Hawaii braces for Hurricane Lane: Live updates | CNN (2024)

Hurricane Lane has weakened into a Category 1 storm, according to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center.

Lane is expected to weaken to a tropical storm later tonight, but the threat of heavy rainfall and flooding continues.

Lane was a Category 5 storm late Tuesday before weakening to a Category 4 Wednesday morning. It dropped to a Category 3 storm overnight Thursday. Lane was downgraded to Category 2 storm Friday morning.

This was only the second time in recorded history that a Category 5 hurricane came within 350 miles of Hawaii — the first one being Hurricane John in 1994 — the National Weather Service said.

Hawaii residents Joe Morgan and Natasha Truong said they fled their home early Friday after a brush fire broke out near Maui’s resort area ofLahaina.

Morgan said they had preparing for flooding from Hurricane Lane and had not expected to be evacuated because of a fire.

“We arrived at our back up location just to be adverted as the fire spread up the hill,” he wrote on Instagram. “We made it safe to an elevated parking garage to spend the night in the car as our cell phone service was out. We are safe and still bracing for the brunt of the hurricane to fill in.”

Morgan and Truong shared this video of the brush fire:

President Trump spoke today with Hawaii Gov. David Ige about response measures and preparations for Hurricane Lane, according to a White House readout of the call.

Kauai is no longer under a hurricane watch, the Central Pacific Hurricane Center reported Friday.

Instead, a tropical storm watch is in effect for Kauai, where winds could reach up to 57 mph, the hurricane center reported. Officials urged residents to prepare for wind damage.

“Plan for hazardous wind of equivalent tropical storm force due to possible forecast changes in track, size, or intensity,” the hurricane center said.

A man stands along the beach as waves crash on shore in Honolulu, Hawaii on Thursday

Red Cross and FEMA officials just gave an update on their efforts in Hawaii as the state continues to battle Hurricane Lane.

Here’s the latest, by the numbers:

Paul Daniel captured this video onFridayaround 7 a.m. Hawaii time (or about 1 p.m. ET).

The clip shows heavy wind and rain in Pepeekeo, on the eastern side of the Big Island.

Watch:

A second brush fire, separate from the blaze that began overnight in Lahaina, has broken out in Maui, a Maui County spokesperson told CNN.

The second fire is believed to have started Friday morning, near Kannapali in West Maui, said Rod Antone, communications director for Maui County. Further details on the fire were not immediately available.

In Lahaina, more than 100 homes near that brush fire have been evacuated, Antone said.

The causes of fires have not been determined, Antone said.

Hurricane Lane is currently about 170 miles south of Honolulu, according to a 2 p.m. ET advisory from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Five Hawaiian islands — Oahu, Maui, Lanai, Molokai and Kahoolawe — remain under a hurricane warning.

The advisory predicts that Lane will continue traveling northward today before turning west into the ocean tomorrow.

The 15 airports located throughout Hawaii remain open and accessible, barring infrastructure damage or debris from Hurricane Lane that makes flight operations unsafe, according to Hawaii Department of Transportation.

State firefighters are stationed at the airport facilities and are ready to respond to situations as necessary, Hawaii DOT said in a statement.

Hawaii airports will open an Emergency Operations Center today to serve as the consolidated and centralized command and control point, according to Hawaii DOT.

While the airports are open, all flights at Maui’s Lanai Airport, and all United, Ohana and Mokulele Airlines flights at Maui’s Kahului Airport have been canceled today, according to a Maui County news alert.

It is up to the airline and individual pilots to determine if conditions are safe enough to fly, Hawaii DOT said.

Here’s a map of the flights over the islands right now, from Flight Aware:

Another round of heavy rains and winds pummeled Hilo, Hawaii, on Friday.

The downpour comes a day after heavy rainfall inundated parks, soccer fields and roads in Hilo.

Here’s what it looked like on Thursday:

A car is stuck partially submerged in floodwaters from Hurricane Lane rainfall on the Big Island on Aug. 23, 2018 in Hilo, Hawaii.

