Hawaii braced for 85 mph winds as Tropical Storm Hone strengthens to a hurricane

On Sunday Hawaii’s branch of the National Weather Service (NWS) announced the upgrade, warning of strong wind speeds and continued risk of flash flooding

An image provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows Tropical Storm Hone as it continues to track to the west toward the Hawaiian Islands, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024 (AP)

Hawaii is bracing itself for wind gusts of over 85mph after Tropical Storm Hone was upgraded to a hurricane.

On Sunday Hawaii’s branch of the National Weather Service (NWS) announced the upgrade, warning of strong wind speeds and continued risk of flash flooding.

“Hurricane Hone is passing south of Big Island through early Sunday morning,” the forecaster posted online. “Hone’s main threats to the state continue to be the potential for heavy rainfall leading to flooding, damaging winds and large surf along east-facing shores.”

Governor Josh Green declared a state of emergency Saturday that was expected to be in effect through Monday. The proclamation allows the governor to activate the National Guard and a state disaster fund while suspending aspects of state law that could hinder a rapid response.

Winds of between 50 and 75mph are expected, with some gusts reaching up to 86mph.

However, an update from the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said despite such high winds, the hurricane would weaken gradually from Sunday afternoon onwards.

Tropical storm conditions will continue on the Big Island through the morning hours on Monday and winds are expected to be strongest on higher terrain, over headlands, and through passes, the center said.

Hurricane Hone is expected to produce storm total rainfall of 6 to 12 inches over parts of the Big Island, with locally higher amounts possible. Rainfall totals of 2 to 4 inches will be possible over portions of the smaller islands.

“As the rain gets pushed up the mountain terrain it wrings it out, kind of like wringing out a wet towel,” Jon Jelsema, a senior forecaster at the Central Pacific Hurricane Center in Honolulu, said on Sunday. “It’s been really soaking those areas, there’s been flooding of roads.

“Roads have been cut off by high flood waters there in the windward sections of the big island, and really that’s the only portion of the state that’s had much flooding concern at this point.”

Some Big Island beach parks were closed due to dangerously high surf and officials opened shelters as a precaution, Big Island Mayor Mitch Roth said.

A tropical storm remains in effect for Hawaii County, and swells could cause life-threatening surf and rip currents across the island chain on Saturday, NHC said.

"Rapidly rising" wave heights of 14 to 18 feet were forecast for Saturday along the east-facing coastline of the Big Island, where waves could remain dangerously "large and disorganized" through Sunday, the National Weather Service said in a coastal hazard message.

The east-facing shores of Maui could also see a rapid increase in wave heights, the weather service added. "Stay away from the shoreline along the affected coasts," a warning read.

The hazardous conditions evoke memories of the deadly blazes on Maui, which occurred just over one year ago on August 8 2023. The wildfires were fueled by hurricane-force winds.

“They gotta take this thing serious,” said Calvin Endo, a Waianae Coast neighborhood board member who lives in Makaha, a leeward Oahu neighborhood prone to wildfires.

The blaze that torched the historic town of Lahaina was the deadliest US wildfire in more than a century, with 102 dead. Dry, overgrown grasses and drought helped spread the fire.