Hawaiian Islands Weather Details & Aloha Paragraphs / May 30 -31, 2018

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

82 – 73  Lihue, Kauai
87 – 76  Honolulu, Oahu
85 – 76  Molokai AP
m – m  Kahului AP, Maui
85 – 76  Kailua Kona
81 – 72  Hilo AP, Hawaii

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

2.06  Mount Waialeale, Kauai
0.38  Manoa Lyon Arboretum, Oahu
0.09  Molokai
0.06  Lanai
0.02  Kahoolawe
0.78  West Wailuaiki, Maui
2.35  Waiakea Uka, Big Island

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

33  Port Allen, Kauai
29  Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu
32  Molokai
31  Lanai
39  Kahoolawe
38  Kahului AP, Maui
33  South Point, 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 north-northeast…trough of low pressure west

Most of the sun dimming high clouds have moved away

Deep clouds west…clearing skies in many areas

Showers locally and offshore – Looping image

 

Here’s the latest Vog Forecast Animation

Here’s the Vog Information website

Special Weather Statement in south Big Island…Although radar data has not detected any significant bursts of volcanic ash from Halemaumau Crater over the past several hours, additional bursts of ash remains possible at any time. Northeast trade winds have returned and will continue for the next few days.

This low level trade winds will push ash toward the southwest, and any ash fallout will likely occur over the Kau District and Highway 11 southwest of the town of Volcano. This includes the communities of Pahala, Wood Valley, Naalehu and Ocean View.

With winds spreading ash in the same direction, repeated eruptions will lead to a heavier buildup of ash. In addition, any ash deposited over the last several days will likely be picked up by local winds, contributing to dusty conditions.

Avoid excessive exposure to ash which is an eye and respiratory irritant. Pele’s hair and other lightweight volcanic glass from high fountain fissures are being transported downwind. Residents are urged to minimize exposure to these volcanic particles, which can cause skin and eye irritation similar to volcanic ash. Those with respiratory sensitivities should take extra precaution to minimize exposure.

Small Craft Advisory…All coastal and channel waters statewide

 

~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~

 

Broad Brush Overview: High pressure systems located well to the north and northeast, will keep our trades alive through the weekend. These trades will remain stronger than normal for the time being, then slowly diminish in strength as we push into the weekend. The recent thick high clouds may thin over the next couple of days, allowing more sunshine to beam down on the state. An unsettled trade wind pattern may develop as we move into the weekend time frame.

Details: The air mass over the islands is now becoming more stable. This is occurring as the upper level low, located west-northwest of Kauai, migrates a bit further west…taking its influence away from the islands. Lighter rainfall amounts from the trade showers are expected over the next few days. This should lead to a drier trade pattern, at least compared to the last few days…through Friday morning.

Looking Ahead: As we push towards the weekend, we may see an unsettled trade wind weather pattern developing. This is due to the upper low, now west of the islands, making a return visit to the islands. The air mass will destabilize Friday as it nears Kauai…before stalling Friday evening just to the west of the state. Nonetheless, the upper trough could make our atmosphere more unstable…which would enhance the trade wind shower activity then.

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: Surface high pressure building far north of the islands is producing strong trade winds across the state. As a result, a Small Craft Advisory (SCA) remains in effect for all Hawaiian waters. The latest forecast indicates the winds may remain near the SCA criteria across the waters of the eastern islands Thursday night through Friday…before the trades weaken this weekend.

The current southwest swell will continue to build, and is expected to produce above-average surf heights along most south facing shores Thursday. The southwest swell will gradually lower Friday and Saturday, before a larger south-southwest swell arrives late Sunday. This new swell may cause surf to reach the High Surf Advisory criteria along most south facing shores early next week. Rough surf will increase along east facing shores during the next couple of days, due to the strengthening trade winds, then will trend down this weekend as the trades weaken. Tiny surf will persist along most north facing shores through this weekend.

