Hawaiians are bracing for the biggest storm to impact their state in a quarter-century.
Boasting sustained maximum winds of 130 miles per hour, Hurricane Lane is a powerful Category 4 storm and is making a direct approach for Oahu, the most populous of the Hawaiian islands.
Emergency preparations are underway, with schools closing and shelters opening, as the outer bands of the storm are already bringing damaging winds and prolonged rain to the Big Island and beyond. Meanwhile, Navy ships and submarines have been ordered to head out to sea.
Among the “life threatening” conditions residents and tourists stuck on the islands face are damaging winds, dangerous surf, coastal storm surge, and “intense” flooding rains which could lead to landslides and hazardous travel, the National Weather Service said in a tweet.
As of early Thursday morning local time, Hurricane Lane was moving at 7 miles per hour and was located about 200 miles south-southwest of Kailua-Kona on the Big Island and 300 miles south of Honolulu, the capitol of Hawaii on Oahu’s south shore.
The #Himawari satellite captured powerful Category 4 #Hurricane #Lane early this morning tracking toward the #Hawaiian Islands. The slow movement of the storm increases the threat for prolonged heavy rainfall. More imagery: https://t.co/92qwVtbJqE pic.twitter.com/YEcsTr08qp
— NOAA Satellites (@NOAASatellites) August 23, 2018
The Central Pacific Hurricane Center of the National Weather Service predicts “steady weakening” and an abrupt turn to the west in the next couple of days, but not before the center of the storm gets “very close to or over the portions of the main Hawaiian islands later today through Friday.” However, forecasters have noted computer models disagree about when exactly the storm will turn west, with some showing there will be a landfall.
Lane is the only the second hurricane to reach Hurricane 5 status to come within 350 miles of the Big Island’s South Point, according to Hawaii News Now. The last storm to do so was Hurricane John in 1994.
#HurricaneLane in the early morning hours near #Hawaii. The crew of the @Space_Station sends much aloha to everyone there. pic.twitter.com/raPh37MZH9
— Ricky Arnold (@astro_ricky) August 22, 2018
Earlier this month, another hurricane, Hector, approached Hawaii, but it passed south of the Aloha State.
All the while, Hawaii has been dealing with a different kind of natural disaster for months. Southeast areas of the Big Island have been impacted by eruptions from the Kilauea volcano since May. Flowing lava and toxic gases has led to thousands of residents evacuating residential areas and destroyed homes.
