Posted on 08/31/2003 9:51:53 AM PDT by bonesmccoy
N and E Hawaii Incl Windward Kohala Hamakua Hilo and Puna
FORECAST INFORMATION FOR North and East Hawaii including Windward Kohala Hamakua Hilo and Puna
HURRICANE JIMENA LOCAL STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 545 AM HST SUN AUG 31 2003
...JIMENA EXPECTED TO PASS JUST SOUTH OF THE BIG ISLAND EARLY MONDAY MORNING BUT STILL BRING HIGH SURF...HEAVY RAIN AND STRONG WINDS TO PARTS OF THE BIG ISLAND...
...AREAS AFFECTED...
THIS STATEMENT RECOMMENDS SPECIFIC ACTIONS TO BE TAKEN BY PERSONS ON THE BIG ISLAND OF HAWAII.
...WATCHES WARNINGS...
A HURRICANE WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE BIG ISLAND OF HAWAII. A HURRICANE WATCH MEANS THAT HURRICANE CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE WITHIN 36 HOURS.
A TROPICAL STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THE BIG ISLAND OF HAWAII. A TROPICAL STORM WARNING MEANS THAT TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED WITHIN 24 HOURS.
A HIGH SURF ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR THE EAST AND SOUTHEAST FACING SHORES.
...STORM INFORMATION...
AT 5 AM HST...THE CENTER OF HURRICANE JIMENA WAS LOCATED NEAR 18.0N 148.5W...OR ABOUT 445 MILES EAST-SOUTHEAST OF HILO...AND MOVING TOWARD THE WEST NEAR 17 MILES AN HOUR. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 105 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS.
...PRECAUTIONARY ACTIONS...
FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS FROM EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AND LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS. PEOPLE ON THE BIG ISLAND SHOULD PREPARE NOW FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF HURRICANE CONDITIONS. SECURE TRASH CANS...LAWN FURNITURE...AND OTHER LOOSE OR LIGHT WEIGHT OBJECTS THAT MAY BE BLOWN AROUND IN THE WIND. HIGH WINDS CAN TOPPLE TREES AND DOWN POWER LINES. PREPARE FOR POWER OUTAGES AND HAVE FLASHLIGHTS...A BATTERY OPERATED RADIO AND EXTRA BATTERIES ON HAND.
PEOPLE ALONG THE EAST AND SOUTHEAST FACING SHORES OF THE BIG ISLAND SHOULD STAY OUT OF THE WATER...AND WELL AWAY FROM THE SHORE BREAK... DUE TO HAZARDOUS WAVE ACTION AND RIP CURRENTS. COUNTY CIVIL DEFENSE OFFICIALS HAVE ALREADY CLOSED BEACHES IN THE PUNA AND KAU DISTRICTS BECAUSE OF THE EXPECTED DANGEROUS SURF CONDITIONS.
...HIGH SURF AND TIDE IMPACTS...
SURF HEIGHTS ON EAST AND SOUTHEAST FACING SHORES OF THE BIG ISLAND WILL BUILD TO 8 TO 12 FEET TODAY. OCCASIONAL HIGHER SETS ARE POSSIBLE LATER TODAY AND INTO MONDAY. THE UNUSUALLY HIGH SURF...WHEN COMBINED WITH HIGH TIDE...MAY CAUSE LOCALIZED FLOODING AND EROSION ALONG EAST AND SOUTHEAST-FACING SHORES OF THE BIG ISLAND.
HIGH TIDE WILL OCCUR AT 605 PM HST SUNDAY AND 734 AM HST MONDAY AT HONUAPO...ALONG THE SOUTHEAST COAST OF THE BIG ISLAND...BOTH WITH A HEIGHT OF 2.2 FEET.
...WIND IMPACTS...
TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS OF 40 MPH...WITH GUSTS TO 60 MPH IN SQUALLS...WILL BEGIN AFFECTING THE BIG ISLAND OF HAWAII LATE THIS EVENING AND CONTINUE THROUGH LATE MONDAY MORNING. THE CENTER OF HURRICANE JIMENA IS FORECAST TO PASS ABOUT 50 MILES SOUTH OF SOUTH POINT EARLY MONDAY MORNING. REMEMBER THAT DAMAGING WINDS AND HEAVY RAINS CAN EXTEND FAR FROM THE CENTER...AND TRACK FORECASTS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
...FLOODING IMPACTS...
HEAVY RAINS ARE EXPECTED OVER THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF THE BIG ISLAND TONIGHT INTO MONDAY. RAINFALL AMOUNTS OF 4 TO 6 INCHES... LOCALLY UP TO 10 INCHES...ARE POSSIBLE. LOW LYING...POOR DRAINAGE... AND FLOOD PRONE AREAS SHOULD BE AVOIDED.
...NEXT UPDATE...
THE NEXT SCHEDULED LOCAL STATEMENT WILL BE ISSUED BY 9 AM HST OR SOONER IF NECESSARY.
$$
HIGH SURF ADVISORY NUMBER 3 NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HONOLULU HI 400 AM HST SUN AUG 31 2003
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS CONTINUED THE
* HIGH SURF ADVISORY FOR... EAST AND SOUTHEAST FACING SHORES OF MAUI AND THE BIG ISLAND
* EFFECTIVE TODAY AND INTO MONDAY
* SURF HEIGHTS ALONG THE EAST FACING SHORES OF MAUI AND THE BIG ISLAND WILL RISE TO 8 TO 12 FEET DURING THE MORNING AND CONTINUE INTO MONDAY.
