui Stream, Big Island

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

33  Port Allen, Kauai
29  Kuaokala, Oahu
28  Molokai
30  Lanai
32  Kahoolawe
35  Maalaea Bay, Maui
35  Waikoloa, 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

High pressure northwest through northeast…with a cold front breaking through a ridge to our north

High cirrus streaks over the islands…thunderstorms far south

Clear to partly cloudy…cloudy areas locally

Showers locally over the islands…and offshore
Looping image

 

Here’s the latest VOG Forecast Animation

Here’s the Vog Information website

Trace ashfall possible from Kilauea Volcano…Occasional small bursts of volcanic ash continue from Halemaumau Crater. Low level winds will tend to push any ash clouds toward the southwest. Ash fallout will likely be mainly over the Kau district and Highway 11 southwest of the town of Volcano.

Small Craft Advisory…Kauai, Kaiwi, Pailolo and Alenuihaha Channels, Maalaea Bay, Big Island leeward and southeast waters

 

~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~

 

Broad Brush Overview:  The typical springtime trade wind flow across the island chain…will last through the next week and likely beyond. These moderate to locally strong trades will continue to carry low clouds and brief showers over windward and mountain sections of the island chain, into the upcoming weekend at least.

Details: Satellite imagery shows that the state is located between a weak upper-level ridge to the east, and an upper-level low and trough to the west. The southwesterly flow aloft between these systems is carrying patches of high cirrus across most of the smaller islands. Radar indicates scattered showers are reaching the islands…and are upstream of state as well.

Looking Ahead: The models show there may be a slight increase in moisture arriving over the islands Wednesday. This may provide for somewhat wetter conditions across windward and mountain areas then. However, a weak ridge is forecast to be above the islands around this same time as well…limiting the intensity of resultant showers.

The models go on to show remnant moisture from a then retired cold front, eventually be carried toward the state some time this weekend. This may cause another slight increase in low clouds and showers over some windward and mountain sections starting late Saturday or Sunday into early next week.

>>> Meanwhile, a Special Weather Statement remains posted for the Kau District on the Big Island, due to intermittent volcanic ash emissions at the Halemaumau / Kilauea crater. Close monitoring of the volcano on the Big Island will continue, since scientists at the Hawaii Volcano Observatory indicate that additional steam- driven explosions may occur at any time…and with no advance warning.

Here’s a near real-time Wind Profile of the Pacific Ocean – along with a Closer View of the islands / Here’s the latest Weather Map

Marine Environmental Conditions:  High pressure will shift slowly eastward well to the north of the state this week, keeping moderate to strong trade winds blowing across the coastal waters. The trades may trend down slightly over the weekend into early next week, as high pressure weakens and shifts northeastward away from the state. The trades are expected to peak tonight and Wednesday, so a SCA has been issued for the Kauai and Kaiwi Channels during this time as well.

Surf is expected to remain below advisory levels across all shores through early next week.

A new small to moderate south to southwest is expected to begin filling in through the day Wednesday, then hold through Friday before lowering into the upcoming weekend.

Small northwest swells will continue through the upcoming weekend, with a slight bump in surf heights expected Wednesday.

Small to low end moderate surf will remain rough along east facing shores through the upcoming weekend.

 

World-wide Tropical Cyclone activity

Here’s the latest Pacific Disaster Center (PDC) Weather Wall Presentation covering Tropical Cyclone 02A (Mekunu)…in the Arabian Sea

Here’s the latest Pacific Disaster Center (PDC) Weather Wall Presentation covering a tropical disturbance, being referred to as Invest 90L in the Caribbean Sea…near the Yucatan Peninsula

 

>>> Atlantic Ocean: No active tropical cyclones

>>> Caribbean Sea: No active tropical cyclones

>>> Gulf of Mexico: No active tropical cyclones

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: No active tropical cyclones

Tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 5 days.

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: No active tropical cyclones

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 02A (Mekunu)

JTWC textual Warning
JTWC graphical track map
NOAA satellite image

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


Interesting: Why Would a Pig Follow a Man Home? – Ohio police received a call at 5:26 a.m. Saturday (May 19) from a man who said he was trying to walk home from an Amtrak train station in Elyria but was being followed … by a pig. The man was unsure how to react.

The police thought he was drunk and possibly hallucinating, but when they arrived at the scene, they found a sober man who was indeed being followed by a pig, according to CBS News. The police brought the pig, whose name turned out to be Zoey, back to the station, and eventually, the animal was given back to its owner.

But why would Zoey be following an unknown human around?

It’s most likely because the pig was curious, said Lori Marino, an animal behavior expert and neuroscientist. “Pigs are very social animals,” Marino said. “There must have been something about this man that this pig was curious about.”

In fact, pigs can be just as social as dogs, and “every bit as smart” — if not smarter, Marino said.

This may sound surprising to some people — particularly in Zoey the pig’s case, where you see a pig acting as a dog might, Marino said. “But if you know about pigs, it’s just not that surprising,” said Marino, who is also an animal rights activist and the founder of the Kimmela Center for Animal Advocacy.

Zoey was a domesticated pig and was obviously very comfortable with humans, Marino said — just look at the image of her sitting in the back of the police cruiser. Pigs are not loners; they have social relationships with other pigs and other animals, including humans.

And although curiosity was probably the reason Zoey followed the man home, there are a few other possibilities for the pig’s early-morning stroll, Marino said. For example, if the man smelled like food or had food in his pocket, it could have enticed Zoey, just like it would other animals, she said.

But Zoey also could have been trying to get the man’s attention. Pigs are “very sensitive to whether or not you’re paying attention to them,” Marino said. “They understand that if you’re looking at them … you are attending to them, and if you’re facing away from them that you’re not.” So maybe Zoey was just trying to get this man’s attention, but the man kept walking away, Marino said.

But whatever the reason may be, it’s doubtful that Zoey was lost. “Pigs have really excellent spatial mapping skills,” Marino said. For example, they can recognize landmarks and are brilliant at making their way through mazes, she added. This ability allows them to find food and know where they’ve previously scavenged. Pigs “typically don’t get lost unless you drop them off somewhere where they are completely unfamiliar.”

And “there’s no chance” Zoey could’ve mistaken this man for her owner, Marino said. “They’re just way too smart for that.” According to Marino, many studies have shown that pigs can tell individuals apart — not just pigs, but different humans, for example. “They are very sensitive to features that are consistent with personal identity,” such as body size and facial characteristics, she said.

It’s possible that Zoey does this type of thing all the time to people and thinks of it as a game or a routine, and this guy just happened to put it on our radar because he called the police, Marino added.

Or maybe Zoey wasn’t even following him at all. “They might just have the same path that they walk,” Marino said.