And this is what it looks like now:

Hurricane Lane has been a tough storm to predict. There has never really been a hurricane in this region moving in this direction — so there are no previous storms for forecasters to point to.

Why forecasters are watching the winds: As of Friday morning, Hurricane Lane was getting battered by “wind shear,” which is upper level winds blowing in different directions. That disrupts the hurricane’s ability to sustain itself and results in the storm weakening.Part of that wind shear comes from the “trade winds” — the almost constant winds that blow from east to west through Hawaii.

But Lane could be entering an area west of the Big Island where the island itself blocks those trade winds and — could allow Lane to maintain its intensity longer than it otherwise would, which isn’t good.

The Big Island can block the trade winds that blow from east to west, which could allow Hurricane Lane to maintain its intensity

And then there’s the matter of the big turn. The hurricane is due to turn left eventually, but the timing is dependent upon those trade winds pushing the storm to the west.

Since we haven’t seen a storm like this in this region, just how the storm will react is all theory.But one scientist simulated this exact scenario years ago — and his results paint a potentially scary scene.

Christopher Chambers, a research scientist at Hokkaido University in Japan, has spent 10 years analyzing the effect the Big Island imparts on hurricanes around Hawaii. In his computer simulations, he took Hurricane Iniki from 1992, which struck the island of Kauai head on, and moved the storm a couple hundred miles further east so that it headed up into Oahu (pretty much the same track that Lane has taken so far).

Chambers calls this “the nightmare scenario.”

What he found was that the Big Island and its mountains blocked the trade winds and turned the storm towards the right (into Oahu and Maui).

These are the scenarios at play for Hurricane Lane.While the official forecast (the red one) calls for a sharp westward turn, computer simulations show that the Big Island could influence the steering winds and allow the hurricane to travel farther north before curving.

So what happens now? Hurricane Lane is just now entering this downwind region of the Big Island, so that is why the next 12 to 18 hours will mean everything for what will happen to the storm — and consequently what the impacts will be on the populated islands of Maui and Oahu.

For Chambers, he is getting to watch his theorized scenario play out in real time.

A brush fire that started overnight near Maui’s resort area ofLahaina has jumped a highway, according to Maui County.The fire is now approaching a gas station.

“Fire officials have reported that the fire has jumped Honoapiilani Highway near Dickenson Street and is approaching Aloha Gas Station,” the county said on Facebook.

Many area roads are closed due to both the brush fire and adverse weather triggered by Hurricane Lane, the county noted.

Here’s another look at the fire:

The windward side of Hawaii’s Big Island — the east and northeast coasts — is experiencing heavy rains and flooding from Hurricane Lane, and is currently under a flash flood warning, according to an alert from the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency (HCCDA).

Due to the slowing of the hurricane, dangerous heavy rains and flooding may persist on the windward side of the Big Island, HCCDA says.

The University of Oregon football team tweeted Friday that it will collect canned food and supplies for Hawaii as Hurricane Lane nears the state.

Lava erupts and flows from a Kilauea volcano fissure in Leilani Estates in May

All summer long, a stream of frequent volcanic eruptions and thousands of earthquakes have hit Hawaii’s Big Island.

But so far, Hurricane Lane hasn’t had much of an impact on the volcanoes, the United States Geological Surveyreports.

Here’s why that is: The eruptive activity of Kilauea has “paused,” with no new lava flows since August 9, accordingto the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. Since there is not much lava reaching the ocean anymore, the hurricane shouldn’t have too much of an impact on the volcano region, according to Denison University Geophysicist Erik Klemetti.

Hurricane Lane has weakened into a Category 2 storm, according to the most recent advisory from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

It’s expected to weaken further as it travels northward, and it should become a tropical storm after it turns west.

Lane was a Category 5 storm late Tuesday before weakening to a Category 4 Wednesday morning. It dropped to a Category 3 storm overnight Thursday.

