Winds from Hurricane Hone hit Hawaii’s Big Island
As Hurricane Hone passed south of the island of Hawaii on Sunday, August 25, tropical storm warnings remained in effect for the island.
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After Hone battered the Big Island of Hawaii with torrential rains and fierce winds, emergency crews were left Monday restoring power and assessing damage while meteorologists tracked Hurricane Gilma in the eastern Pacific and warned of its possible impacts.
Hone strengthened into a Category 1 storm early Sunday morning as its center moved south of the Big Island. It dumped more than a foot of rain on much of the island, with some areas receiving between 15 and 18 inches. Several major roads were flooded, waterways swelled, and authorities opened emergency shelters. Thousands of homes and businesses were without power; no major damage was reported.
According to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center, Hone weakened to a topical storm late Sunday night as it moved west of the Hawaiian Islands. Coastal watches and warnings were discontinued Monday morning, while authorities downgraded a flood warning for the entire Big Island to a flood warning.
More: Hurricane Gilma Tracker: See the latest details and forecast storm track in the Pacific
All but two elementary schools on the island were scheduled to reopen on Monday. However, school district officials kept the two elementary schools closed because of “dangerous road conditions” and because emergency responders had closed Highway 11, “making both school campuses inaccessible to families and staff.”
According to PowerOutage.us, over 12,000 customers were without power across the Hawaiian Islands early Monday, with the vast majority of outages reported on the Big Island.
“We are in the rebuilding phase,” Hawaii Mayor Mitch Roth said in a Facebook livestream Sunday afternoon. He said emergency crews will be assessing damage across the island this week while linemen restore power and authorities begin preparing for Hurricane Gilma. “Gilma is coming, so … even though we’ve already got this one behind us, it’s good to start preparing for the next one.”
Where is Tropical Storm Hone?
According to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center in Honolulu, the storm was located 180 miles southwest of Honolulu and 185 miles south of Lihue with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph.
The storm is moving west at 14 mph (22.5 kph) and is expected to move farther away from Hawaii and north of Johnston Island over the next few days as it weakens, the hurricane center said. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 70 mph (112 kph) and its tropical winds extended 90 miles (145 km) outward from its center.
Hurricane Gilma is expected to devastate the Hawaiian Islands
As the effects of Tropical Storm Hone subside over the Big Island of Hawaii, meteorologists and local authorities warn of the threat of a hurricane in the eastern Pacific.
Hurricane Gilma, more than 1,200 miles east of Hilo, Hawaii, is expected to bring impacts such as rain showers, thunderstorms and gusty winds to the state as early as Tuesday night or Wednesday morning, according to AccuWeather. By late Sunday, the storm had sustained winds of 100 mph, becoming a Category 2 storm.
Meteorologists expect the storm to pass just north of the islands, stressing that Gilma’s impacts will depend greatly on how close it gets to the islands. On its current track, Gilma is expected to lose strength as it approaches the state and could be downgraded to a tropical depression in the second half of the week, according to AccuWeather.
“The combination of both tropical cyclones is likely to bring rough seas and surf to the islands for an extended period, posing a danger to surfers, swimmers and small boats,” AccuWeather said, referring to Hone and Gilma.
“Gilma is still very far away from us,” said Sean Miller, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Honolulu, in a Facebook livestream on Sunday afternoon. “There is still time to watch it.”
Experts say consecutive storms near Hawaii are extremely rare
When Hurricane Gilma hits the Hawaiian Islands by Sunday, it will be the first time in more than 30 years that two named storms have passed within 300 miles of the state in a week.
The last time two storms with the same name hit the islands back-to-back was in September 1992, when Hurricane Iniki, the strongest storm ever to directly hit Hawaii, was replaced by Tropical Depression Orlene three days later, AccuWeather reports. In 1994, two storm systems passed over Hawaii within eight days.
Storm surges don’t have to hit Hawaii directly to cause devastating damage. Last year, Hurricane Dora sparked the worst wildfires the U.S. has seen in over a century.
Meteorologists feared that the winds of Tropical Storm Hone could repeat the effects of Dora, especially as much of the islands suffer from relentless drought. But the storm brought enough rain to allay fears and lift wildfire warnings for parts of the Big Island.
Tropical Storm Hector is expected to strengthen in the Eastern Pacific
To the east of Hurricane Gilma is Tropical Storm Ernesto, the most recent storm to form in the Pacific.
According to the National Hurricane Center, the storm is expected to continue moving west toward Hawaii over the next few days. Although authorities are closely tracking the storm, it’s too early to say how close it will come to the state.
Late Sunday, Hector was located more than 1,000 miles west-southwest of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula. The storm was moving west at 9 mph, with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph, the hurricane center said.
As wind shear weakens, the storm will likely gain strength as it approaches the central Pacific basin early this week. Hector’s intensification is expected to be limited by a region of dry air and stronger wind shear, according to the hurricane center.
Contributors: Jorge L. Ortiz, USA TODAY
