Hawaiian Islands Weather Details & Aloha Paragraphs / June 12-13, 2018

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

83 – 72  Lihue, Kauai
88 – 76  Honolulu, Oahu
86 – 74  Molokai AP
86 – 66  Kahului AP, Maui
86 – 74  Kailua Kona
79 – 69  Hilo AP, Hawaii

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

0.95  Mount Waialeale, Kauai
0.29  Manoa Lyon Arboretum, Oahu
0.03  Molokai
0.00  Lanai
0.00  Kahoolawe
1.32  West Wailuaiki, Maui
0.77  Kawainui Stream, Big Island

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

28  Port Allen, Kauai
32  Oahu Forest NWR, Oahu
24  Molokai
28  Lanai
35  Kahoolawe
32  Kahului AP, Maui
29  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 10,000+ feet high 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

Hurricane Bud in the eastern Pacific (click to enlarge)

Low pressure system northwest of the state

Clear to partly cloudy…some cloudy areas

Showers locally…and offshore – Looping image

 

Here’s the latest Vog Forecast Animation

Here’s the Vog Information website

Special Weather Statement…PERIODS OF ASHFALL LIKELY FROM KILAUEA VOLCANO…

Web cams indicate occasional small bursts of volcanic ash continue to emanate from Halemaumau Crater. 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. Those with respiratory sensitivities should take extra precaution to minimize exposure.

Pele’s hair and other lightweight volcanic glass particles from a high fountaining fissure in Leilani Estates are being carried downwind. These volcanic particles can cause skin and eye irritation similar to volcanic ash, so avoid exposure. Pele’s hair can scratch glass and car finishes. Use plenty of water to rinse Pele’s hair off vehicles and avoid using windshield wipers.

 

~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~

 

Broad Brush Overview: A high pressure ridge north of the islands will continue to produce moderate trade winds for the time being. A series cold fronts will weaken this ridge Wednesday through next Monday, with lighter winds and afternoon sea breezes developing by Thursday over leeward upcountry areas. Clouds and showers will favor windward and mountain areas through Wednesday, then shift towards interior sections each afternoon from Thursday through the upcoming weekend…as a light trade wind and sea breeze weather pattern becomes established.

Details: Weather maps show a high pressure system northeast of Hawaii, with a ridge extending to the west-southwest. This ridge will remain north of the islands, producing one more day of moderate trade winds. A weak upper level low lingers within a slow moving upper trough over the western half of the state. A mostly dry trade wind pattern is expected for the eastern islands, with periods of clouds scattered showers favoring windward and mountain areas elsewhere through Wednesday.

Looking Ahead: The large scale pattern begins to change north of the state Wednesday. Trade wind speeds will decrease, with lighter trade winds and land/sea breezes expected along leeward areas Thursday into the first half of next week. Warm and humid weather conditions with island heating, will produce onshore sea breezes each afternoon, leading to upcountry clouds and scattered showers. Clouds and showers will then diminish in the evening through overnight hours…as offshore land breezes develop.

Vog (Volcanic haze) emissions originating from the Kilauea volcano on the Big Island of Hawaii, may begin to shift back towards the smaller islands this weekend…as trade wind speeds falter.

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 northeast of the state will keep moderate to locally strong trade winds in place. The trades will gradually decline tonight through the weekend, as a series of approaching cold fronts weaken the ridge northeast of the islands. Winds are expected to drop and remain below small craft advisory levels across the entire marine area tonight through the weekend.

The current south swell will continue to provide small surf to south facing shores over the next couple days. Another small south swell will give a rise to south shore surf Thursday, with a slightly larger south swell arriving Friday night and lingering into the weekend. This late week/weekend swell could possibly approach High Surf Advisory levels.

Small northwest swells will continue through Thursday. A pair of moderate northwest and west-northwest swells will build Thursday night and Friday, then linger through the weekend. This will bring an increase in surf to north and west facing shores.