This was only the second time in recorded history that a Category 5 hurricane came within 350 miles of Hawaii — the first one being Hurricane John in 1994 — the National Weather Service said.

As Hawaii braces for Hurricane Lane, Maui’s resort area ofLahaina is also fighting a brush fire that began overnight.

The fire has prompted evacuations and closed roads, although there are currently no reports of any injuries. The cause of the fire is unknown at this time.

Several Hawaiian residents and vistors shared photos of the fire:

An overnight brush fire has closed roadways and prompted evacuations near Maui’s resort area ofLahaina, according to a Maui County emergency alert.

Maui County emergency personnel responded to reports of a brush fire near Lahaina’s Kauaula Valley about 1:00 a.m., according to the alert. The fire, which is estimated to be 3 to 4 acres in size has begun to spread and residents in the area are being evacuated, the alert says.

A nearby storm shelter has also been moved from the Lahaina Intermediate School to the Lahaina Civic Center, the county notes.

There are no reports of injuries at this time. The cause of the fire is unknown.

Cell phone service in the area is said to be sporadic due to the storm, and the county says that customers may be unable to make or receive phone calls into or out of the Lahaina area at this time.

Here’s what the fire looks like:

Hurricane Lane is making its way northward now, but we’re expecting it to eventually turn west, likely avoiding landfall on the Hawaiian Islands.

Here’s a day-by-day look at what to expect:

Fewer than the normal amount of nightly tourists stroll the streets of Waikiki in Honolulu Thursday as Hurricane Lane approaches.

More than 1,500 people sought shelter at Red Cross evacuation centers across Hawaii Thursday as Hurricane Lane approached, American Red Cross official Brad J. Kieserman said Friday morning.

More than 1,000 of them stayed at shelters in the city of Honolulu and in Honolulu County.

Additional evacuation centers may open today, as the Red Cross anticipates higher numbers of residents to seek shelter as the storm continues to approach the islands, Kieserman said.

Images taken by NASA astronaut Ricky Arnold early Wednesday morning show Hurricane Lane’ss cloud shield, which gives you a good idea of size, rather than power, as the storm slowly churned just southwest of Hawaii’s Big Island.

Arnold tweeted the images and added, “The crew of the @Space_Station sends much aloha to everyone there.”

Hurricane Lane has continued to weaken from a category 4 storm to a category 3, and could be downgraded again as soon as Friday morning before weakening to a tropical storm over the weekend.

The HawaiiEmergency Management Agency set off sirens in and around Oahu yesterday.

The sirens were “to alert the public to the potential of severe flooding from Hurricane Lane, and the possibility of damaging winds,” the agency said.

Here’s what they sound like:

Meanwhile, some fire engines drove around Kailua by as officials announced there is a hurricane warning is in effect.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrationjust released an updated forecast advisory for Hurricane Lane.

Currently, five Hawaiian islands are under hurricane warnings:

The Big Island is now on a tropical storm warning, although it was under a hurricane warning yesterday. Two islands are on hurricane watches.

Here’s what the projected path looks like now:

A man takes photos of floodwaters from Hurricane Lane rainfall on the Big Island Wednesday

Hurricane Lane has weakened as it approaches Hawaii, but it’s still a powerful storm that has unleashed torrential rainfall, flooding and landslides over parts of Hawaii’s Big Island.

Here’s what you need to know about Lane now:

Here’s the latest path prediction (and you can track the storm here):

A car is stuck partially submerged in floodwaters from Hurricane Lane rainfall on the Big Island on Thursday in Hilo, Hawaii.

Flooding on Reeds Island, near Hilo, Hawaii has prompted a voluntary evacuation of residents, according to a statement from the County of Hawaii.

The County of Hawaii statement reads in part:

A landslide on Saddle Road has forced a road closure for several hours as crews work to remove the debris, the statement says.

