Category 5 Hurricane Moves Towards Hawaii

Residents prepare as hurricane near Hawaii strengthens

Hawaii residents rushed to grocery stores Tuesday to stock up on bottled water, ramen and toilet paper as they faced the threat of heavy rain, flash flooding and high surf from a powerful and erratic hurricane expected to churn close to the islands or directly over them.

On Tuesday night, the National Weather Service announced that Hurricane Lane had strengthened to become a Category 5 hurricane, which means that it is likely to cause catastrophic damage with winds 157 mph or above. The hurricane is about 500 miles (804 kilometers) southeast of Honolulu.

The weather service says that in a Category 5 hurricane, a high percentage of framed homes will be destroyed. Roofs and walls will collapse, and the winds will knock down trees and power pole. Power outages will last for weeks to possibly months, and most of an area hit by a Category 5 hurricane will be uninhabitable for weeks or months, the weather service added.

Earlier Tuesday, the weather service issued a hurricane warning for Hawaii island. A hurricane watch was issued for Maui and other smaller islands, meaning tropical storm-force winds, excessive rain and large swells could arrive starting Wednesday. It's possible Oahu and Kauai may later be included in a weather service advisory for the hurricane.

Hurricane Lane "is forecast to move dangerously close to the main Hawaiian islands as a hurricane later this week, potentially bringing damaging winds and life-threatening flash flooding from heavy rainfall," the weather service's Central Pacific Hurricane Center warned as it got closer to the state.

The storm had been moving west but is expected to turn northwest toward the state Wednesday. There's some uncertainty to Lane's path — whether it moves north or south, meteorologist Gavin Shigesato said.

"It is much too early to confidently determine which, if any, of the main Hawaiian islands will be directly impacted by Lane," the weather service said.

But the hurricane center said the storm will move very close to or over the islands from Thursday through Saturday. Even if the center of Lane doesn't make landfall, the islands could be walloped with rain and wind.

Maui County and Big Island schools will be closed starting Wednesday, the state Department of Education said. All after-school activities statewide are canceled for the rest of the week.

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.

The east side of the Big Island has taken the brunt from previous storms and is still reeling after lava from an erupting volcano wiped out entire neighborhoods. But early indications showed that the south end of the island up to the western side would be taking the brunt of the storm.

"At this time, it looks like maybe Puna will be spared," county Managing Director Wil Okabe said of the beleaguered, rural district. "But you never know."

Officials were urging residents across the islands to prepare.

"People are getting ready, which is exactly what we want," Maui County spokesman Rod Antone said. "I know people are taking trips to Costco, buying ramen, rice, the usual. Toilet paper."

He reminded people to have emergency kits ready and to "withdraw cash. Remember, if the power goes out, ATMs aren't going to be working."

Hawaiian Airlines is waiving change fees for tickets to, from, within and through Hawaii from Tuesday to Sunday.

Some customers were buying cases of bottled water at Island Grocery Depot in Kahului, Maui, manager Brian Arakaki said. He planned to call in more workers to cope with an expected afternoon rush.

On the south side of the Big Island, workers at Mizuno Superette in Pahala also were bracing for a busy afternoon.

"Right now, it's nice, everybody's calm," said Carla Andrade, a store clerk. "When everybody finishes work, they'll have time."

Hurricane Lane Alerts: Rare Hurricane Warning for Hawaii's Big Island and Hurricane Watch Issued for Oahu, Maui 

A very powerful and dangerous storm, Category 5 Hurricane Lane, is dangerously approaching Hawaii’s Islands. Situated several hundred miles southeast of Hawaii, Hurricane warnings have been issued for Hawaii County and Hurricane watches are in effect for Maui County and Oahu. Lane will curl northwestward starting Thursday toward Hawaii, eventually weakening. Whether the core of Lane’s strongest winds affects parts of the islands Thursday-Saturday remains uncertain. Regardless, flash flooding, mudslides, battering waves and coastal flooding are likely.

Current Status and Forecast Track Uncertainty

The center of Lane is about 350 miles south-southeast of the Big Island’s Kona coast or about 500 miles south-southeast of Honolulu, Hawaii, moving west-northwest. Lane is now an immensely powerful Category 5 hurricane with 160 mph winds.

The forecast track and intensity of Lane remains quite uncertain, and small changes to its track and intensity are important for some potential impacts in the Hawaiian Islands. Lane will begin to curl northwest Wednesday, reaching the edge of subtropical high pressure which had been steering it. Lane is then forecast to eventually turn back to the west sometime Friday into Saturday. The key for some impacts is when those two turns occur and how sharp those turns are, which will determine how close the core of Lane’s strongest winds come to the islands.

If Lane moves along the southern or western portion (left side) of its forecast projected path, it would be far enough from the islands to avoid the worst wind impacts of its core, but still produce peripheral impacts: heavy rainfall, windy conditions, dangerous surf and rip currents.