shave ice & gelato

Just what we need, a little weather excitement after a very dry summer. Hurricane Flossie is headed our way. Right now it is a Category 4 hurricane. The predictions are that the storm will weaken and stay south of us, bringing mostly rain, high winds, and big surf but you never know with a hurricane and so we are being warned to be prepared just in case.

Here is the latest Central Pacific Infrared Satellite Picture from the NOAA National Weather Service website:

Now, looking at this picture, the storm certainly looks like some sort of threat to me! When a hurricane is heading towards the mainland, everyone is told to evacuate. Not here. There is no where to go. That to me is the scariest part. We do have shelters set up in all of the schools whenever there is a possible hurricane, but I work in one of those schools, and I am not so sure that the schools are a better shelter option, especially the older schools on the islands.

My biggest concern though is for my friends, Katia & Guido. If the storm does hit us, the predictions are that it will hit the Big Island, where they are right now, late Tuesday. Again, it is always difficult to pinpoint the exact direction of a hurricane, but please everyone, keep your fingers crossed for us that the storm passes south and all we get out of it is a little needed rain.

Hurricane Flossie is now a Category 3 hurricane. It is still expected to travel south of the Big Island sometime tomorrow (Tuesday). The hurricane experts now say that they don't feel that the hurricane will weaken as previously expected. All of the islands have been experiencing lots of high winds trade wind weather. The wind is not "from" the hurricane but is due to the hurricane. This is a good thing. This means that the trade winds are keeping the storm on course south of the islands. But, the hurricane is HUGE and so at least tropical storm conditions and possible hurricane conditions will most likely hit the Big Island even if the eye of the storm does not hit the islands. There is also concern of flash flood conditions due to the amount of rain predicted to fall in the Big Island. All schools on the Big Island have already been closed for tomorrow.

Here is the latest picture as of 5 pm tonight. I was not able to find an update of that colored picture I posted yesterday.

The storm looks ENORMOUS! Will update again tomorrow when more is known...

Crazy weather! Here on Oahu it has been so so windy all day long. What a great day to teach my kids the concept of "windy"! Too bad I didn't plan a kite unit, although with the force of the winds, one or two of my kids could have flown away. They are now saying that the wind we are experiencing is the wind being sucked in to the site of the hurricane.

Meanwhile on the Big Island, it has been pretty calm. Flossie was a Category 2 this morning and is now a Category 1. It looks like we will all be escaping the wrath of this storm. Waves are huge and the Hilo/Kau areas are still the most vulnerable. The hurricane should pass by the southern tip during the night. They did however have a 5.4 earthquake near the Volcano area last night to liven up their lives a little while waiting for the hurricane. Thankfully no major damage from the earthquake. AND lucky Big Island, no school again for a second day! Here in Hawaii, we don't have to make up missed days like those on the mainland do for snow days.

The latest photo from the NOAA site:

Back on Oahu, we have had a horrible fire on the North Shore, which has already scorched 3,000 acres of land and has been out of control for days now. The high winds are not helping matters. Today the smoke was so bad, it crossed over the mountain range and a couple of schools on the Leeward side were closed due to the thick smoke. The fire is on the Wailua side of Mount Ka'ala, on the side of the island where some of the beach scenes have been filmed for the show LOST. I have been on some amazing hikes on the land that is currently burning and have camped up in the mountains in that area. It is so sad to see such beautiful land burn. Houses are threatened and the fire is still not under control. For that reason, rain from the hurricane would be a blessing.

My mini vacation starts Thursday at a beach house up on the North Shore. Hoping that the weather stabilizes, the fire is out, and there is no damage to any of the houses from the fire, and there is no damage on the Big Island.

That is about it for now. ciao!

Winter in Hawaii means rain, and when it rains in Hawaii, it really rains. I mean buckets and buckets. When the wind is also involved, it can get pretty wild.