Hurricane Lane was downgraded to a Category 3 storm Thursday as heavy rain swept across parts of Hawaii’s Big Island, the National Weather Service in Honolulu reported.

The storm’s center, with maximum sustained winds near 125 mph, is about 260 miles south of Honolulu.

Here are some other details of the storm:

Read more about Hurricane Lane here.

A man takes photos of floodwaters from Hurricane Lane rainfall on the Big Island on August 23, 2018 in Hilo, Hawaii.

Residents in Hilo, Hawaii, began to see the effects of Hurricane Lane Thursday as heavy rainfall inundated parks, soccer fields and roads.

Chris Parayno took this photo with a drone of a flooded soccer field in Hilo. Parayno told CNN the flooding has only impacted the bay:

Jimmie Austrino shot this video of Rainbow Falls as it roared amid heavy rains:

Any surfers looking to catch some waves before Hurricane Lane makes landfall should hit the beach soon.

Surf is expected to build Thursday and peak Friday before diminishing by the weekend, Kevin Wallis, lead forecaster at the surfing website Surfline, said in an email. Surf could reach 20 feet near Diamond Head cliffs.

“This is still dependent on Lane’s exact track and intensity during the next 24 (to) 36 hours and there is a high amount of uncertainty on that, even in the short term,” he said.

The best surf conditions will be on Thursday “before the wind gets too strong and possibly tropical storm or hurricane force on Friday,” Wallis said.

Hawaii Gov. David Ige cautioned residents about the dangers of large surf.

“Swells generated by Lane will produce very large life-threatening surf and dangerous rip currents along southeast, south and southwest facing shores of all of the Hawaiian islands,” he tweeted.

Want more? Check out some of Surfline’s web cams at Waikiki, South Shore Oahu and Diamond Head.

Hurricane-force winds are expected to hit portions of the Big Island tonight, Hawaii Gov. David Ige said.

The governor added that the last forecast from the Central Pacific Hurricane Center shows the storm’s center will be “dangerously close to the main Hawaiian Islands Thursday afternoon through Saturday.”

He also warned that the storm could produce tornados and waterspouts, and cause significant beach erosion and flooding.

Regina Lola Miller shot this video of major flooding at Carvalho Park in Hilo, Hawaii.

“We are just trying to be cautious and be prepared,” she said. “It has just caused some hardship because of the flooding. Our shop has to close and we are told to stay indoors.”

Watch:

Maui County Mayor Alan Arakawa expressed concerns Thursday about the impact of heavy rains and strong winds from Hurricane Lane on his district.

“I’m hoping and all us here are praying the storm dissipates and disappears, but from all indications we are going to have heavy flooding and high winds no matter where Lane decides to go.”

Arakawa also cautioned that while some details in recent weather forecasts have been optimistic, that they are about “as predictable as a slinky.”

He said officials are looking at emergency helicopters services in case they need to rescue people from areas impacted by the storm.

Portions of the Big Island are also dealing with heavy rains and flooding due to Hurricane Lane, according to Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency.

The area is currently under a flash flood warning as the Category 4 storm moves slowly close to the main islands.

The storm’s center, with maximum sustained winds near 130 mph, was in the Pacific about 205 miles southwest of the Big Island town of Kailua-Kona around 8 a.m. HT Thursday (2 p.m. ET).

Luke Meyers, the head of Hawaii’s Emergency Management Agency, will talk to CNN’s Anderson Cooper about preparations for Hurricane Lane this evening on Facebook.

The center of the storm is expected to move very close to the main islands or cross land Thursday through Friday, theCentral Pacific Hurricane Center said.

Meyers’ interview will air live on Facebook at 6:25 p.m. ET. (You can watch it here.)

Kyla Defore shared this photo of the Wailuku River before and after the heavy rains from Hurricane Lane began.

Defore told CNN she took the photo on the left a few months ago. She took the one the right Thursday as rains swept through Hawaii’s Big Island.

