Residents of the islands of Hawaii, Oahu, Maui, Lanai, Molokai and Kahoolawe are shoring up homes and businesses in the event of a direct hit.
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“I’ve only been here since yesterday and already it’s wonderful, being able to see the volcanoes and beaches”, said Harrison, who lives near Buffalo, New York.
At 2 a.m. HST Friday (Sep 2), the center of Hurricane Lester was located about 480 miles (770 km) east of Hilo, Hawaii.
Hurricane Madeline headed toward the Big Island earlier in the week but was downgraded to a tropical storm and passed without causing major damage.
The National Weather Service says there’s large and risky surf across the Hawaiian islands this weekend.
Civil Defense officials are reminding the public to get emergency preparedness kits ready and make arrangements to shelter in place with family or friends throughout the duration of the storm, if necessary.
Caldwell said Friday that officials are not expecting a major impact from Hurricane Lester, but they’re preparing for the worst just in case. He says people who aren’t experienced with the ocean should stay out of the water completely.
Sunday, there is a north to south band of clouds and showers trailing Lester that will bring more showers including a slight chance of a thunderstorm for the smaller islands.
According to the National Weather Service, this is the first Hurricane Watch for Oahu since Hurricane Iwa in 1982. Surf generated by these swells will peak this weekend in the main Hawaiian Islands, becoming very large and possibly damaging along exposed shorelines.
On the U.S. East Coast, Hurricane Hermine wreaked havoc in Florida on Friday, knocking out power to more than 250,000 customers, flooding low-lying areas and raising worries about the spread of the Zika virus. On the forecast track, the center of Lester will pass close to the main Hawaiian Islands this weekend. “Gradual weakening is forecast over the next couple of days”. The cyclone was moving toward the northwest near 17 miles per hour.
Visitors look at the Kilauea volcano summit crater at Hawaii National Park, Hawaii on Friday, Sept. 2, 2016.
HONOLULU (AP) – Lester has been downgraded to a tropical storm as it churns away from Hawaii. A tropical storm left the Big Island soggy but intact as residents prepared for the possible arrival of another storm, Hurricane Lester.
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(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. The tropical storm left parts of Hawaii’s Big Island soggy but intact as residents of the island state prepare for a second round of potentially volatile tropical weather.
