Big Island on Hurricane watch - Cat 4 it's a big one

[4ARedOctober Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close 4ARedOctober]

Have you seen those images of Hurricane Flossie which will pass near the BI? Wow. When we were in Maui last month a hurricane came by on the same track but it was smaller and downgraded before it got close. There really was not much affect on Maui except for disrupting the trade winds so the island winds calmed down considerably for a few days. This one seems to be a bit more serious.

Hawaii's Big Island on hurricane watch for Flossie Mon Aug 13, 2:31 PM ET

Hawaii's Big Island on hurricane watch for Flossie - Yahoo! News

HONOLULU (Reuters)- The National Weather Service put the island of Hawaii under a hurricane watch on Monday morning as Hurricane Flossie continued on a course that should bring it within 100 miles of the Pacific state.

ADVERTISEMENT

Flossie, currently a Category 4 hurricane, is expected to come closest to the island by 2 p.m. local time (8 p.m. EDT) on Tuesday when it will weaken to a Category 2, said Ray Tanabe, National Weather Service warning coordination meteorologist.

Winds at that time will be at 40-50 miles per hour and surf will exceed 15 feet. Torrential rainfall of up to 10 inches is expected along the southeast shore of the so-called "Big Island."

For the rest of the state, the main impact will be high surf along the south and east facing shores, Tanabe said.

"All the islands of Hawaii are at equal risks for hurricanes," Tanabe said. "There is still a chance the hurricane could take a jog a bit to the north, but it has been fairly well behaved."

Watches are issued when the weather service believes the risk of hazardous weather has increased significantly but the timing of those conditions is uncertain.

It is intended to provide enough lead time for civil defense authorities and the public to prepare. Civil defense officials on the island of Hawaii met this morning to discuss preparations.

The last recorded hurricane to hit the Island of Hawaii was the Kohala Cyclone in 1871, Tanabe said. More recently, tropical storms Estelle and Jimena both passed south of the island of Hawaii in 2004 and 2003.

[taffy19 Gold Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close taffy19]

I read that it is downgraded to a category 2 with heavy rains so there will be no damage most likely.

[vlariano Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close vlariano]

I have friends who are there today hoping to take the helicopter tour over the volcano. That's probably not going to happen with the wind and rain.

[StressCadet Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close StressCadet]

I think Luanne is there right now also. I hope she and her family stay safe.

[BocaBum99 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close BocaBum99]

You don't know how much this ticks me off. I bolted from Florida to get away from those dang hurricanes. Now, Florida hasn't had a hurricane in 2 seasons and now we get one in Hawaii.

Fortunately, the waters are cool around here so that hurricanes tend to weaken as they get close to the Hawaiian islands. But, we are still getting hurricane ready. Water, canned foods, batteries, gas grill, etc. But, the houses in Hawaii are more like the straw huts when compared to Florida home which are like concrete fortresses.

I was on Oahu when Iniki hit. That was terrifying especially given it was a Cat 4 that hit Kauai directly and created the Chicken boom on that island.

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

You don't know how much this ticks me off. I bolted from Florida to get away from those dang hurricanes. Now, Florida hasn't had a hurricane in 2 seasons and now we get one in Hawaii.

Fortunately, the waters are cool around here so that hurricanes tend to weaken as they get close to the Hawaiian islands. But, we are still getting hurricane ready. Water, canned foods, batteries, gas grill, etc. But, the houses in Hawaii are more like the straw huts when compared to Florida home which are like concrete fortresses.

I was on Oahu when Iniki hit. That was terrifying especially given it was a Cat 4 that hit Kauai directly and created the Chicken boom on that island.

Be safe, Boca, let us know how u make out!

[jmatias Member Find all posts View Profile Close jmatias]

I read that it is downgraded to a category 2 with heavy rains so there will be no damage most likely.

As of the 5:00 pm advisory Flossie is still a Cat. 3 hurricane. Weather service says they expect Flossie to weaken in 24 hours to Cat. 2 or 1.

But they also never expected it to get higher than a Cat. 1 to begin with.

What we learned from Iniki is to keep a close eye on hurricanes. No one expected Iniki to be a threat and then at the last minute it made a sharp turn north and hit Kauai.

Out here in Hawaii Kai we are ready. We seem to lose power with the slightest wind increase.

Aloha,
Jen

[taffy19 Gold Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close taffy19]

We are thinking of you and wish you the best.

[T. R. Oglodyte Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close T. R. Oglodyte]

Today's Flossie update for the I here.

[Twinkstarr Member Find all posts View Profile Close Twinkstarr]

As of the 5:00 pm advisory Flossie is still a Cat. 3 hurricane. Weather service says they expect Flossie to weaken in 24 hours to Cat. 2 or 1.

But they also never expected it to get higher than a Cat. 1 to begin with.

What we learned from Iniki is to keep a close eye on hurricanes. No one expected Iniki to be a threat and then at the last minute it made a sharp turn north and hit Kauai.

Out here in Hawaii Kai we are ready. We seem to lose power with the slightest wind increase.

Aloha,
Jen

I had a friend who was on his honeymoon when Iniki hit, I forget what resort he was at but they did a great job handling situation. It was quite the experience for them as they are natives of North Dakota.

