HONOLULU (AP) – Hurricane Lane weakened to approaching Hawaii, but still expected it to hit, said weather forecasters on Wednesday. The national weather service said that tropical storm force winds could begin on Wednesday afternoon in the island Grande.Lee also: Hawaii residents prepare for Hurricane LaneEl hurricane was about 305 miles (490 kilometers) South of Kailua-Kona and moving to the Northwest towards other islands. The meteorologist Chevy Chevalier in Honolulu says that the winds decreased overnight from 160 mph to 155 mph (259 to 250 kph), causing a reduction of a category 5 hurricane to a category 4.Lee also: dismantle international smuggling network of Tortugasel says that it may decrease to a category 3 on Thursday afternoon, but it would still be a big hurricane.
Chevalier says that by early Friday, predicted the hurricane to be a category 2 with winds of up to 110 mph (177 kph) and the Center is located to the West of the island of Hawaii and South of Honolulu.
“We hope that it weakens gradually to approaching the Islands,” said Chevalier. “Having said that, our current forecast, from the afternoon of Thursday, we still have it as a great hurricane”.
With winds of up to 130 mph (209 kph), the hurricane could cause catastrophic damage. Hawaii residents have rushed to stores to stock up on bottled water, ramen, toilet paper and other supplies, since they face the threat of heavy rains, flash floods and high waves.
Hurricane Lane. Photo: AFP the public schools on the big island and Maui County closed on Wednesday until further notice.
the Governor of Hawaii, David Ige, is allowing on the big island and Maui nonessential State employees will be administrative holiday. Employees on the islands of Hawaii and Maui working in response to disasters, as well as in hospitals and prisons must be in their jobs, said the Governor. The hurricane was moving at 8 mph (15 kph), said meteorologist Melissa Nye.
” We are beginning to see some rain on the radar of Big Island,”he said. Offshore buoys also detected the wave action associated with the storm.
Monitoring of hurricanes remained current for Oahu and other smaller islands, which means that winds of tropical storm, excessive rain and big waves could arrive from Wednesday. Central Pacific receives fewer hurricanes than other regions, with only four or five storms named by year, and Hawaii seldom receives a blow. The last big storm that hit was Iniki in 1992. Others have come in recent years.
“The winds tend to move from there storms,” said Gabe Vecchi, Princeton University climate scientist. Also said that the upper level winds, called shear, tend to be sufficiently strong to separate storms.
Mike Miranda, resident of Kauai, was 12 years old when Hurricane Iniki devastated the island 26 years ago. “Many people are comparing the similarities between Iniki and Lane,” he said.
the return of Iniki to the Islands was sudden, recalled.
In this note: Lane Hurricane Hawaii weakens threat category 4
