Air Temperatures – The following high temperatures (F) were recorded across the state of Hawaii Sunday…along with the low temperatures Monday:
82 – 73 Lihue, Kauai /
81 – 73 Honolulu, Oahu /
81 – 73 Molokai AP
84 – 73 Kahului AP, Maui /
83 – 69 Kona AP, Hawaii
83 – 70 Hilo, Hawaii /
Here are the latest 24-hour precipitation totals (inches) for each of the islands Monday afternoon:
0.67 Mount Waialeale, Kauai
0.50 Moanalua RG, Oahu
0.05 Molokai
0.00 Lanai
0.00 Kahoolawe
0.21 West Wailuaiki, Maui
1.48 Mountain View, Big Island
The following numbers represent the strongest wind gusts (mph) Monday afternoon:
29 Lihue, Kauai
36 Kuaokala, Oahu
36 Molokai
42 Lanai
45 Kahoolawe
45 Maalaea Bay, Maui
53 Kohala Ranch, Big Island
Hawaii’s Mountains – Here’s a link to the live webcam on the summit of our tallest mountain Mauna Kea (~13,800 feet high) on the Big Island of Hawaii. Here’s the webcam for the (~10,023 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.
A new cold front is located well northwest
(click on the images to enlarge or animate them)
Still those towering cumulus clouds well east
Clear to partly cloudy…along with just a few cloudy areas
Showers…mostly windward
Looping image
Please click this link…to see current Watches, Warnings and Advisories
~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~
Broad Brush Overview: An area of strong high pressure far northeast of the state will be shifting west, closer to the islands, during the next day or so. This in turn will maintain the strong and gusty trade winds through this new work week. Moisture being carried along on these trades will focus showers along the windward and mountain areas, although some will move into the leeward areas on the smaller islands. A wetter trade wind pattern is likely during the second half of the week, in combination with an upper level low moving over the area from the east.
Details: Weather maps show a huge high far to the northeast, which will move west to a point north-northeast of the islands by Tuesday night. The high then holds there through Friday, only to be replaced by a new and stronger high by the upcoming weekend. Although the original high weakens during its transit west, it will still be able to generate and sustain strong and gusty trade winds through the second half of the week. As far as showers go, there will be the normal distribution of windward biased activity, more frequent during the nights and mornings through Tuesday.
Looking Further Ahead: The two most reliable models haven’t aligned in their outlooks during the second half of the week, and on into the upcoming weekend. However, both computer models maintain an unstable environment during the second half of the week…along with the strong and gusty trades remaining active over the state. Any threat of thunderstorms still remains around the Big Island of Hawaii, as early as Thursday. We’ll need another day or two to let the American GFS model, and the European ECMWF model sort this out…stay tuned.
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: A strong surface ridge to the north will support strong to near gale force trade winds near and upwind of the islands this week, with winds to gale force in marine zones where they are most accelerated by island terrain.
A High Surf Advisory (HSA) is in effect for the windward shores of most islands, and will very likely remain posted through the week. As seas build in response to the persistent upstream fetch of trade winds, surf along east facing shores could approach warning levels later in the week. The combination of high surf, strong onshore winds and elevated ocean water levels could result in beach erosion and wave runup along east facing shores later in the week…when higher high tides coincide with larger surf.
Little in the way of significant swell is expected otherwise. A pair of small northwest swells are expected to rise and fall between now and Wednesday, with a larger northwest swell around Friday…that could produce advisory-level surf into the weekend.
Welcome to the new week Hawaii!
World-wide Tropical Cyclone Activity
Here’s a link to the latest Pacific Disaster Center’s Weather Wall
>>> Atlantic Ocean: There are no active tropical cyclones
Latest satellite image of the Atlantic
>>> Caribbean Sea: There are no active tropical cyclones
>>> Gulf of Mexico: There are no active tropical cyclones
Latest satellite image of the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico
>>> Eastern Pacific: There are no active tropical cyclones
Here’s an animated color enhanced satellite image of the central and eastern Pacific
Here’s the link to the National Hurricane Center (NHC)
>>> Central Pacific: There are no active tropical cyclones
Here’s the link to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC)
>>> Northwest Pacific Ocean: There are no active tropical cyclones
>>> South Pacific Ocean: There are no active tropical cyclones
>>> North and South Indian Oceans / Arabian Sea:
Tropical Cyclone 06S (Blake)
JTWC textual warning
JTWC graphical track map
For you Bird Lovers
Interesting: Human ‘Check Engine’ Lights Not Far Away – A University of Alberta computing scientist thinks the future of health care looks like the blinking check engine light on the dashboard of your car.
