Hurricane Douglas hurtles toward Hawaii
Hurricane Douglas would be just the third hurricane to make landfall in Hawaii in modern history if the storm continues at its current strength.
Douglas, the fourth named storm of the season, will pass “dangerously close to or over” the islands Sunday evening, the National Hurricane Center said in its 2 p.m. update.
The storm has been downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane and is currently swirling with maximum sustained winds of 90 miles per hour.
Hurricane warnings are in effect for the counties that include the islands of Kahoolawe, Lanai, Maui, Molokai, Oahu, Kauai and Niihau.
Hurricane conditions are expected in portions of Maui County throughout Sunday, then moving across Oahu by Sunday afternoon and on Kauai and Niihau tonight. Tropical Storm conditions are “imminent” across the Big Island,” according to the NHC.
Between 5 and 10 inches of rain could collect from Maui County westward to Kauai County by Monday.
But officials also warned that the storm may “wobble” due to the angle of its approach. which could “lead to significant differences in where the worst weather occurs,” the National Hurricane Center said. “Even if the center remains offshore, severe impacts could still be realized over the islands, as they extend well away from the center.”
Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell said Saturday that the capital city has opened 13 shelters, including the Hawaii Convention Center, which can hold 1,600 socially distanced people.
Despite the hurricane season starting ahead of schedule on the Atlantic coast, the Pacific storms have been slower to form than usual. But even so, Hawaii has typically been safe from disaster.
Before Douglas, Hurricane Iniki made landfall as a Category 4 storm in 1992 and Hurricane Dot landed in 1959 as a Category 1.
———
©2020 New York Daily News
Visit New York Daily News at www.nydailynews.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