World-wide Tropical Cyclone Activity

Here’s the latest Pacific Disaster Center (PDC) Weather Wall Presentation covering the western Pacific and Indian Oceans

Here’s the latest Pacific Disaster Center (PDC) Weather Wall Presentation covering Tropical Depression Alberto…moving over the eastern United States

 

>>> Atlantic Ocean: No active tropical cyclones

>>> 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: 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: No active tropical cyclones

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


Interesting: Will ‘Manhattanhenge’ Always Light Up NYC Streets? – Sunsets in New York City can be spectacular, but during certain days in May and July, the alignment of Earth and the sun creates an unusually striking phenomenon known as “Manhattanhenge,” when the setting sun lines up within the grid layout of the city streets.

On these special days, the sun’s descent follows a path that aligns precisely with the exact center of Manhattan numbered streets that run from east to west. As the sun sets, its rays illuminate the asphalt and the buildings that line these streets with a glowing beacon of golden light.

The event that is Manhattanhenge occurs because of urban design — streets set at 90 degree angles — juxtaposed with the timing of Earth’s orbit and rotation as the planet travels around the sun. But will the city grid and the setting sun always line up so perfectly? Are there any factors — cosmic or otherwise — that could disrupt the perfect Manhattanhenge alignment?

Manhattanhenge — a term coined by astrophysicist and New Yorker Neil deGrasse Tyson in 2001 — takes place on days that frame the summer solstice. It happens four times on two paired dates at the end of May and mid-July; twice with the half-set sun lining up in the exact center of the “canyons” between buildings, and twice with the full circle of the sun touching down in alignment with the city grid.

This year, Manhattanhenge will lit up NYC on May 29 and May 30, and then again on July 12 and 13. The full sun will made its dramatic appearance across the grid May 30 at 8:12 p.m. and July 12 at 8:20 p.m. local time, while the half sun touched down on May 29 at 8:13 p.m. and on July 13 at 8:21 p.m., according to the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York City, which hosts a Manhattanhenge program on July 12.

An unobstructed view

Manhattanhenge hinges on two factors: the orientation of the city grid and the exact position of Earth relative to the sun based on its orbital path, rotation and tilt. When the timing is just right, a minute of sunset is visible simultaneously at the center of the city’s east- and west-facing streets, said astrophysicist Jackie Faherty, a senior scientist and educator at AMNH.

Other gridded cities such as Toronto and Chicago also experience this sunset alignment effect, though on different days than those of Manhattanhenge. But Manhattanhenge’s stunning visual impact is due in part to the expanse of the Hudson River and the relatively low buildings on the New Jersey shoreline, which make for an unobstructed view of the sun as it drops to the horizon in the west for “the grid kiss,” Faherty said.

“If all of a sudden there was a big construction boom on the Jersey side, then we’d start to have problems with our view of Manhattanhenge, because you would have buildings that are blocking the moment of sunset,” Faherty said.

A catastrophic impact

Manhattanhenge’s alignment only happens on certain dates because the exact position of the rising and setting sun on the horizon is slightly different every day — the result of Earth being tilted on its axis by 23.5 degrees in its orbital plane, Faherty said. But in addition to Manhattanhenge, the nearly setting sun is visible between the city’s cross streets during a range of dates bracketing the summer solstice (falling on June 21 this year), with the so-called “Manhattanhenge Effect” lasting from the first sunset grid kiss in May until the last one in July.

Between May 29 and the summer solstice, the sun is still visible at the center of the city’s cross streets, hitting the “sweet spot” just a little higher each day. After the summer solstice, “when the Northern Hemisphere starts to tilt away from the sun,” the same thing happens in reverse, with the sun hitting the center of the grid a little lower each day “until the second grid kiss in July, when it’s the last time the sun makes it that far north,” Faherty said.

However, if Earth were to suddenly tip over even farther on its axis — perhaps following a massive cosmic collision — that would jar the alignment enough to end Manhattanhenge forever.

“It would have to knock us pretty far, though, for it to not happen in Manhattan at all,” Faherty said.

Such a devastating impact would cause a host of more immediate concerns than the loss of Manhattanhenge. But luckily, the chances of such an Earth-changing event actually taking place are pretty slim, she said.

“Earth is pretty stable in its orbit, so as far as current humanity goes, we’re not losing that anytime soon. No one who’s reading this is going to lose the grid kiss unless something catastrophic happens to the Earth, and I don’t see anything like that on the horizon.”