Hurricane Ana pushed south of Hawaii's Big Island early Saturday morning EDT, generating heavy rains and winds.
As of Saturday morning, the storm, which was upgraded from a tropical storm to a hurricane Friday, had weakened slightly, with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph. Very little change in strength is expected throughout the day Saturday.
Although the center of Hurricane Ana passed south of the Hawaiian Islands, some impacts will still be seen. The National Weather Service issued a public alert about outer rain bands moving onto the Big Island at 2 a.m. local time Saturday morning (8 a.m. EDT).
Waves were expected to crest to 10 to 15 feet on both the North and South shores of Hawaii's islands late Saturday and to remain tall through Sunday. The National Weather Service had flood advisories in place for the Big Island until 7:30 a.m. HST (9:30 a.m. PDT) and Honolulu until 8:30 a.m. HST (10:30 a.m. PDT).
Gov. Neil Abercrombie declared a state of emergency Friday, which will allow the state to access state and federal resources.
Ana became a Category 1 hurricane earlier in the day when it was about 230 miles south of Hilo. Shortly before midnight, it had maximum sustained winds of 85 mph and was churning along its course at 13 mph.
The hurricane was expected to gradually weaken to become a tropical storm again by early Sunday morning, Chris Brenchley, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Hawaii, told The Associated Press.
Swells were picking up on the Big Island's south shores Friday afternoon, with 15-foot waves seen in Pohoiki Bay.
But the approaching storm didn't stop some tourists in Honolulu from spending time around the beach Friday.
No comments:
Post a Comment