Uncommon Knowledge
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Hawaii
New York may finally break Hawaii’s snowfall record
Amid a powerful winter storm hitting the Northeast with several inches of snow expected, New York may break Hawaii’s snowfall record on Tuesday.
Up until Tuesday, Hawaii had seen more snowfall this year than the Empire State and recorded more across the whole of last year, but that is all set to change. Just one storm could dump more of the white stuff on New York than fell in Hawaii in the entirety of its record-setting year.
In 2023, Hawaii recorded 5 inches of snow, which was a yearly record as snow rarely falls anywhere in the state with an elevation below 9,000 feet, even during the winter months, according to a report by World Atlas.
The same year, New York state only saw 2.3 inches of snow, the lowest yearly snowfall in the state since records began in 1869, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
This year, New York may get things back to normal and pass Hawaii’s entire 2023 record of 5 inches of snow as the Empire State is now expected to see their largest snowstorm in two years as it could pick up 6 inches or more from a storm until Tuesday evening.
On Monday winter Storm Lorraine moved across the mid-South and transitioned into a nor’easter that brought a mix of rain and snow to the Northeast early Tuesday morning.
The NWS issued a winter storm warning as severe weather that includes heavy snow and strong winds is expected to continue, with the heaviest snowfall expected from eastern Pennsylvania through northern New Jersey, far southeast New York, and southern New England. This will include the greater New York City metropolitan area.
“Many of these areas will see 6 to 12 inches of snow, with some areas especially over the higher elevations near the Poconos, Catskills, and adjacent areas of southern New England seeing in excess of 12 inches,” the NWS said.
Yuki IWAMURA / AFP/Getty Images
Despite several cold fronts and winter storms, it has been a record-setting 744 days since more than 2 inches of snow fell in New York City, stretching back to January 2022.
AccuWeather senior meteorologist Tom Kines previously told Newsweek most of the East Coast was below average when it comes to snowfall in 2023, including New York City.
“That’s certainly not the norm,” Kines said, adding that New York City’s largest snowfall event in this period was in February 2022, which produced only 1.8 inches.
Typically, the Big Apple sees half an inch of snow in November and nearly 5 inches of snow in December.
Newsweek has reached out to the director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies via email for comment.
As this winter’s biggest snowstorm continues, snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour have been reported in the greater New York City area, according to NWS in New York.
In addition, a travel advisory has also been in place for areas experiencing snow as forecasters warned it may make travel difficult. In addition to traffic conditions, forecasters have also warned that the powerful winds and heavy snow could damage trees and power lines.
“The nor’easter will bring strong winds to the region on Tuesday which coupled with the heavy snowfall could damage trees and power lines. The strong winds will also bring a threat for coastal flooding,” the NWS said.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
“Sharktober” — the spike in shark bite incidents off the west coast of North America during the fall — is real, and it seems to happen in Hawaii when tiger sharks give birth in the waters surrounding the islands, new research suggests.
Carl Meyer, a marine biologist at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa’s Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, analyzed 30 years’ worth of Hawaii shark bite data, from1995 to 2024, and found that tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier) accounted for 47% of the 165 unprovoked bites recorded in the area during that period. Of the others, 33% were by unidentified species and 16% were attributed to requiem sharks (Carcharhinus spp.)
Crucially, tiger sharks accounted for at least 63% of the recorded bites during that month. What’s more, 28% of the October bites involved unidentified species, some of which may have also been tiger sharks, Meyer wrote in the study, which was published Jan. 6 in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science.”The October spike appears to be driven by tiger shark biology rather than changes in human ocean use,” Meyer told Live Science via email.
Tiger sharks typically reach 10 to 14 feet (3 to 4.3 meters) long and weigh more than 850 pounds (385 kilograms). They are named for the dark vertical stripes that younger ones have, and they are found throughout the world in temperate and tropical waters, especially around central Pacific islands.
Tiger shark numbers are highest in the waters off Hawaii during October according to ecotourism operators. This month is also when large, mature females move from islands in the northwest Pacific to areas close to the shores around the main Hawaiian Islands to give birth. The increased presence of large sharks is one crucial factor that could lead to more bites, Meyer said.
“The most plausible explanation is seasonal reproduction: a partial migration of large adult female tiger sharks associated with pupping season appears to increase their presence in nearshore waters used by humans,” Meyer said.