SWELL FROM HURRICANE JIMENA WILL OCCASIONAL RESULT IN HIGHER SETS... ESPECIALLY ON SOUTHEAST FACING SHORES OF THE BIG ISLAND. THESE SURF HEIGHTS ARE FULL FACE VALUES. THE HIGH SURF WILL RESULT IN DANGEROUS CONDITIONS...EXTREME CAUTION IS ADVISED IF VENTURING NEAR THE WATER THIS HOLIDAY WEEKEND.
THE NEXT ADVISORY WILL BE ISSUED AT 4 PM HST SUNDAY OR SOONER IF NECESSARY.
$$
| 600 AM HST SUN AUG 31 2003 | |||||||
| NORTH AND EAST HAWAII-WEST HAWAII-SOUTH HAWAII- | |||||||
| CITY | SKY/WX | TMP | DP | RH | WIND | PRES | REMARKS |
| KAILUA KONA | CLOUDY | 77 | 67 | 71 | NE5 | 29.98R | |
| HILO | CLOUDY | 73 | 67 | 81 | S6 | 30.04R | |
No short term forecasts are currently in effect for this area.
N and E Hawaii Incl Windward Kohala Hamakua Hilo and Puna
400 AM HST SUN AUG 31 2003
HURRICANE WATCH
...TROPICAL STORM WARNING... ...HIGH SURF ADVISORY FOR EAST AND SOUTHEAST FACING SHORES...
TODAY:
Partly cloudy. Scattered showers.
Highs in the lower 80s. Trades around 15 mph.
TONIGHT:
Becoming windy with occasional showers. Damaging winds are possible.
Lows around 70. Trades 25 to 35 mph becoming east 35 to 45 mph after midnight.
LABOR DAY:
Cloudy with occasional showers. Damaging winds are possible.
Highs near 80. Trades 35 to 45 mph with local gusts to 60 mph.
MONDAY NIGHT:
Mostly cloudy with numerous showers.
Lows in the lower 70s. East winds 20 to 30 mph.
TUESDAY:
Partly cloudy with scattered showers.
Highs near 80. Trades 15 to 25 mph.
WEDNESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY:
Partly cloudy with scattered showers.
Lows in the lower 70s. Highs in the lower 80s. Trades around 15 mph.
| .< | TEMPERATURE | ||
| HILO AIRPORT | 83 | 72 | 79 |
Understanding eastern Pacific hurricanes
Source: The USA TODAY Weather Book by Jack Williams
By Jack Williams, USATODAY.com
Even though an average of 18 tropical storms form over the eastern Pacific Ocean each year and around half develop into hurricanes, few of these storms hit land. A few hurricanes hit Mexico's West Coast and every few years a storm will brush Hawaii.
No hurricane has hit the California Coast since records began, but a tropical storm with 50 mph winds did come ashore at Long Beach on Sept. 25, 1939, killing at least 45 people. (Related: Tropical storms to affect California).
Since winds over the tropics around the globe blow generally from east to west, storms that form over the warm Pacific off the Central American and Mexican coasts are generally pushed toward the west. Some storms do turn toward the north to hit the Mexican Coast. Cold ocean water off the California Coast weakens storms that make it that far north.
Even though the storms die before reaching the USA, the remnants can bring heavy rain to California, the Southwest and sometimes to places as far east as Oklahoma.
Most hurricanes die before they get as far west as Hawaii, but some do make it. The water around Hawaii is cooler than farther south and the storms weaken, however. The last hurricane to hit Hawaii was Iniki in 1992, which devastated parts of the Island of Kauai with winds probably up to 115 mph. Iniki killed six people and damage was estimated at $2.3 billion in year 2000 dollars.
Eastern and central Pacific storms are called "hurricanes." Storms have to be west of the International Date Line to be "typhoons."
Until weather satellites began "seeing" eastern Pacific hurricanes in the 1970s, meteorologists had underestimated how many occur because many storms never come near land and fewer ships sail the eastern Pacific than the Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. The eastern Pacific hurricane season runs from May 15 through Nov. 30.
West Coast 'hurricane' winds aren't hurricanes
From time to time winds above 75 mph hit the Pacific Coast, especially the Northwest Coast. While these are "hurricane force" winds, they are not from hurricanes, but from strong extratropical storms.
One famous case was the Columbus Day Storm of 1962 that hit northern California, Oregon and Washington. It caused more than 50 deaths and had winds as high as 119 mph in Portland. When it hit the West Coast, this storm was extratropical, but began as Typhoon Frieda nine days earlier near Wake Island in the western Pacific.
The storm stayed a rather weak typhoon with 100 mph winds, before merging with an extratropical storm. The extratropical storm moved eastward across the Pacific and then northward along the Northwest Coast.
While some accounts called the storm "Typhoon Frieda" or "Hurricane Frieda" when it hit the Northwest, it was no longer a tropical storm, but had become extropical. (Related: Differences between tropical, extratropical storms).
If anything, the Pacific hurricanes are more powerful than the Atlantic variety - there was one a few years ago with 200 mph sustained winds, but fortunately it never made landfall.
FMCDH
That's actually pretty stupid if you think about.
But I always thought it was "typhoon" in the "western" Pacific (Hong Kong, Phillipines and such). So I was wondering about the term "hurricane" in relation to Hawaii. But an earlier poster answered that if the storm started in the "eastern" Pacific (off the coast of Mexico) and moved west it was still called a hurricane.
It's enough to turn the brain inside out, living on this side of the ocean!
The track has changed to a more southerly direction and the the sat. pic has the formation MUCH closer to the islands now.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.