TORNADOES IN HONOLULU

Honolulu gets tsunamis, earthquakes and hurricanes, but only around a tornado a year, no larger than an Enhanced Fujita - 1.  No one has died.  Moore, Oklahoma in 1999 was devastated by an EF-5 (the highest rated, with winds up to 318 miles per hour).  The monster yesterday (left) was probably "only" an EF-4.  The EF  replaced the Fujita scale in 2007, and the United States has suffered through eight EF-5s since then, with the 2011 Joplin twister killing 158.  Does the USA get more of these storms than any country?   Do we have the most severe weather conditions?  You'll be surprised with these answers, which I'll provide tomorrow.  For today, let me report on the weather in Honolulu yesterday.

After My Ultimate Global Adventure, I sometimes wonder why I bother, for life here in Honolulu is about as good as it gets.  After posting my blog in my campus office, I thought I'd bring a bento plate to sit under under a coconut tree on Magic Island to watch the surfers testing double digit face waves:

There must have been fifty of them risking their lives in major wipeouts.  They were mostly half a mile away so my shots were microscopic.  Best photo was of one of them giving up.  I fed the pigeons my meal of shoyu chicken and umani, with a bottle of beer:

There must have been at least half a dozen wedding couples:

I wondered why these paddlers were heading for those waves:

Then, sunset today was above average:

Sure looked like Star Trek's Enterprise landing over downtown Honolulu.  So, anyway, tomorrow, a comprehensive analysis of the United States with respect to extreme weather conditions.

The Dow Jones Industrials reached yet another all-time high today, peaking intra-day at 15,435, and ending at 15,388.  The Nikkei tomorrow is now at 15,627, amazing, as it was loitering just above 8,000 for months, awaiting the election of Shinzo Abe as Prime Minister  in December of 2012.  Part of the jump has to do with the yen losing about 25% of its value against the U.S. dollar, and even more against the Chinese renminbi and South Korea won, giving Japanese companies a trading edge.  Keep in mind, though, that while the Dow is at the highest ever, the Nikkei closed at 38,916 on 29December 1989:

Thus, the Nikkei is only at 40% of its record high.  The situation is even worse, actually, because, depending on the parameter used, the value of 38,916 relative to today should be anywhere from 63,400 to 107,000.  Thus, the real worth of the Nikkei today could be lower than 15% of the once high.

Also, don't get too exuberant, for the Dow has been higher in the past, inflation adjusted.  This is the best I could find, but it does confirm this statement:

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