HONOLULU — Weather forecasters warn that the entire state of Hawaii needs to brace for a possible hurricane strike.
HONOLULU — Weather forecasters warn that the entire state of Hawaii needs to brace for a possible hurricane strike.
The National Weather Service says that’s because of the uncertainty of Hurricane Lane’s path and intensity.
As of Monday evening, the Category 4 storm was about 515 miles southeast of Hilo on the Big Island, or about 725 miles from the state’s capital city of Honolulu, 820 miles southeast of Lihue and 855 miles southwest of Niihau.
Hurricane Lane had maximum sustained winds of 130 mph and was moving west at 12 mph, according to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center.
The NWS in Hawaii issued a Tropical Storm Watch for the southern and western portions of the Big Island’s coastline.
“Strong winds associated with Hurricane Lane may impact waters south of the Big Island as early as Wednesday morning, with rough seas and swells expected to increase Tuesday night,” the NWS reported.
Hurricane Hector passed south of the islands two weeks ago and primarily caused high surf.
Lane, however, is expected to take a northwest turn toward Hawaii today or Wednesday.
Meteorologist Leigh Anne Eaton says the earliest parts of the state could see tropical storm-force winds would be Wednesday.
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The Garden Island and Associated Press
