Hurricane Hone: Hawaii blasted with flooding rain, damaging wind; thousands without power
HILO, Hawaii - Hurricane Hone made its closest approach to Hawaii early Sunday morning as the strengthening Category 1 hurricane blasted the Big Island with damaging wind gusts and flooding rain while large and dangerous waves continued to batter the coast.
The Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC) in Honolulu said Hurricane Hone reached its closest point of approach to the Big Island, passing about 45 miles south-southwest of South Point, Hawaii, on Sunday morning.
A Tropical Storm Warning remains in effect for Hawaii’s Big Island, with communities there, like Hilo, seeing round after round of squally weather that has so far knocked out power to thousands of utility customers and forced officials to close several roads due to flooding.
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Flash Flood Warnings were issued for the Big Island as rain intensified all night, with some areas seeing rainfall rates of up to 2 inches per hour.
The National Weather Service has warned that flooding in streams and rivers, as well as in low-lying areas, is likely, and concerns are growing that the torrential precipitation could lead to landslides and mudslides in areas with steep terrain.
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Hone is expected to produce rainfall totals between 6 and 12 inches over mainly windward or southeast-facing slopes on the Big Island, with locally higher amounts.
Lower rainfall totals are expected over portions of the smaller islands.
Current rainfall totals from Hurricane Hone.(FOX Weather)
More than a foot of rain has already fallen in many areas of Hawaii's Big Island, including Nahuku, which picked up 15.81 inches of rain so far, as well as Kanakaleonui and Hakalau, which both picked up more than 14 inches of rain.
Power outages have also been on the rise, with PowerOutage.us reporting more than 13,700 outage reports coming from the Big Island.
Hawaii County Mayor Mitchell D. Roth declared a state of emergency ahead of the hurricane and urged residents to prepare for the storm’s impacts.
"I want to make sure everyone is taking care of the things they need to take care of around the house," Roth said ahead of Hone’s arrival. "Going through their preventative checklist, whether it’s putting aside water or clothes or things like that."
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green also issued a proclamation declaring a state of emergency in the state of Hawaii that will remain in effect through at least Monday.
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Shelters have also been opened on the Big Island for residents to seek safety until conditions improve.
Numerous roads have also been closed due to flooding and downed trees, which will impact travel.
In addition, Hawaii’s Department of Transportation said the terminal at Hilo International Airport remains open, but passengers are urged to check their flight status before heading to the airport in case there are delays or cancellations.
FOX Weather Correspondent Robert Ray is in Hawaii providing live reports as Hurricane Hone continues to lash the islands.
What's the latest forecast for Hurricane Hone?
Current location of Hurricane Hone.(FOX Weather)
According to the latest information from the CPHC, Hurricane Hone was located about 90 miles south-southwest of Kona, and 210 miles south-southeast of Honolulu and was moving off to the west at 8 mph. The CPHC said that motion is expected to continue into Monday, with slight slowing expected thereafter.
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Hurricane Hone has winds of 85 mph with some higher gusts, and little change in strength is expected through Sunday morning, followed by a gradual weakening trend starting Sunday afternoon.
Hone forecast cone.(FOX Weather)