Kokua Line
Kokua Line
Question: I've noticed recently that the UV (ultraviolet) indexes in the Star-Bulletin and the Advertiser are never the same. UV forecasts
are in general,
may differIn mid-March, the Star-Bulletin had readings of 4-5, while the Advertiser showed 10s. Which one is correct? It would be beneficial to those of us who need to look out for our skin. Which one is correct.
Answer: The difference probably is due to different scales used, according to Donn Washburn, forecaster/meteorologist with AccuWeather, which provides the forecasts and weather data used by the Star-Bulletin.
However, "the UV indexes are generally forecast, so there can be minor differences from forecaster to forecaster based on what they expect the weather to be," he said.
"When a forecaster forecasts what the UV is the next day, he is envisioning what the weather is going to be like the next day _ such as cloud cover. So some of that is going to be subjectivity and some of that is a difference in scales."
The Advertiser relies on a different weather reporting company for its forecasts, while the National Weather Service has its own index.
When asked about the Star-Bulletin's 4-5 (moderate) readings in mid-March in Honolulu, Washburn said, "I would think a 4 or 5 would come more often on cloudier days. I would think most days would be higher than that."
In the past week, the AccuWeather UV readings, on a scale of 0-10 were 6, 7 or 8.
The National Weather Service's UV index is generated at the National Center for Environmental Prediction in Washington, D.C., and does not take into account cloud cover, said lead forecaster Bob Larson, who is based in Honolulu. The local office does not issue a separate UV index for Hawaii, he said.
But, in general, Larson said that the UV reading for Hawaii, because of our location in the tropics, will be high or very high almost year-round.
On March 25, on the NWS index, most of the United States was 3-6; New Orleans was 8; Hawaii, 9; and San Juan, Puerto Rico, with the highest reading, 12.
That's based on a scale of 0-2 being minimum; 3-4, low; 5-6, moderate; 7-9, high; and 10-plus, very high; and, again, that doesn't account for cloud cover, Larson said.
If a day were cloudy and rainy, that would reduce UV readings to moderate or lower moderate, he said.
(For that day, AccuWeather had an 8 reading for Honolulu.)
"The main thing is that people should be aware that, year-round, we have high to very high ultraviolet in Hawaii," Larson said.
"They should never discount it. They should wear sunscreen and they should realize the sun is stronger than what they're going to get in the continental U.S."
To the woman who lets her black poodle loose around Queen Emma Park. I was walking my leashed dog on Puiwa Road recently when this dog attacked my dog, running from a driveway across the park. She did not bother to call her dog back while I was yelling, trying to stop them from biting each other. Finally, someone came to help and told this woman about the leash law. Auwe
But she did not apologize and instead, just laughed and snubbed him. Mahalo, Craig, for your concern and help. We think you have a lot of class. _ J.T.
(Call the Hawaiian Humane Society at 946-2187 and they will talk to the owner about the leash law.)
Need help with problems? Call Kokua Line at 525-8686,
fax 525-6711, or write to P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu 96802.
Email to kokualine@starbulletin.com