The other key factor is that giving birth is draining. Tiger sharks are ovoviviparous, which means their eggs hatch inside the mother’s body, and the embryos receive additional nutrition beyond what was in the egg’s yolk sac.The sharks also give birth to an average of about 30 pups after 15 to 16 months of gestation.
This means females, while pregnant and after they have given birth, are likely to need to actively forage to recover energy reserves, Meyer said. Other ecological factors may also contribute to the spike in bites, though, he added, such as seasonal increases in the availability of preferred prey, such as large reef fish. Attacks won’t be down to the mothers protecting their young, though — once born, tiger shark pups are independent and often stay in shallow areas to avoid being eaten by bigger sharks, including their mother.
The available information suggests an increase in unprovoked shark bites around Hawaii, said Daryl McPhee, an environmental scientist at Bond University in Queensland, Australia, who studies shark attacks but wasn’t involved in this study.
“Any seasonal behavioural change that can increase the potential overlap between large species of sharks such as tiger sharks, has the potential to increase the risk of a bite occurring,” he told Live Science via email, adding that regardless of the circumstances, the risk of a bite remains low.
Meyer also noted the overall risk of shark bites is extremely low. “The key implication is awareness, not alarm,” Meyer said. “Extra caution is advised during this month, particularly for high-risk, solo activities such as surfing or swimming in coastal areas.”
Although the October peak revealed in the study is specific to Hawaii and tiger sharks, there may be similar patterns elsewhere in the world, Meyer said. “When large coastal sharks show strong seasonal shifts in habitat use, bite risk can also become seasonal. Other regions and species may experience similar patterns, but the timing and drivers will vary depending on local ecology.”
Globally, three large coastal shark species account for most recorded unprovoked bites. These are great white sharks (Carcharodon carcharias), tiger sharks and bull sharks (Carcharhinus leucas), a type of requiem shark.
Bull sharks are thought to be behind a recent spate of bites near Sydney in New South Wales, Australia, with four events within 48 hours, and this period does roughly align with their southern hemisphere summer breeding period.
“Bull sharks along parts of the Australian east coast are more seasonally abundant nearshore and in rivers and estuaries during their reproductive period in the austral summer,” McPhee said.
However, other factors may have been more influential to the recent bites in Australia, including a combination of increased summer water use by people, environmental conditions such as storm runoff and reduced water clarity.
“There was a set of environmental conditions that concentrated bull sharks towards the mouth of Sydney Harbour and adjacent beaches,” McPhee said. “There was heavy rain in the catchment that would have flushed prey out and it made the water murky. Thus, prime conditions for bull sharks to feed in.”
Despite substantial variation in the number of bites across time and in different places, there is a general long-term trend of increasing shark bites, particularly on surfers, McPhee added. In New South Wales there were four recorded bites between 1980 and 1999, while 63 bites were recorded between 2000 and 2019.
Globally the picture is similar, according to data from the Florida Museum. In the 1970s, there were a total of 157 attacks, but that hit 500 in the 1990s and totalled 803 between 2010 and 2019.
Shark quiz
COURTESY HAWAII POLICE
Jas Dewitt McQuade Cox
A 32-year-old Puna man has been arrested and charged following the delivery of a parcel, which Hawaii island authorities said originally contained over 10 pounds of a crystal-like substance that tested presumptive positive for methamphetamine.
Big Island police vice officers arrested Jas Dewitt McQuade Cox at a Hawaiian Paradise Park residence on Tuesday evening, according to Hawaii County Prosecutor Kelden Waltjen.
Police said officers later obtained subsequent search warrants and recovered, a black Radical Arms model RF-15 multi-caliber rifle with a black cylindrical silencer and two magazines, a black-and-silver 9mm semiautomatic, an unserialized pistol (ghost gun), 9mm and .308 caliber ammunition, a glass smoking pipe and two zip packets and contents that tested presumptive positive for methamphetamine, plus an operable digital scale.
Cox is charged with two counts each of attempted first-degree promotion of a dangerous drug and third-degree promotion of a dangerous drug, two counts of prohibited ownership or possession of a firearm, possession of a ghost gun and silencer, and two counts of prohibited possession of ammunition.
The most serious offense, attempted first-degree promotion of a dangerous drug, is a Class A felony offense that carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Cox made his initial appearance in Hilo District Court on Friday. His request for a bail reduction was denied, and his bail was maintained at $360,000. He was ordered to appear for a preliminary hearing on Tuesday. Cox remained in custody at Hawaii Community Correctional Center.
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