Hurricane Lane
Likely to Lash Hawaii for 3-4 Days
Robert
Fanney
Hurricane
Lane briefly hit Category 5 status last night on its track toward
Hawaii. The storm is presently expected to lash the island with heavy
rains, strong winds, and power outages even if it doesn't make
landfall.
Hurricane Warnings for Maui and Big Island, Watches for Oahu and Kauai as Lane Approaches
Growing
ever more organized on Tuesday night, Hurricane Lane reached Category
5 strength as it continued rolling toward the Hawaiian Islands.
A hurricane warning was issued at
5 pm HST (11
pm EDT) Tuesday for Hawaii’s Big Island, with watches extending
from Maui to Oahu, including Honolulu and the islands of Lanai,
Molokai, and Kahoolawe. Watches and warnings will continue to evolve
on Wednesday and beyond. Governor David Ige declared
a state of emergency on
Tuesday to facilitate rapid state response to the threat posed by
Lane.
Update
(11 am EDT Wednesday): At
5 am HST (11 am EDT) Wednesday,
Lane had weakened slightly to top-end Category 4 strength, with top
sustained winds of 155 mph. A hurricane watch is now in place for
Oahu and Kauai, with hurricane warnings in place for Hawaii and Maui
counties, including the Big Island, Maui, Lanai, Molokai, and
Kahoolawe. We will have a new post with additional details shortly.
The
NOAA/NWS Central Pacific Hurricane Center upgraded Lane to Category 5
storm in a special advisory at
6:20 pm HST Tuesday (12:20
am EDT Wednesday), with top sustained winds near 160 mph and a
minimum central pressure of 940 mb. As of 6:30 pm HST, Lane was
located about 375 miles south-southeast of Kailua-Kona on the Big
Island’s west coast, heading west-northwest at 9 mph.
To read the article GO HERE
Hawaii
braces for Hurricane Lane, as officials say there are not 'enough
shelters for everyone'
22
August, 2018
As
Hurricane Lane barrels towards Hawaii as a Category 4 storm packing
sustained winds of 155 mph, officials in the Aloha state are warning
residents they don't have enough shelter space to meet the "estimated
demands" of the population.
The
National Weather Service's Central Pacific Hurricane Center said in
its 11 a.m. ET advisory that Lane, which is likely to cause
catastrophic damage with winds 155 mph or above, is located about 460
miles south-southeast of Honolulu and moving west-northwest at 9 mph.
The storm strengthened to a Category 5 storm with 160 mph winds
before slightly weakening, but hurricane warnings are in effect for
Hawaii's Big Island and the island of Maui.
"Some
weakening is forecast during the next 48 hours, but Lane is forecast
to remain a dangerous hurricane as it draws closer to the Hawaiian
Islands," the CPHC said.
On
Tuesday, emergency management officials across the state urged
residents to prepare to evacuate if needed or shelter in place if its
safe. Hawaii State Emergency Management Administrator Tom Travis said
during a news conference that the priorities for state officials are
to manage shelters because "we do not have enough shelters for
everyone."
"The
sheltering policy should be – if you’re not in a flood zone, most
citizens should remain in their homes," Travis said. "If in
a flood zone, actively seek shelter elsewhere with someone not in a
flood zone or public shelter."
Earlier
this year, a state report on hazards facing Hawaii warned there are
only 277,376 available shelter spaces for the islands' estimated 1.4
million people.
HURRICANE
LANE STRENGTHENS TO CATEGORY 5, HEADS TOWARD HAWAII
"Hurricane
evacuation shelters are a last resort option for residents and
visitors who do not have a safer place to stay," the report
noted. "There are insufficient hurricane evacuation shelters to
meet the estimated demand of the population and these shelters have
no supplies."
State
officials said residents instead should harden their homes, and stock
up on two weeks-worth of food and water to weather the storm and its
after-effects.
"It's
obvious there aren't enough shelters," Brig. Gen. Moses Kaoiwi,
director of joint staff of the Hawaii National Guard told Hawaii News
Now after the report was issued. "If you have a home you can
shelter in, it's probably better to stay at home."