Our first big storm of the year hit the first weekend of November. It began in the middle of the night, with thunder so loud, I swear the entire island woke up (except my brother who is deaf and all the other deaf people on the island). It was definitely a deluge. The Windward side of the island suffered the most damage. There even was snow on Mauna Kea! There were floods and power outages all over the island. Luckily the worst that occurred on my side of the island was cable and internet outage which meant that I finally finished that book I had been working on.

The published rainfall totals for the 24-hour period in inches from the storm:
Waihee Pump: 10.25, Maunawili: 6.83, Olomana Fire Station: 7.74, Moanalua: 4.87, Palisades: 7.52, Schofield Barracks: 6.27, Lualualei: 3.56, Waianae Valley: 3.63, Waianae: 2.98, Makua Range: 3.88

Since our first big winter storm, we have had a few more rainstorms which were loud enough to wake you up from a deep sleep in the middle of the night just from the sound of the rain.

Today, it dumped again. I really don't mind the rain that much if I am snug in my bed, but I am not a fan of driving in a downpour. Fortunately, it let up some during morning rush hour.

I read this evening that the city has activated its Emergency Operation Center in response to a storm front that is moving over the Islands and is expected to generate gusty winds of up to more than 60 mph. We are also under another flash-flood watch through Thursday. Fun, fun, fun.

This is the safety alert that has been posted so we will be prepared for this storm:

Hawaiian Electric Company says check and restock emergency supplies like flashlights, batteries, radios, canned food and bottled water.

Turn your refrigerator and freezer to the coldest settings in case of a power outage to keep food fresh longer.

I guess I better go find my flashlight. Maybe school will be canceled tomorrow!!

It certainly was a wild and windy night last night. Pretty much everyone awoke between 3:00 & 3:30 AM from the sound of the rain and the wind. There were power failures, fallen trees, fallen telephone polls, roofs blowing off and/or damaged, roads completely closed, rain and lots and lots of wind. In some places the wind was said to be hurricane strength and for some there was more damage from this storm than from our past two hurricanes. There are parts of the island that may not get their power back until Thursday or Friday and places where roads are still closed. On Oahu, the North Shore and the Leeward side were hit the hardest with the Windward side also suffering a lot of damage.

After the storm began, I was not able to go back to sleep. About 5 am, the local news came on. The first thing announced was "stay home" and "do not go out on the roads unless you have to". Now wouldn't that suggest that all the public schools would be closed? At 5:30 the school closures began to be announced and then a few minutes later the cable went out. I got out my mini radio and tuned in. I had flashes of my childhood days when my family would all gather around the radio and wait to hear if our school would be closed when we had a big snowstorm. No, I am not too old to have had TV, but the school closures were always announced on the radio. All the schools nearby were always closed but rarely was our school closed. I think I learned my alphabetizing skills from listening to the list of schools as they were announced. If our school was not announced as closed the first time around, we would refuse to get dressed, hoping that it would be announced the second or third time around. My brother and sister and I were always so bummed once they passed over the letter "N". My mom was always thrilled!

This morning 83 public schools and tons more private schools were closed, but not my school. I guess I should count my lucky blessings. Although I did have the wonderful fortune to spend 40 minutes moving one mile in traffic, my school was not damaged and my part of the island only suffered minor damage.

The storm that hit us last night is now headed for the Big Island. There is even a blizzard watch posted for Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa! A flash flood watch also remains in effect through Thursday for the entire state.

The Daily Dish Honolulu Advertiser blog has a pretty good description of the storm with pictures and comments from many around the island. Check out the pictures of the tree in Kapiolani park!

Here is another picture of the same tree from the Honolulu Advertiser site:

I feel for all those in Washington State and Oregon right now. At least we didn't have the flooding they are dealing with.

We had a "SNOW DAY" today at school! In Hawaii, a "snow day" means snow will be delivered to your school instead of school is canceled due to snow. Twenty tons of "snow" were ordered and delivered early this morning. After all the rain we have had recently, I was worried about the weather. Fortunately, it turned out to be a beautiful day with rainbows in the sky. The temperature was about 80 degrees. A perfect day for snow!