Typical trade wind swell can be expected along east facing shores through Wednesday, before trending downward late week through the weekend…as the trades ease. East Pacific tropical cyclones will also send a series of small east swells toward the islands, continuing through the weekend.

World-wide Tropical Cyclone Activity

Here’s the Tuesday Pacific Disaster Center (PDC) Weather Wall Presentation covering Hurricane 03E (Bud)…and two tropical disturbances being referred to as Invest 92W and 93W

Here’s the Tuesday Pacific Disaster Center (PDC) Weather Wall Presentation covering the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico…which has a tropical disturbance in the Caribbean Sea

 

>>> Atlantic Ocean: No active tropical cyclone

>>> Caribbean Sea: No active tropical cyclones

According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), there’s a large area of showers and thunderstorms located over the western Caribbean Sea just to the east of Nicaragua and northeastern Honduras is associated with a sharp surface trough.

This area of disturbed weather is forecast to move westward to northwestward over Central America and the Yucatan Peninsula during the next couple of days, and little development is expected during that time due to strong upper-level winds.

However, environmental conditions could become slightly more conducive for some development when the system moves into the southwestern Gulf of Mexico by the end of the week.

Regardless of development, this disturbance will likely produce locally heavy rainfall across portions of Nicaragua, Honduras, Belize, Guatemala, and the Yucatan Peninsula through Thursday.

This tropical disturbance will move toward the western Gulf Coast later this week, bringing a surge of moisture that will likely trigger an increase in showers and thunderstorms…although not necessarily lead to tropical development.

This advancing tropical moisture source will likely lead to an increase in showers and thunderstorms…especially across coastal portions of Louisiana and Texas

 

* Formation chance through 48 hours…low…10 percent
* Formation chance through 5 days…low…20 percent

>>> Gulf of Mexico: No active tropical cyclones

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

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:

Tropical Cyclone 03E (Bud)

NHC texual advisory
NHC graphical track map
NOAA satellite image

1.) A broad area of low pressure is forecast to form a couple of hundred miles south of southeastern Mexico in a couple of days. Environmental conditions could become marginally conducive for development late this week as the system drifts northward.

* Formation chance through 48 hours…low…near 0 percent
* Formation chance through 5 days…low…20 percent

Here’s a looping satellite image of the eastern Pacific and south of Mexico

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

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

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: A 3-Legged Jaguar Gives Birth to Cubs in Argentina Park – A pair of jaguar cubs born June 6 in Iberá National Park in northern Argentina are more than just totally adorable. As the first born in the park in decades, the week-old cubs are bringing hope to conservationists who are trying to save these giant cats from a population decline.

The cubs’ first-time mother, a three-legged jaguar named Tania, was born and raised in a zoo, while their father, Chiqui, was born in the wild but raised at a rescue center. Conservationists brought the two jaguars into the park to meet and mingle as part of a Jaguar Reintroduction Program launched by Tompkins Conservation in 2011 and funded by National Geographic.

Jaguars are listed by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as “Near Threatened,” and their numbers have decreased by 40 percent since historical estimates, according to National Geographic. There are roughly 15,000 wild jaguars worldwide today, 200 of which live in Argentina. The goal is to bring the population in the 341,205-acre park to at least 100, according to National Geographic.

Jaguar numbers have been declining mostly because of deforestation that has fragmented their habitat, led to the demise of their prey and exposed them to hunters.

Conservationists hope that as the babies grow, they will learn from their mother how to hunt, so that eventually they can be released in the middle of the park to live in the wild. (If they can’t hunt on their own, the scientists will provide them with meat without being exposed to humans.) But all in all, for an inexperienced mother, Tania is doing quite well with her not-yet-named babies, according to the National Geographic.

For a few more days, the conservationists will just continue to check in on the first-time-mother and her babies through remote surveillance, to allow them a chance to begin to naturally grow up together, without the touch of a human fingerprint.