Oahu’s 205 campsites remained open as Lester approached, Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell told reporters Friday. The watch was already in effect for the Big Island and Maui County. Winds decreased to 50 miles per hour and the storm is expected to become a tropical depression by Friday and a remnant low this weekend as it moves away from Hawaii.
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County officials are working with The Kauai Marathon organizers to monitor the potential impacts to the island.
If it makes landfall, Madeline would be the Big Island’s first hurricane on record going back to 1949, according to Weather Underground.
Some business managers in the north shore town of Paia say they haven’t done anything to prepare. Schools, courts and government offices on Maui were set to close at noon Friday. The health center reopened a short time later. NOAA’s CPHC said that interests elsewhere in the Hawaiian Islands should also monitor the progress of Lester.
The storm peaked at a risky Category Four hurricane strength east of Hawaii on Tuesday.
A wind advisory is in effect across the state as the storm generates strong tradewinds of 25 to 35 miles per hour, with gusts to 50 miles per hour through 6 p.m.
The center predicts the storm will skirt just north and within striking distance of the entire chain.
“We want to allow people to continue to plan to camp, but we want to ask those campers to pay attention.be ready”, Caldwell said.
Hawaii County and Maui County, which includes Maui, Lanai, Molokai and Kahoolawe, are under a hurricane watch.
“It’s enough of an experience that I just wanted to come out anyway and make it out no matter what”, said Harrison during a stop to see the bubbling crater at Kilauea volcano’s summit.
The Coast Guard urges boaters to exercise extreme caution while Lester approaches the islands over the weekend.
Tropical Storm Madeline continued to weaken this morning. She says it’s been unbelievable to see the island’s volcanoes and beaches.
Packing maximum sustained winds of 45 miles per hour, the storm continued moving away from the islands, moving west at 13 miles per hour. A hurricane watch has been dropped on Hawaii’s Big Island, but the threat remains for Maui County and the island of Oahu as Hurricane Lester barrels through the Pacific.
On its current track, Lester will pass about 125 miles northeast of the islands this weekend.
Projected storm surges of up to 12 feet menaced a wide swath of the coast and an expected drenching of up to 10 inches of rain carried the danger of flooding along the storm’s path over land, including the state capital Tallahassee, which hadn’t been hit by a hurricane since Kate in 1985. He says all islands could be impacted as the storm passes.
The storm had threatened to disrupt a visit by President Barack Obama and dignitaries meeting in Hawaii for the World Conservation Congress, a major conference of thousands of delegates, including heads of state, scientists and policy makers. A tropical storm left the Big Island soggy but intact as residents prepared for the. However, the islands will feel the effects of strong winds.
On Oahu, gusty winds blew through Wednesday night with power lost in some Honolulu neighborhoods.
Madeline was downgraded Wednesday though it brought periods of intense rainfall.
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At 11 a.m. EDT (5 a.m. HST/1500 UTC) the center of Hurricane Lester was located near 19.7 degrees north latitude and 148.4 degrees west longitude.