After the first 10 tons of snow were dumped, the first scheduled, Preschool, Kindergarten, and Grade One came out to play. Each class took a class picture and then everyone went wild!! Santa also stopped by for a visit.

Halfway through our scheduled time, the second truckload of snow arrived. The timing of the arrival worked out perfectly as the students were able to see the snow being dumped. As the truck prepared to dump the snow, the students chanted "dump it, dump it!" and then squealed with delight as the snow was dumped in another big pile.

Channel 9 News came to our school and showed a quick clip of our Snow Day on the evening news, but unfortunately so far, it has not been posted on their website. If they do post it, I will do an update and add the video clip. Because I don't have permission to post pictures of my students and I didn't think to take any distant shots, I only feel comfortable posting the snow shots (without students).

Beautiful December morning in Hawaii at my school:

SNOW!

I don't expect any sympathy but it has been pretty chilly in Hawaii the past few weeks. Yes, I know I am a wimp! Thank goodness for fleece! I don't know what the Hawaiians did way back when without the warm clothes we have today.

On the Big Island, it hailed in Kona yesterday and snow covered the summits of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. It even snowed on Haleakala on Maui! This is a very rare occurrence that only happens every three to five years. The forecast for today was for more snow flurries and possibly heavy snow today and into tomorrow night on Mauna Kea with possible snow on Mauna Loa and Haleakala. The KHON2 site described our weather the best: Wacky Wintry Weather Hit Hawaii.

Here is a picture of Haleakala from today's Star Bulletin article:

Volcanic smog

The U.S. Geological Survey defines vog as:
Noxious sulfur dioxide gas and other pollutants emitted from Kilauea Volcano on the Island of Hawai`i react with oxygen and atmospheric moisture to produce volcanic smog (vog) and acid rain.

They also list some of the physical complaints directly related to vog exposure. Headaches, breathing difficulties, increased susceptibility to respiratory ailments, watery eyes, sore throat, flu-like symptoms, and a general lack of energy.

The vog mainly hangs out on the Big Island, but for the past month or so, the entire island chain has been experiencing heavy vog. A couple of weeks ago, the mountains were barely visable on my drive into work and this was first thing in the morning. Usually the vog does not become thick until later in the day. This afternoon when driving home, the sky was the strangest color blue. If I didn't live here, I would not have known that there were mountains nearby.

The air has been so thick with this vog for days and days now. My chest feels like there is a brick on it. Everyone at work is getting sick. I am positive the vog had a direct impact on my getting sick last weekend. I had every symptom above and still am having a difficult time breathing. I rarely use my inhaler but recently it has been my best friend. I don't think I could ever live on the Big Island.

Vog...go away!!!

Dense vog as seen from Hilo Bay, Hawai‘i (click on the photo for more info on vog)

The vog has hung over the islands a few times this year. It has returned once again this week. Many are saying that this week's vog has been the worst ever. It is a very eery feeling when you can't see landmarks that you know are there. Yesterday morning while driving to work, the mountains looked more like shadows and Diamond Head was barely visible. I can't even imagine what it is like on the Big Island right now.

Photo taken from Kaimuki by George F. Lee. (photo is linked to the article)
Caption under the photo: "Volcanic haze blanketed Honolulu for a second day yesterday, obscuring the cityscape and natural landscape."

*Update: The mountains have disappeared!! I couldn't even see the shadows today while driving to work. Did Locke hit the wrong button and move the mountains instead of the island??

I stayed late at work today. When I opened my door to leave my classroom, I was greeted with this beautiful rainbow. I went back into my classroom and grabbed my camera (not a great camera but it did the job).

I couldn't decide on just one photo...

Every time I see rainbows, I think of the song, Hawaiian Lullaby. I was in a sign language group many years ago. This was my favorite song that we signed and the only one I still remember how to sign. I found this home video on YouTube of a Hula Halau dancing to the Hawaiian Lullaby. The song is sung by the Brothers Cazimero.

