As Hurricane Iona moved westward across warm, open waters, a federal meteorologist indicated that the Miami hurricane, which formed quickly Monday in the central Pacific Ocean, was not likely to pose any problems for Hawaii.
According to Derek Wroe of the Honolulu-based National Weather Service, there is a high degree of confidence that it won’t directly affect the islands.
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Iona evolved Sunday from a tropical depression to become a Category 1 hurricane in about a day, making it the first named storm of the hurricane season in the central Pacific.
Although the hurricane is centered far south of Hawaii, its downward pressure winds will have an indirect effect, resulting in dry and windy weather.
According to Wroe, there is typically compensating downward motion after a hurricane experiences a lot of upward motion. That ought to apply here as well. Consequently, it will be dry and windy.
When Hurricane Dora passed well south of the islands in August 2023, those circumstances prevailed, and the winds that followed created the conditions that made the deadliest fire in the United States in more than a century worse.
102 individuals lost their lives when the fire ripped through Lahaina, a historic town.
According to him, there are worries that Hurricane Iona conditions might be at or close to red flag levels.
That being said, it would not be comparable to what we witnessed during Hurricane Dora. He said, “The situation is just not that strong.”
Hurricane Dora produced a pressure gradient that caused gusts to reach 50 mph (80 kph) in central Maui and well over 60 mph (96 kph) on the Big Island. Two years ago, West Maui had no wind measurement equipment.
With winds of about 20 mph (32 kph) and potential localized gusts of exceeding 40 mph (64 kph), he stated, “We don’t expect anything even close to that.”
Iona was approximately 895 miles (1,440 kilometers) southeast of Honolulu on Monday, according to the Miami-based U.S. National Hurricane Center. There were no coastal warnings or watches in force. It is anticipated that Iona will continue to gain strength over the next few days before beginning to decline in the middle of the week.
Approximately 75 mph (120 kph) is the hurricane’s highest sustained wind speed. It was traveling at roughly 10 mph (17 kph) in a generally westward direction.
In the middle Pacific, a second weather system has also developed. Approximately 1,140 miles (1,840 kilometers) east-southeast of Honolulu is where Tropical Depression Two-C is situated. The strongest sustained winds are predicted to be around 35 mph (55 kph).
Wroe stated that he also did not anticipate this storm having any direct effects on Hawaii.
All counties participated in a statewide conference call sponsored by the administrator of the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency on Monday, during which the National Weather Service gave an update on the storms’ condition and evaluation.
In an email, agency spokesperson Kiele Amundson stated that all counties are keeping an eye on things.
Swells could be another indirect effect of these storms, but according to Wroe, they are just modest and are heading west and won’t produce anything noteworthy.
However, a massive swell that was created several hundred miles east of New Zealand is on its way to Hawaii.
It is anticipated to reach Hawaii on Thursday, at the same time that the storms move through the state.
According to him, people may mistakenly believe that the swell energy originates from these tropical systems, but this is untrue.
With a surge of 10 feet (3 meters) or more, he expects a high surf advisory to be issued for the Hawaiian Islands’ southern shores.