Hey Jen, we have the same problem in NW Ohio with mild thunderstorms.

[hope54 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close hope54]

Steve, thanks for that update. We are watching this closely since we leave for Maui on Friday to install two stair systems. The completed stairs have been floating over to the islands from Seattle for two weeks now. The shipment is in Honolulu and due to get to Kahului Thursday. Hoping for calm waters - looks like that will happen....

Can't wait for three weeks on Maui. Even though we are working, just to be on island is a treat.

Hope

[4ARedOctober Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close 4ARedOctober]

Now a good earthquake for the mix on the BI

Hurricane Flossie Heads for Hawaii

Aug 14, 12:30 PM (ET)
By JAYMES SONG

My Way News - Hurricane Flossie Heads for Hawaii

HONOLULU (AP) - Hurricane Flossie was downgraded to a Category 2 hurricane Tuesday but stayed on course to brush the Big Island, where schools were closed and residents were urged to stock up on food and water.

As if the storm wasn't enough, an 5.3 magnitude earthquake jolted the Big Island of Hawaii during the night.

The eye of the storm had maximum sustained wind of 110 mph, hurricane specialists noted in downgrading the storm from the earlier Category 3. It was expected to pass less than 100 miles from the islands, lashing the shores with strong wind and up to 15 inches of rain, meteorologists said.

The National Weather Service placed the Big Island under a hurricane watch and a tropical storm warning. A flash flood watch was also issued for the island through Wednesday.


(AP) This image provided by NOAA Sunday Aug. 12, 2007 shows the position of Hurricane Flossie taken at 5...
Full Image


While Flossie stirred up the Pacific, Tropical Storm Dean formed Tuesday in the open Atlantic, but it was nearly 1,500 miles east of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean. By late morning, it had top sustained wind of 40 mph, just above the threshold to be a named storm.

Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle signed an emergency disaster proclamation, which activates the National Guard. Hawaii Island Mayor Harry Kim also declared a state of emergency Monday as a precaution. All public and private schools on the Big Island were closed Tuesday.

The Big Island is largely rural, with about 150,000 people, and most live in the west or northeast, not the southern portion expected to be hit hardest by the hurricane. Other islands are expected to get much less of the storm's wind and rain.

At 11 a.m. EDT, Flossie was about 205 miles south-southeast of Hilo and 390 miles southeast of Honolulu, the Central Pacific Hurricane Center said. The storm was moving west-northwest at about 13 mph.

Hurricane-force wind of at least 74 mph extended outward up to 40 miles from the center of the storm, while tropical storm force wind of at least 39 mph extend outward up to 145 miles.


(AP) This image provided by NOAA Monday, Aug. 13, 2007 shows the position of Hurricane Flossie taken at...
Full Image


Meteorologists cautioned that even a slight change of course could bring the storm closer to land.

"We're not out of it, but this is too close for comfort," said National Guard Maj. Gen. Robert Lee, the state adjutant general.

Just as preparations for the storm were under way, a magnitude 5.3 earthquake was centered about 25 miles south of Hilo. There were no reports of injuries or damage in the Monday night quake, although it did cause a small landslide, according to Tom Brown, a spokesman for Hawaii County Civil Defense.

The last time a hurricane hit Hawaii was 1992, when Iniki ravaged Kauai, killing six people and causing $2.5 billion in damage.

In the Atlantic, Tropical Storm Dean was about halfway across the ocean from Africa. At 11 a.m., it had sustained wind of 40 mph, and was moving west at about 23 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Dean was moving over increasingly warmer water, where conditions could create a favorable environment for intensification into a hurricane by Friday, but forecasters said it was too early to tell where Dean will go.

Hurricane forecasters also warned that storms moving over the south-central Gulf of Mexico were getting better organized and could soon develop into the season's fifth tropical depression. Reconnaissance aircraft were scheduled to check the area later in the afternoon if needed.

Hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30. In May, forecasters said the Hawaiian Islands and the rest of the central Pacific faced a slightly below-average hurricane season, with just two or three tropical cyclones expected because of lower sea surface temperatures.

[4ARedOctober Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close 4ARedOctober]

Here is a great link to NOAA which has all the photo's and tracking maps

Central Pacific Hurricane Center - Honolulu, Hawai`i

[4ARedOctober Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close 4ARedOctober]

Thanks for the update Steve....so you are on the BI now? Did you feel the quake?

We biked down Haleakala mid July in Maui as the last Hurricane passed to the south and had been downgraded to a tropical storm....the summit was clear most of the day as we took the mid morning trip instead of getting up at 2 a.m. to see the sun rise. We were able to clearly see Mauna Loa, Mauna Kea, and Kohala across the channel and could make out the telescopes on MK with polarized sunglasses. The storm had stopped the trade winds and the normal cloud cover on the summit. The bike company told us it was the first clear day on the summit in over a week.

Funny thing was we scheduled the trip because of the storm figuring ocean activities were going to be less than pleasant and ended up with the side benefit of the weather disruption clearing our trip in Haleakala. It was a great trip.

Today's Flossie update for the I here.

[Bill4728 Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close Bill4728]

At 2:50 pm pdt, the center of the storm looks like it is tracking right at the Big Island.

Good Luck to all our friends in the storm's path.