“There’s a whole bunch of sensors that say, hey, go to the garage, something’s wrong,” said Pierre Boulanger. “I could see that with humans.”
He has developed two products that could help take patients down that road. One is MEDBike, a biking system that remotely monitors blood pressure, oxygen levels and heart activity in recovering cardiac patients. The other is MEDRoad, a cloud-based tele-monitoring system that allows patient health to be observed without the need to go to a hospital or clinic.
With Canada’s aging population and number of remote communities, machine learning and virtual technology could be key to cutting rising health-care expenses and improving lives, Boulanger said. Continuous monitoring could help detect diseases earlier and virtual clinics could provide high-quality care at a fraction of the cost.
Getting back on the bike after a heart attack
One of the biggest misconceptions about heart attacks is the best route to recovery; it’s definitely not sitting back and sipping chicken noodle soup.
“It’s very counterintuitive,” Boulanger said. “You have to do exercise, because your heart muscle has been damaged and you need to reinforce the other muscles.”
Many cardiac patients don’t follow this advice, Boulanger said, because they are often more afraid of overexertion and another trip back to the hospital. He added that motivation is a constant struggle for many rehabilitation patients, especially in remote communities where there might not be a therapist to help the patient stay on course.
About five years ago, one of Boulanger’s students used a stationary bike to create a basic virtual reality exercise program capable of monitoring heart rates. Boulanger brought the concept to Peter Wood, an internist at the U of A. They worked together to expand the concept to cardiac rehabilitation.
MEDBike was financed by Boulanger’s 10-year appointment as Cisco chair in health care, given to explore the intersection between IT and health care. He’s since undertaken a series of small pilot projects, placing a half-dozen bikes in private homes, where cardiac patients undergo weekly sessions while a clinician keeps an eye on them remotely.
There are many potential upsides to the technology, Boulanger said. A specialist can help monitor multiple patients at once, gently bringing them up to higher speeds and into a regime that remains pleasant yet challenging. By adding video game-like features to the system, patients can visit a virtual world or even race each other, while special hardware helps create the resistance of climbing a hill.
Boulanger’s programmers have created a version for children, in which they chase animals or race through wormholes. He envisions the technology being used in nursing homes, where vital signs telemonitored by cloud analytics could make sure the exercise is done safely. In remote communities, the bike could be used to conduct stress tests.
While the prototypes of the MEDBike cost more than $4,000 apiece, Boulanger’s team has made a cheaper system for $1,500 and an even simpler version for roughly $400. He’s even got a new partnership with a Brazilian researcher who is using his virtual bike system to create a virtual spin class between the two countries using high-speed networks.
“I always say that the gamer of the future will have a six-pack,” Boulanger said.
Monitoring patients where they are
While the MEDBike shows promise for cardiac patients, Boulanger believes there’s an even bigger need for continuous monitoring, virtual clinics and cloud-based analysis.
His team is currently negotiating with telecom partners and pharmacies to commercialize MEDRoad, a cloud-based tele-monitoring software that connects patients to health-care professionals via two-way interface. The system can also be used to remotely monitor basic vital signs around the clock through cellphone networks.
Cloud-based monitoring would allow computers to spot problems that might otherwise go undetected. The result, Boulanger said, would be a more efficient health-care system that reduces misdiagnosis and helps triage patients before they ever walk into a hospital. It could also be used to check in on patients in remote settings, like cruise ships or work camps.
While the check engine light might still be a way off, Boulanger is working to get his projects through approval by the medical community. That means more pilot testing and software certifications by Health Canada.
“A cardiologist told me if we could detect cardiac conditions before someone has a heart attack, the money saved by the health-care system could be enormous,” Boulanger said. “The idea is to explode health care into the virtual world, improving outcomes and quality of life.”