Quoting part of today's Star Bulletin article: STORM PUMMELS OAHU

Schools are closed, power is out, homes are flooded and traffic is a mess.

Torrential rain overnight and this morning flooded scores of homes on Oahu, closed roads and dozens of schools, knocked out power and shut the Arizona Memorial.

More than 10 inches of rain fell at Makaha Stream in the 24 hours that ended at 8 a.m., and more than 4 inches of that fell between 5 a.m. and 8 a.m.

(photo from the Honolulu Advertiser - click on the photo to see more amazing photos)

click on the continue reading link below to read about my day...

The weather is crazy here!! It started pouring again this morning. The wind is howling. Here is a photo of the damage on Kunia Road from Thursday's rain.

(photo linked to the Honolulu Advertiser article)

CLICK HERE to see a slideshow of more amazing photos from the storm (including a couple of cool waterfall shots). Place your mouse near the top of each photo to see the description for each photo.

Yesterday the weather was calm most of the day. The skies began to turn black late in the afternoon just as I was heading to physical therapy. I tried not to think about my drive home while in therapy.

When I finished my session, it was raining, but not too bad. The scary part though was the thunder and lightning, which thankfully is pretty rare here in Hawaii. Ever since I was little, I have always freaked out during thunder and lightning storms. Driving in one is definitely not one of my favorite things to do. Other than that, the traffic gods were looking out for me because I made it to the shopping center near my house pretty quickly (which is a miracle even on a sunny day).

Just as I stopped at Long’s Drugs, the sky opened up and it started to pour buckets, so hard that it sounded like pellets hitting my windshield. I ran into the store, still managing to get soaking wet even though I parked right near the store. As I was looking for some little containers for cookies in the back of the store, the lights went out. It was pitch black! Everyone in the store gasped loudly. The lights came back on pretty quickly, but those few seconds seemed like minutes while it was pitch black in the store. This little boy near me was very freaked out.

I had planned to also stop at the grocery store (next door) to buy the ingredients to bake cookies this weekend, but after the power went out in the store, and losing power for nine hours on Thursday due to the storm, I decided to wait until today. Unfortunately, the weather is still crazy this morning, so I am not sure what I am going to do now. Hopefully the weather will calm down. Either that, or I will have to take a leap of faith and keep my fingers crossed that my power will stay on all weekend.

The news last night showed that the road into and out of my town was closed due to flooding. It must have happened during the downpour that started when I reached the store near my house. I read that they opened just one lane going into my town later on and the traffic was backed up for miles on the freeway before the exit. I am sooooo glad I made it home before the rain started again. The traffic gods were definitely looking out for me yesterday. Let’s hope the power gods will do the same!

*Not sure why my comments were not on for Thursday's post. Thank you Kim for alerting me and fixing the problem :)

Early Friday evening, as I drove over to a nearby school to drop off a couple of bags of recycling stuff, a few pretty wild bolts of lightning lit up in the sky. Lightning is pretty rare here in Hawaii. I could barely hear the thunder, so I assumed storm had to be far off in the distance.

The photo to the left was taken by Dave Weil of Wahiawa. I found this photo on the KHNL news website. (photo is linked to the source and an article about the power outage).

When I returned home, I chatted with a couple of neighbors outside. I asked them if their power also went out Thursday night (I woke up Friday morning to blinking clocks). One of my neighbors said the power went out for two minutes at 1:30 in the morning while he was up watching TV. Because lightning freaks me out and the strikes were pretty vivid in the sky, I headed inside a few minutes later

I turned on the TV and started watching something I recorded on my DVD recorder. About 30 minutes later, a little after 7 pm, the everything went black. At first, I figured it would only be out for a few minutes. After about 15 minutes, I though that it was probably just out in my area. I watched a DVD on my computer to pass the time, still thinking that the power would be back on pretty soon. Two hours later, when my laptop was running out of juice, I decided to call the electric company to find out what was going on. I was surprised to learn that the entire island was in the dark. I found my radio and was grateful to find a few stations reporting what was going on.

