Cat 4 Lane Remains Dangerous; Islands Still Vulnerable

VIDEO: On Aug. 22 at 7:48 a.m., the Global Precipitation Measurement mission or GPM core satellite passed over Hurricane Lane when it was a Category 5 hurricane in the Central Pacific Ocean. GPM found very heavy rain occurring in powerful storms located in Lane’s well defined eye wall. Moderate to heavy rainfall was also covering a large area extending outward from the eye. PC: NASA/JAXA, Hal Pierce

Hurricane Lane strengthened Tuesday night, Aug. 21, 2018, reaching Category 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale as it continued barreling toward the Hawaiian Islands with top sustained winds near 160 mph.

As of 6:30 p.m. last night, Lane was located about 375 miles SSE of Kailua-Kona on the Big Island’s west coast, heading WNW at 9 mph.

A hurricane warning was issued at 5 p.m. Tuesday for the Big Island, with watches extended from Maui County to O‘ahu.

At 5 a.m. this morning, Wednesday, Aug. 22, Hurricane Lane weakened slightly, now poised at the upper end of the wind scale as a Category 4 hurricane, with top sustained winds of 155 mph.

As of 6 a.m. this morning, Lane was located 315 miles south of Kailua-Kona.

At 8 a.m., the eye of Hurricane Lane was located near latitude 15.2 north, longitude 155.7 west, 305  miles south of Kailua-Kona. Lane is moving toward the WNW near 8 mph and this motion is expected to become northwest later today, followed by a turn to the NNW on Thursday.

On the forecast track, the center of Lane will move very close to or over the main Hawaiian Islands from Thursday through Saturday.

Maximum sustained winds are near 155 mph, with higher gusts. Lane is a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Some weakening is forecast during the next 48 hours, but Lane is forecast to remain a dangerous hurricane as it draws closer to the Hawaiian Islands.

Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 40 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 140 miles.

Enhanced infrared image of Hurricane Lane at 0400Z Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2018 (midnight Tuesday night EDT). The southernmost part of the Big Island is outlined in pink at top center. Image credit: NOAA/NESDIS.

HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND

WIND: Tropical storm conditions are expected within the Hurricane Warning area beginning late tonight into early Thursday morning, with hurricane conditions expected somewhere within the warning area on Thursday. Tropical storm conditions are possible within the Hurricane Watch area beginning Thursday into Thursday night, with hurricane conditions possible late Thursday night into Friday.

RAINFALL: Rainbands from Hurricane Lane will begin moving ashore on the Puna and Kau districts over the next hour or two. Excessive rainfall associated with Lane is expected to affect portions of the Hawaiian Islands from late today into the weekend, would could lead to major flash flooding and landslides. Lane is expected to produce total rain accumulations of 10 to 15 inches with localized amounts in excess of 20 inches over the Hawaiian Islands.

SURF: Large swells generated by Lane will impact the Hawaiian Islands, beginning this morning on the Big Island, spreading across the remainder of the island chain on today. These swells will produce large and potentially damaging surf along exposed west, south and east facing shorelines.

The next complete advisory will be published shortly after 11 a.m.