Foust says she’s concerned residents may not take Hurricane Lester seriously after Madeline passed without incident.
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Instead, the couple was treated to a homemade meal at the bed and breakfast.
This photo shows a fence broken by storm surge from Tropical Storm Madeline at an oceanfront home in Kapoho, Hawaii, Thursday, Sept. 1, 2016.
Hurricane Lester is churning toward the state as a Category 2 storm, and could bring damaging surf and heavy rains to parts of the islands starting late Friday.
Hurricane watched for the Big Island has been dropped, but the threat remains for Maui Co. and the island of Oahu as Hurricane Lester spins through the Pacific. Forecasters downgraded Madeline from a hurricane to a tropical storm as it veered past Hawaii’s Big Island, but officials reiterated warnings to prepare for heavy rain and strong winds.
High surf likely will be the biggest impact from Lester following the discontinuance of a hurricane watch Friday morning.
Lester was about 680 miles east of Hilo on Thursday morning with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph. “I think we’re getting used to the pace of it”. Waves of 10-18 feet are expected to build today and then grow even larger tonight and Saturday when the Big Island will see waves in the 15-25 foot range.
All east-facing shores of Kauai and Niihau are under a High Surf Advisory and a Small Craft Advisory remains in effect for all waters surrounding the state.
Expect ocean water surging and sweeping across beaches, coastal benches, and lava flows creating the potential for impacts to coastal properties and infrastructure, including roadways. Tropical storm-force winds extend outward up to 150 miles from its center. The health center reopened a short time later.
A Hurricane Watch was discontinued for all islands early Saturday.
The major Category 3 storm is on a track to pass just north of the island chain over the weekend, and its center isn’t expected to make landfall.
Because of the pending hurricanes, tourists who had been planning an escape to a sunny island paradise were making the most of their vacations.
Julie Harrison of NY said Friday she was a little nervous the hurricanes would ruin her trip to the Big Island but she chose to come anyway.
“I’ve only been here since yesterday and already it’s incredible, being able to see the volcanoes and beaches”, said Harrison, who lives near Buffalo, New York.
(AP Photo/Audrey McAvoy). A man stands on a street in Pahoa, Hawaii after Tropical Storm Madeline moved through the area, Thursday, Sept. 1, 2016.
Tourism officials said they hadn’t heard of mass cancelations of trips or other major impacts to the tourism industry.
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Visitors look at the Kilauea volcano summit crater at Hawaii National Park, Hawaii on Friday, Sept. 2, 2016.