Getting information about the power outage is so important. Not knowing what was going on is what bothered me the most when I lost power a few weeks ago. HECO, the electric company, was saying something about four lines being tripped which caused the entire system to shut down. All the stations were saying to expect the power to be out throughout the night. The last time power went out island wide was October 15, 2006 when an earthquake hit the Big Island.

Because the entire island lost power, that meant that President-elect Obama, who is vacationing here with his family, also lost power. The mayor was in contact with his staff. Obama was safe at his Kailua rental. He was offered a generator but declined the help saying that they were planning to go to bed early and would be just fine.

I was much better prepared this time than I was two weeks ago. I still had a big bag of ice and a half full bag of ice in the freezer. I put most of my perishable items in the freezer and a few items in my small cooler with the half bag of ice. The very cool flashlight app on my new iPod touch came in handy helping me navigate in the dark. I listened to the radio for while, and then went to bed. I unplugged all of my electronic equipment but did leave all the light switches on hoping that in case the power come back on in the middle of the night, I would wake up since my refrigerated perishables were now in the freezer.

3:13 in the morning, the power came back on at my house. The lights woke me up as planned. Power was only out for about eight hours, less time than the last time I lost electricity and I slept through four hours of it. My area of the island was one of the first to get electricity back. I was very grateful and very fortunate this time. I checked the Honolulu Advertiser for all of the latest news. Only a few areas were back up. I even got electricity back before Obama did! He got his back about 6 am. Some areas didn't get their power back until last night and a few people were out until this morning. A few areas even lost water for a while.

While the power was out island wide, traffic was crazy and there were many delays and cancellations at the airport. Some people ended up sleeping there overnight. Not fun. At least the weather was warm here. The scariest thing I read was that a Hawaiian Airline jet was struck by lightning. The jet landed safely but that must have been pretty scary!

Below are a few more photos of Oahu during the lightning storm and in the dark. The first two photos came from the Star Bulletin. I can't seem to find the first photo anymore to add the correct link. The second photo is linked to the article which is linked to more photos of the outage (where I found the second photo).

I'm not sure how the Christmas tree lights stayed on during the blackout.

The third and fourth photos are from the Honolulu Advertiser. Both are linked to the power outage article where I found these photos.

*Edited to add...since moving to Hawaii, I have only lost power three times that I can remember for more than a few hours - twice in the past couple of weeks and the day of the Big Island earthquake two years ago. I can't remember now if I lost electricity where I was during Hurricane Iniki. The news of this outage probably would not have even made national news if Obama was not vacationing here. Our last storm which caused much more damage than this power outage never made national news.

They are still not sure what caused this island wide power outage. Originally, it was thought that it was due to a direct lightning strike, but no damage was found to any of the lines or equipment. Here is the latest info from HECO on the power outage.

Woo hoo!!! All public schools are closed tomorrow (except the Big Island - as my friend remarked, "The Big Island gets school closed lots of times so that's ok for them.").

No school tomorrow!! Woo hoo!!! And I now have five days off because of the holiday on Monday and the personal day I am taking on Tuesday to watch the inauguration. Obama will be President when I return to work. Now that is something to celebrate about! And there is even more good news. I can continue to be queen of procrastination for a little longer because the project deadline for the class I am taking was moved to February (the date change was not related to the storm).

The reports on the storm so far are pretty much the same - possible 60 mph winds are headed our way. The only difference is that for once, the state is taking preventative action and canceling schools, work, etc. in advance instead of suggesting to stay off of the roads if possible but still have everything open, meaning we have to be on the roads like in the last storm. I am so thankful that I won't have to be on the road tomorrow during this storm. As I was driving home today, I was looking at all the stuff from the roadwork that will be blowing all over the place tomorrow.

This storm must be a big one because the last time that all public schools were closed was for Hurricane Iniki back in 1992. That was 16 years ago! I first heard that all public schools on Oahu were closed tomorrow when I turned on the 5:00 news. It took me a while to believe that school was really closed tomorrow. I heard the reporter say all public schools on Oahu would be closed and read the words written on the TV, but had to reread them three times before I finally believed that schools were closed tomorrow. Then of course I got happy!!

