1530.18z
UNISYS water vapor satellite of the north and west hemisphere (click here - thank you)
Gaston, currently a category 2 hurricane, in the Atlantic is probably headed for Europe.
August 29, 2016
By John Erdman
- Only 13 hurricanes have tracked within 200 nautical miles of the Hawaiian Islands (click here) from 1949 through 2015, for an average return period of once every five years, according to NOAA's historical hurricane tracks.
- Virtually every system approaching Hawaii from the east since 1950 tracking at least as far north as the latitude of the Big Island of Hawaii eventually weakened to a tropical storm or depression by the time it reached the islands. This included a large majority of those migrating from the eastern Pacific Basin.
- Dating to 1949, there is no record of a hurricane landfalling on the Big Island of Hawaii. Tropical Storm Iselle became only the second tropical storm, and the strongest, to landfall on the Big Island in August 2014. The only other storm to do so was in 1958.
- Virtually all hurricanes near the Hawaiian Islands since 1949 have approached from the southeast, south or southwest.
- Three hurricanes struck the island of Kauai hard, including the most destructive in state history, Hurricane Iniki in 1992.
September 11, 1992
...Hans Rosendal, (click here) the lead forecaster at the National Weather Service Honolulu office has a synopsis of the storm's development and progress. Spawned during an El Nino year, the details on Iniki's path outlined in the 1992 Tropical Cyclone Summary shows Iniki (satellite photo)forming over warm equatorial water, deflected by the normal high pressure system to the northeast, swinging northward as it was drawn into a low pressure system that formed north of the Hawaiian Islands. Diagrams from SOEST (School of Ocean Engineering Science and Technology, University of Hawaii at Manoa) contrasts the path of Iniki to the paths of other hurricanes in the Central Pacific area.
At 5:30 am Friday morning, Oahu residents awoke to the sounds of sirens. Joe Dellinger offers insight into what the mad rush for the stores was like on Oahu right after the sirens sounded. Many vacationers on Kauai changed their plans to depart immediately. A report by ABC Consulting shows the path of Hurricane Iniki took right over Kekaha, smashing Waimea with punishing winds.
Amateur radio played an important role in keeping active communications between Kauai and Oahu during the peak of Hurricane Iniki. The microwave antenna dishes providing telephone communications between the islands fell or were severely damaged by the intense winds. Cut off from the rest of the world, it would be many hours before Kauai's on-island and inter-island phone service was restored. Critical communications provided by amateur radio and Civil Air Patrol jump-started the recovery and relief efforts. Articles in QST, the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, and WorldRadio highlighted the wide range of activities and contributions made by amateur radio during those critical early hours....
Storms over warm water ignite into high velocity storms within hours. Katrina was a category 1 storm when it crossed Florida, but, as soon as it moved into warm Gulf waters it maximized to a category five in a short period of time.
The only reason I bring this up is because Katrina occurred at the same time of year major storms such as Katrina and Iniki formed due to the position of direct solar rays. I am not wishing Hawaii two enormous and dangerous storms, I am just stating the heated Pacific and the solar rays carry potential that cannot be ignored.
Kindly consider SEA LEVEL RISE when the storm surge occurs.
Iniki was the deadliest (click here) and by far the costliest hurricane to ever strike Hawaii. The death toll of four was remarkably small for an intense hurricane. Adjusted for inflation, Iniki caused roughly $3 billion in damages. More than 14,000 homes were affected, with 1,421 destroyed and 5,152 with major damage. While wind was the cause of most of the damages, storm surge and waves obliterated many structures along Kauai’s southern shore. The other main Hawaiian Islands including Oahu were affected by Iniki, mainly in the form of high surf but also with some wind damage, but Kauai took the full force of the hurricane. Iniki taught us how hurricane vulnerable Hawaii is, but a nagging question has lingered ever since Iniki struck: what would have happened on Oahu, and to the entire state, if Iniki had moved a little farther east?...
Kindly consider SEA LEVEL RISE when the storm surge occurs.
Iniki was the deadliest (click here) and by far the costliest hurricane to ever strike Hawaii. The death toll of four was remarkably small for an intense hurricane. Adjusted for inflation, Iniki caused roughly $3 billion in damages. More than 14,000 homes were affected, with 1,421 destroyed and 5,152 with major damage. While wind was the cause of most of the damages, storm surge and waves obliterated many structures along Kauai’s southern shore. The other main Hawaiian Islands including Oahu were affected by Iniki, mainly in the form of high surf but also with some wind damage, but Kauai took the full force of the hurricane. Iniki taught us how hurricane vulnerable Hawaii is, but a nagging question has lingered ever since Iniki struck: what would have happened on Oahu, and to the entire state, if Iniki had moved a little farther east?...
