Hawaii is bracing for impact from Hurricane Lane. Photo: NOAA
Residents of Hawaii are bracing for Hurricane Lane, a major storm in the Pacific that was upgraded to a Category 5 on Tuesday and has since been reduced to a Category 4 according to the National Weather Service.
A Hurricane Warning is currently in effect for the islands of Hawaii (or, the Big Island), Maui, Lanai, and Molokai. And a Hurricane Watch has been issued for the islands of Kauai and Oahu.
“Maui County has been upgraded to a Hurricane Warning and a Hurricane Watch has been issued for Kauai County,” NWS Honolulu explained in a tweet at 5 a.m. local time. “A Flash Flood Watch remains in effect for all islands through Friday night.”
The post goes on to explain the key differences between a “Hurricane Warning” and “Hurricane Watch.”
“Hurricane Warning means hurricane conditions (sustained winds 74 mph or greater) are expected in the next 36 hours. Hurricane Watch means hurricane conditions are possible in the next 48 hours.”
According to the NWS, Lane’s maximum sustained winds are nearly 160 mph, which will slowly weaken over the next 48 hours. However, the agency explained “Lane is forecast to remain a dangerous hurricane as it draws closer to the Hawaiian Islands.”
On Tuesday, Hawaii Governor David Ige signed an emergency proclamation that, “declares the counties of Hawai‘i, Maui, Kalawao, Kaua‘i and the City and County of Honolulu disaster areas for the purpose of implementing emergency management functions.”
“This emergency proclamation allows us to line up services and necessary resources prior to the event so that we can keep our communities safe and running as efficiently as possible,” said Governor Ige in a statement. “Hurricane Lane is not a well- behaved hurricane. I’ve not seen such dramatic changes in the forecast track as I’ve seen with this storm. I urge our residents and visitors to take this threat seriously and prepare for a significant impact.”
Across the state, residents are flocking to stores like Costco to stock up on food and supplies to weather the storm.
“The lines at Costco are already super busy as people are prepping for #hurricanelane,” wrote local radio station Power 104.3 in a post on Instagram.
Local news station KITV 4 captured shoppers lining up outside Costco in droves.
Hawaii Public Radio has provided a list of key phone numbers for state and county emergency management agencies and the federal disaster preparedness site, ready.gov , recommended a number of precautions be taken up to 48 hours prior to the arrival of the hurricane. If you’re anywhere on the islands, it’s an important read.