So the big question is, will the power stay on this time. My cell phone and my iPod Touch are being charged right now just in case and my laptop is already charged. There is ice in the freezer, I bought extra food, my flashlights are nearby, I have extra batteries, candles, my radio nearby, HECO's number in case the power goes out to check on the status, and I am about to fill up some water jugs. If only there was a way to get internet when the power is out. But, I am as ready as I am gonna be and am hoping this storm is not that bad. Oh and I found out the other night that since I have a gas stove, I can cook things when there is no power. For some reason, I thought that it was dangerous to use the gas stove in a power outage. Weatherwise, I would classify it as capri weather outside (not shorts weather but not also pants weather).

News from the Honolulu Advertiser:
Strong, southwesterly winds buffeted O'ahu Thursday, as forecasters warned residents to get ready for even stronger winds through Friday afternoon, with gusts upwards of 60 mph expected in parts of Windward O'ahu.

And some of the latest breaking news headlines (from the Advertiser):
* List of Friday school closings keeps growing (7:00 p.m.)
* Waianae Coast homeless urged to leave beaches for safety (6:27 p.m.)
* High wind hits Kaneohe, surf closes Kaena Point (6:42 p.m.)
* No ILH, OIA sporting events on Friday (6:01 p.m.)
* State and city workers given day off Friday (6:53 p.m.)
* Power interruptions possible on Big Island, HELCO says (6:40 p.m.)
* Power outage cancels tonight's classes at Windward CC (6:39 p.m.)
* Oahu under high wind warning until 6 p.m. Friday (6:18 p.m.)
* Hawaiian Electric offers high-wind forecast tips (2:57 p.m.)

Brrrr!!! It was downright chilly here last night. I will refrain from using the word "freezing" as I am well aware of the icy, bitter, hypothermic cold temperatures many of you (except softdrink) are enduring.

It was 58 degrees at 1 am last night and with the temperature dropping even lower to 54 degrees in my neighborhood over night. That is teeth chattering COLD weather for us whimps here in Hawaii. It rarely drops below 60 degrees here. Remember now, we do not have heat. The best we can do is close our windows to try to keep some of the the cold out. Now, I am not expecting any sympathy from anyone experiencing the frigid temperatures everywhere else. I just wanted to share the latest weather news here in Hawaii.

Stay warm everyone. I will be cozy warm under my down comforter tonight and for the next few nights until it warms up again. Heading off to find my fleece socks to warm up my toes.

A funnel cloud turned into a rare tornado yesterday afternoon, touching down and racing across a section of the Kapolei Golf Course. The tornado injured one person and caused minor property damage.

(photo from the Honolulu Advertiser)

Tornadoes are rare occurrences here in Hawaii. According to the Honolulu Advertiser article, "The state gets one to two tornadoes a year.... Yesterday's was the 11th reported since 2000. The last occurred Dec. 13 on Kaua'i near Hanap'p', Ballard said. Before that, there was one on Lana'i in 2006."

I have personally experienced two funnel clouds while living in Hawaii, but thankfully never a tornado. My first experience occurred about 17 years ago while I was teaching in a special education resource room. My classroom had doors and glass windows on both sides of the room, which I usually left open during the day. Right before the funnel cloud came storming through my classroom, I was scolding some of my students about playing around in class. Just as I finished scolding them, a big gust of wind came racing through my classroom in a swirling motion. As the funnel cloud entered my room, the windows on that side all loudly slammed shut one after another. The papers on the students' desks swirled up in the air in a circular fashion and then the gust of wind exited the other side with the windows on that side loudly slamming shut again one after another in a domino fashion. My kids were really spooked! They all sat there saying “whoa!” as their mouths hung open in disbelief. I was also pretty spooked. It was as if a ghost came storming through our classroom. I of course took advantage of the moment saying something about how this might have happened because they were not behaving. I can't remember exactly what I said but whatever I said, it sure worked. They sat up like little soldiers and were the best behaved students for the rest of the day.