Here’s a look of the Wailuku River:

This video shows water levels in the river continued to rise:

A car is stuck partially submerged in floodwaters from Hurricane Lane rainfall on the Big Island on August 23, 2018 in Hilo, Hawaii.

Hawaii’s Big Island got more than 19 inches of rain in the last 24 hours because of Hurricane Lane, the National Weather Service in Honolulu reported.

Here are some of the rain totals:

Regina Miller shared this video of a raging stream in the Kaumana neighborhood of Hilo, where she lives.

“If the pond overflows, then it will be bad. It has before,” she told CNN.

Watch:

President Trump just tweeted about his approval of an emergency disaster declaration for Hawaii as it braces for the Category 4 Hurricane Lane.

He also said his administration was monitoring the storm.

Read Trump’s tweet:

Hawaii is bracing for Hurricane Lane, which is currently southwest of the islands. If it makes landfall, it’ll be the first hurricane to hit Hawaii in decades — and even if it doesn’t, its effects will be felt across the state’s eight islands.

The big question right now: When will HurricaneLanebegin its turn towards the west?

Here’s how we’re expecting the next few days to play out:

The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agencycautioned that there is still “a lot of uncertainty” surrounding the forecast for Hurricane Lane.

Long advised that forecasters are predicting 30 inches of rain in some parts of Hawaii.

He said FEMA is working with state and local authorities to prepare for inland flooding, landslides, and damage to transportation and communications infrastructure, which could continue for the next four to five days.

He urged citizens to “heed all warnings,” noting that there has already been large amounts of rainfall on the Big Island.

FEMA is “pushing commodities,” and incorporating strong communication with private sector partners, including major grocer wholesalers, he said.

Long said he spoke to Hawaii’s Gov. David Ige, who requested an emergency declaration.

President Trump “swiftly approved” it, he said.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Central Pacific Hurricane Center released it’s latest forecast on Hurricane Lane at 5 a.m. Hawaii time (that’s 11 a.m. ET).

The forecast showed six of Hawaii’s islands under hurricane warnings, with the other two under hurricane watches.

Current projections show the hurricane traveling north before turning westward between Friday afternoon and early Saturday morning.

Here’s the latest:

Hurricane Lane has slowed, and it is causing heavy rains and flooding in east Hawaii, according to the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency.

The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for the windward side of the island due to the heavy rains, the defense agency said in a statement.

What the slow-down means: The immediate threat of wind, rain, and surf on the west side of the island has diminished.

Lane currently has sustained winds of 130 mph and is located about 210 miles south-southwest of the Big Island of Hawaii, the defense agency said.

It’s been 26 years since Hawaii was hit by a major hurricane. Now, the Big Island faces a new threat — the Category 4 storm Hurricane Lane.

If Lane is anything like Hurricane Iniki, also a Category 4 storm, it could have a devastating impact on Hawaii. Here’s a look at Iniki:

Lava erupts from a fissure after the eruption of Hawaii's Kilauea volcano on May 5

Hawaii has been experiencing a volcanic eruption for much of the summer. Mount Kilauea began producing lava flows in early May and portions of the southeastern coastline of the Big Island have been transformed by the lava flows that covered over 13 square miles.

So what does the approaching hurricane mean for the volcano?

Fortunately, the eruptive activity of Kilauea has “paused,” with no new lava flows since August 9, accordingto the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.

Since there is not much lava reaching the ocean anymore, the hurricane shouldn’t have too much of an impact on the volcano region, according to Denison University Geophysicist Erik Klemetti.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Tuesday sent one of its planes through the eye of Hurricane Lane. At that time, the storm was “near its peak intensity, a Category 5,” NOAA reported.

Since then, Hurricane Lane was weakened sightly to a Category 4 storm.

NOAA shared video of the plane entering the hurricane’s eye.

A lingering question is whether this storm will make landfall. But even if it doesn’t, the effects of such a large storm will still be felt across portions of Hawaii — and they already are.

The landslides already reported on the Big Island are just the beginning.