Max sustained winds in #HurricaneLane have increased to 160 MPH, making this a very dangerous Category 5 hurricane. Storm motion has begun to take more of a northerly component as it continues to approach #Hawaii. #HIwx (@NOAA GOES-West imagery)
Public
schools on the Big Island and in Maui County are closed Wednesday
until further notice, and Hawaii Gov. David Ige is allowing
non-essential state employees on the Big Island and Maui to go on
administrative leave from Wednesday to Friday as Hurricane Lane
approaches. Employees on Hawaii and Maui islands who work in disaster
response as well as in hospitals and prisons are required to report
to their jobs, the governor said.
A
statement from the U.S. Navy also revealed Wednesday that
Hawaii-based ships and submarines have started to "sortie,"
or are being moved from their locations, ahead of the storm in order
to avoid potential damage.
"Based
on the current track of the storm, we made the decision to begin to
sortie the Pearl Harbor-based ships," Rear Adm. Brian Fort,
commander, Naval Surface Group Middle Pacific, said. "This
allows the ships enough time to transit safely out of the path of the
storm."
The
ships will stay at sea until Lane's potential dangers pass and "will
be positioned to help respond after the storm, if needed," the
statement said. Because of "maintenance availabilities,"
certain ships will not depart but they'll take "extra
precautions to avoid potential damage."
President
Trump said on Twitter in the path of Lane needs to prepare for the
storm.
"Everyone
in the path of #HurricaneLane please prepare yourselves, heed the
advice of State and local officials, and follow @NWSHonolulu for
updates," he wrote. "Be safe!"
Everyone in the path of #HurricaneLane please prepare yourselves, heed the advice of State and local officials, and follow @NWSHonolulu for updates. Be safe!
Ige
said the state will start to see impacts beginning late Wednesday
into Thursday, and that Federal Emergency Management Agency has been
"very proactive" with placing food, water and emergency
equipment throughout the state.
"We
do anticipate that we would activate the National Guard depending on
what the impact would be," he told reporters.
HURRICANE
LANE NEARS HAWAII AS STATE BRACES FOR HEAVY RAIN, POWERFUL WINDS
The
center of Lane is forecast to pass just west of the Big Island on
Thursday, likely weakening to a category 2 or 3 storm by then,
according to Fox News Senior Meteorologist Janice Dean.
Hurricane-force winds extend 40 miles from Lane’s eye, while
tropical storm-force winds extend 140 miles from the center of the
storm.
"Not
only are hurricane-force winds possible on the Big Island, but
torrential rain, flooding, and mudslides are likely given the steep
terrain," Dean said.
The
forecast track is still uncertain, and if the storm slows down
"catastrophic flooding" will be a danger, as the towering
mountains on the islands of Maui and the Big Island could lead to
deadly flash flooding and landslides. Besides heavy rain,
tropical-storm force winds of up to 73 mph are possible for all of
the islands, in addition to coastal flooding and possible storm-surge
flooding if the center of Lane moves close to land.
Lane
is the strongest storm to come this close to Hawaii in recorded
history, and only six category 5 storms have been located in this
part of the Pacific Ocean.
The
Aloha State, while located in a vast ocean, has not had many brushes
with large tropical systems. According to the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration's database, there is no record of a
hurricane track within 65 nautical miles of either Maui or Honolulu
since statehood.
Up late and looking for some fun #hurricane facts? The coast.noaa.gov/hurricanes site in an interactive map that lets you see historical hurricane tracks within a given point and gives you information on each storm. Really gives you an idea of how rare a storm like #Lane is! #hiwx
For
Hawaii, the "big one" came in in 1992 when Hurricane Iniki
struck the island of Kauai as a Category-4 storm, causing $3.2
billion in damage and killing six people, according to Dean.
In
this Monday, Aug. 20, 2018 photo, sandbags are seen near a stairway
at the west end of the Sheraton Waikiki hotel in Honolulu in
preparation for Hurricane Lane. The National Weather Service has
issued a hurricane watch for parts of Hawaii. Senior Honolulu
forecaster Tom Birchard says the watch for Hurricane Lane has been
issued for the island of Hawaii and Maui County, which includes the
island of Maui and other smaller islands. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu
Star-Advertiser via AP)
In
this Monday, Aug. 20, 2018 photo, sandbags are seen near a stairway
at the west end of the Sheraton Waikiki hotel in Honolulu in
preparation for Hurricane Lane. (Jamm Aquino/Honolulu
Star-Advertiser via AP)
Iniki
is still the costliest and deadliest storm to hit the islands in
recorded history, and only two other hurricanes -- an unnamed storm
in 1871 and Dot in 1959 -- have hit a Hawaiian island in that time
period.
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