My second experience happened while I was driving home about 15 years ago. I saw this swirling red cloud of dust and dirt heading right towards me as I was driving. I was pretty freaked out since I had no where to go. The big swirling cloud of dust approached the front of my car and then passed right over my car. It was loud and pretty scary. It scratched up both the roof and the hood of my car.

I forgot all about both of these very spooky experiences until I saw this story yesterday on the news.

You might not believe it, but we actually do have four seasons here in Hawaii. They just are not so obvious. This year, we seemed to have skipped right over spring. We had an unseasonably cold winter (for us) which lasted through the beginning of April and now, it is HOT HOT HOT!

We have a big performance at our school this week. Every grade performs a dance outside under the hot sun for our families and VIP guests. Today we had our first all school rehearsal. Tomorrow is dress rehearsal and Thursday is the actual performance. Our kids looked like wilted flowers today.

I really am not one to complain too much about the heat but today it was HOT! I think I must be getting too old. Thankfully the dreaded vog has not returned yet. We savored the occasional breeze during our practice this morning. Weather reports keep threatening us though with the return of vog sometime this week with the current ETA for Thursday.

Because of the heat, tomorrow all of the teachers are asking the parents to send in water bottles. That should be interesting. My kids can barely carry their chairs out to the field as it is.

If only we could incorporate the beach into our school day during our hot summer months...

20 more days left until summer vacation!!!!

vog • air pollution caused by volcanic emissions

From Wikipedia: Vog is a form of air pollution that results when sulfur dioxide and other gases and particles emitted by an erupting volcano react with oxygen and moisture in the presence of sunlight. The word is a portmanteau of the words "volcanic" and "smog".

The U.S. Geological Survey defines vog as: Noxious sulfur dioxide gas and other pollutants emitted from Kilauea Volcano on the Island of Hawai`i react with oxygen and atmospheric moisture to produce volcanic smog (vog) and acid rain.

Common symptoms related to vog:
• Headaches
• Breathing difficulties
• Increased susceptibility to respiratory ailments
• Watery eyes
• Sore throat
• General lack of energy

We are told to stay inside, drink lots of water, and avoid strenuous outdoor exercise.

October for most means cooler temperatures. For some, downright chilly temperatures. For us in Hawaii, it means hot, muggy days. October is almost always one of the hottest months of our year partly because the trade winds for some reason usually die during October. Sometimes we also have more voggy days when the trade winds die and southerly winds take over, as we have been experiencing for the past few days.

Today has been one of the worst days of vog that we have experienced in the past few years. This morning the vog was so thick that it was as if the mountains had disappeared. They were barely visable.

My eyes feel like there are tiny pieces of glass in them. My throat hurts. It is hard to breathe. They say the vog should end soon. Fingers are crossed!

Still, there is a blessing we are given whenever we experience a voggy day. Beautiful sunrises & sunsets.

I happened to be on the road this evening when I noticed the bright orange sun starting to set in the sky. By the time I was able to get to a beach, the sun had disappeared, but I was still able to capture the beauty in the sky.

At one point, the blurry icon started to appear on my little compact camera because it was getting darker outside. I set my camera down on top of one of a group of four round stone garbage cans to steady it so my photos would not come out as blurry. After taking a couple of photos, I heard a noise that made me jump and freaked me out a little bit. There was some sort of creature inside one of the trash cans making a noise. Not sure if it was a rat or some other critter. I did not stay to find out.

For more on the vog, you can check out two of my previous posts here and here.

And by the way, the people who are in charge of Words With Friends should update their database. Vog IS an official word in the Merriam-Webster dictionary.

*I know I have not been around much lately. Life is good for me. I hope it is for you also. I am just trying to be more in the moment and spend less time on the internet. I do continue to follow everyone's blogs. I just have not been commenting much.