The outer bands of Hurricane Lane have dumped over a foot of rain across portions of the Big Island. And more is on the way.

When the storm bands hit the islands, the rugged terrain squeezes moisture out of the sky like a sponge.

Risks of flash flooding and mudslides are just some of the dangers with this storm.

Lane is a hurricane, but other similar storms are known as cyclones and typhoons.

So what gives?

CNN meteorologist Chad Myers said the name all depends on where the storm forms.

“We talk about cyclones, typhoons and hurricanes — and it’s blah, blah, blah. They are the exact same thing. It depends on what ocean it’s in,” Myers explained.

Lane is in the Pacific Ocean, but east of the dateline, so it’s a hurricane.

“If you go over the dateline — if it does go over the dateline, and stay together — then, it would get a typhoon category,” Myers said.

Storms in the Atlantic Ocean are also dubbed hurricanes, while those in the Indian Ocean are known as cyclones.

Watch Myers answer more of your questions here.

The American Red Cross has already opened 17 evacuation centers in four different Hawaii counties, with more expected to open today, Vice President for Disaster Operations & Logistics Brad J. Kieserman said Thursday morning.

Here’s the numbers behind the Red Cross shelters:

The relief group tweeted a call for volunteers earlier this week who would be “willing to be on-call to potentially assist in staffing shelters or assessing damage.”

Meanwhile, FEMA personnel area have already moved into four counties to maintain and establish communications, as well as to clear roads, FEMA official Jeff Byard said.

Sixty-five generators are already on the ground in Hawaii with an additional 26 generators expected to arrive today, according to Byard.

Water and meals have also been stockpiled at locations in Oahu, Kauai, Hawaii County and Maui.

Kainalu Kitashima helps his father tie down their tiny home in preparation for Hurricane Lane

Hurricanes rarely make landfall in Hawaii, as the Central Pacific does not see as many storms as the Atlantic or Eastern Pacific, and the Hawaiian Islands present a small target in the vast Pacific Ocean.

Only two hurricanes and two tropical storms have made landfall in Hawaii since 1959.

They were:

Even close calls are somewhat rare, with Hawaii getting a named storm within 60 miles of its coastline about once every four years on average.

Astronaut Ricky Arnold shared photos that NASA captured on Wednesday of HurricaneLanefromspace.

As the outer rain bands of HurricaneLanebegin lashing Hawaii’s Big Island, roadways are already being adversely impacted, according to the Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency.

Highway 19 — a portion of the Hawaii Belt Road that runs between Hilo and Kailua-Kona — is blocked in multiple areas due to landslides, HCCDA says.

Police and Department of Transportation crews are responding to the rock slides, debris and water on the roadway, and are asking motorists to stay off the roadway if possible.

Empty shelves of a supermaket are seen as residents of Oahu are re-stocking their water and non-perishable food supplies ahead of Hurricane Lane.

Hawaii Gov. David Ige urged residents Wednesday to prepare two weeks’ worth of supplies ahead of Hurricane Lane.

And accordingly, people have beenflocking to stores for supplies.

“(I’m) filling up my bathtub with some water, hoping to board up my main windows in time,” a shopper on the Big Island, Shana Bartolome,told CNN affiliate KHONon Tuesday.

Shoppers were going for generators, toilet paper, water and other supplies, KHON reported.

Adelicia Martin, who is shopping for a family of three, struggles with her overweighted shopping cart after buying her supplies for Hurricane Lane at Sams Club on Wednesday.

Hurricane Lane is a dangerous Category 4 storm thatcould make landfall between now and Saturdayacross the islands. Even if it doesn’t, it’ll draw close enough to bring destructive winds and as much as 20 inches of rain in some places.

The hurricane was about 235 miles south-southwest of the Big Island early Thursday.

The big question is when will HurricaneLanebegin its turn towards the west? The longer it continues to move North on Friday, the closer it will get to Maui and Oahu before making its turn.

You can track Hurricane Lane here.