KAILUA-KONA — A tropical storm warning has been issued for Hawaii County as Hurricane Olivia continues march toward state.
As of 11 a.m. today Hurricane Olivia featured 75 mph winds about 435 miles east of Hilo and 680 miles east of Lihue. It was tracking west at 9 mph, according to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center in Honolulu.
County of Kaua‘i officials are reminding residents and visitors to get prepared and stay informed.
“We are closely monitoring this tropical cyclone, and although we are not yet in a Watch or Warning, we are encouraging everyone to remain vigilant and to start preparing now,” said Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr.
A tropical storm warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area within 36 hours.
The warning is also is effect for Maui County. A tropical storm watch is in effect for Oahu.
According to AccuWeather, “Olivia will take an unusual path over the Hawaiian Islands around the middle of the week, but a repeat of Lane’s historic rainfall is not expected.
Olivia, currently a Category 1 hurricane, is moving swiftly westward toward the island chain.
AccuWeather meteorologists expect Olivia to be a tropical storm by the time it reaches Hawaii later Tuesday into Wednesday night.
AccuWeather Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski pointed out that since Olivia is moving at a much quicker pace than Lane, this will keep rainfall totals from reaching the same historic levels.
A turn toward the west-southwest is expected starting later today, and this motion is expected to continue through Wednesday. On the forecast track, the center of Olivia will be moving over the main Hawaiian Islands Tuesday night into Wednesday.
Little change in strength is forecast today, with slight weakening starting tonight and continuing through Tuesday. However, Olivia is forecast to be a strong tropical storm when it reaches the Hawaiian Islands.
Forecasters said that Olivia is expected to produce total rainfall accumulations of 10 to 15 inches. Isolated maximum amounts of 20 inches are possible, especially over windward sections of Maui County and the Big Island. This rainfall may produce life-threatening flash flooding.
Large swells generated by Olivia will spread from east to west across the Hawaiian Islands early this week. This will cause surf to build along exposed east facing shorelines as Olivia approaches, forecasters cautioned.
