Janice R. Andrews
WOW! HONOLULU Hawaii’s people are having a stressful week as they get ready for back-to-back storms, which doesn’t happen very often. The islands have already been hit by Tropical Storm Hone, which grew into a Category 1 hurricane before losing strength. Now, all eyes are on Hurricane Gilma, which is coming from the eastern Pacific.
Hawaii After Hone’s Death and Gilma’s Threat, Under Storm Alert
People in Lower Puna, which is on the Big Island and just south of Hilo, are getting ready for Hurricane Gilma by doing things like Laurie Lyon-Makaimoku. The area is on high watch after Hone dumped over a foot of rain, which caused flooding and power cuts in some areas. Lyon-Makaimoku and her family protected their land by taking down the tarps from their outdoor buildings, getting important supplies together, and picking avocados and breadfruit because Gilma was expected to bring strong winds.
She talked about the storm’s effects: “We got a ton of rain.” “Things started to calm down on Sunday afternoon, but it rained all day Friday.” We were getting ready for the storm while it rained. But Saturday was the worst day.
Hone had some flooding and a lot of rain, but the damage was not too bad, and no big harm was recorded. The storm did, however, cause problems, such as power blackouts that hit thousands of homes and businesses on the Big Island. As of Sunday night, Hone had weakened into a tropical storm and was still moving west, away from the Hawaiian islands.
As Gilma gets closer, schools are closing and the power goes out.
On Monday, many beaches on the Big Island stayed closed because the weather was too dangerous. Also, five public schools didn’t have classes because of power cuts and bad road conditions. One of the schools that lost power was the one where Lyon-Makaimoku’s kids go to school. The school had to close because of the damage from the tree.
Hawaii County Mayor Mitch Roth stressed how important it is to always be ready. He said in a Facebook livestream on Sunday afternoon, “Gilma is coming, so even though we’re done with this one, it’s good to start getting ready for the next one.” Emergency crews are currently reviewing the damage Hone caused while workers work to restore power and officials start getting ready for the storm that is coming.
What we know about Hurricane Gilma and how it might affect the Hawaiian Islands
Hone is still far away from Hawaii, but Hurricane Gilma is getting closer, which makes people worry about what it might do to the state. Gilma was over 1,100 miles east of Hilo on the Big Island on Monday morning. It had winds that never stopped at 110 mph, which made it a Category 2 storm.
The Central Pacific Hurricane Center in Honolulu is keeping a close eye on Gilma’s path, which is expected to take it just north of the Hawaiian islands. The storm’s exact direction is still unknown, though, and how bad it is will rest a lot on how close it gets to the state. Based on how things are going now, Gilma is likely to get weaker later this week and could even become a tropical depression.
AccuWeather said, “The combination of both tropical cyclones will likely bring an extended period of rough seas and surf to the islands, which will pose dangers to surfers, swimmers, and small craft.” This shows how Hone and Gilma increase the danger.
How to Get Ready for Storms on Oahu: Lessons from Past Events
Hone brought strong winds to Oahu, which is the most populous island in Hawaii, but the island was spared the worst of the storm’s effects. People, like Kulana Cannon, took the storm seriously and made sure their homes were safe and ready for any possible damage.
“We feel like we did everything we could to get ready,” Cannon said, adding that even though storms happen in Hawaii all the time, there is now a greater sense of urgency because of recent events. Since Maui was hit last year, it’s even more important to take this more carefully than usual storm weather.
Hurricane Dora’s strong winds made the terrible fires in Lahaina, Maui, worse in August of last year. This caused one of the greatest wildfire disasters in the U.S. in more than one hundred years. People in Hawaii are still thinking about that terrible event, which makes it even more important to be ready for any possible disaster.
Pacific vs. Atlantic: Weird 2024 Storm Patterns
Hawaii is getting ready for Gilma. This storm season, the Pacific has been busier than the Atlantic. There have been nine named storms in the Pacific so far, but only five in the Atlantic. This is odd because this year is supposed to be a very busy hurricane season in the Atlantic.
Meteorologist Ryan Maue noted on the difference, saying that even though the Atlantic tropics are calm right now, the elements needed for a storm to form, like warm ocean temperatures, are not coming together as planned. “For now, the Atlantic tropics are broken,” Maue said, pointing out that storms that are forming near Africa are running into cooler water temperatures that slow them down.
How Tropical Storm Hone Is Doing Right Now
It was 280 miles west-southwest of Honolulu and 240 miles southwest of Lihue, Hawaii, at the end of the morning on Monday. The storm was going west at 13 mph and had winds that could not be stopped at 65 mph. Hone is expected to keep getting weaker and move away from Hawaii over the next few days, which will be good for the islands.
How Rare It Is for Hawaii to Have Back-to-Back Hurricanes
Hurricane Gilma rarely hits Hawaii right after Hone. What a strange coincidence. In more than 30 years, this will be the first time that two named storms have come within 300 miles of Hawaii in the same week. Gilma could hit the islands by Sunday. Three days after Hurricane Iniki, which was the strongest storm to hit Hawaii directly, Tropical Depression Orlene hit. This last time it happened was in September 1992.
It’s possible for storms that don’t hit land directly to have big effects on the islands. For example, Hurricane Dora last year helped cause the terrible fires in Lahaina, even though it didn’t hit Hawaii directly.
Looking Ahead: Keeping an eye on Tropical Storm Hector
Adding to the stress, Tropical Storm Hector has formed in the eastern Pacific. It is following Gilma’s path. Hector was over 1,000 miles west-southwest of the Baja California peninsula in Mexico on Monday morning, with winds of up to 50 mph. It is still too early to tell if Hector will have an effect on Hawaii, but meteorologists are keeping a close eye on how it develops.
As the storm moves westward, it should get stronger, but dry air and wind shear may stop it from getting even stronger. Hector might get to the central Pacific basin later this week if it keeps going in the same direction.
Learn about hurricanes in the Pacific and how they are named.
There are different parts of the Pacific Ocean called areas where hurricanes and tropical storms happen. Storms like Gilma and Hector happen in the Eastern Pacific area. Most of the time, these storms go out to sea and don’t affect land. The area around Hawaii is in the Central Pacific basin, and it has its own list of Hawaiian names for storms.
Storms that move from the Eastern Pacific basin to the Central Pacific basin keep the names they had before they crossed. But storms that start in the Central Pacific, like Hone, are named after Hawaiian people.
Hawaii is still keeping an eye on Gilma, which reminds people how important it is to be ready and alert for these kinds of powerful natural events.
