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 as its center moved south of the Big Island, dumping more than a foot of rain across much of the island, with some areas receiving between 15 and 18 inches (38 and 46 centimeters). Several major roads were flooded, waterways swelled, and authorities opened shelters and warned people to stay indoors and avoid travel.
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, while authorities downgraded a flood watch 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. Hawaii Public Schools officials kept the two elementary schools closed due to “dangerous road conditions” and emergency responders closed Highway 11, “making both school campuses inaccessible to families and staff.”
More than 12,000 customers were without power across the Hawaiian Islands early Monday, according to PowerOutage.us. The vast majority of outages were reported on the Big Island.
“We are in the rebuilding phase,” Hawaii Mayor Mitch Roth said in a livestream on Facebook 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 in the coming 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 on 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 directly north and east of the islands, stressing that the storm’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.
“Gilma is still very far away from us,” said Sean Miller, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Honolulu, in a Facebook Live on Sunday afternoon. “There is still time to watch it.”
Contributors: Jorge L. Ortiz, USA TODAY
