Lane was downgraded to a tropical storm Friday, but it’s still drenching Hawaii with heavy rains and dangerous flash flooding.
The center of the storm – about 150 miles south of Honolulu on Friday – is not expected to come ashore though the eye wall could pass dangerously close to the central islands, including Oahu and Maui, in the coming days.
But it’s the Big Island of Hawaii – the easternmost island in the chain – that has been hammered hardest by rain. More than 35 inches fell in one spot over the past few days, causing serious flooding, landslides and road closures.
“The potential for excessive rainfall remains high, which could lead to life- threatening flash flooding, as well as land and mudslides,” Honolulu’s office of the National Weather Service said.
Lane will continue to pose numerous hazards across parts of the islands into the weekend, including strong winds, storm surges up to 4 feet above normal tides, and 10 to 20 inches of rain, forecasters say.
Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell said the islands have “dodged a bullet” and warned residents to remain vigilant as heavy rains still loom.
Forecasters say the storm is moving on a slow motion northwest and will move west on Saturday.
“This path will take Lane away from the islands,” the weather service said.
Numerous areas were under flash flood watches
Lane’s approach came as people on Maui dealt with a separate hazard: Two brush fires were burning, one that was forcing evacuations around the resort area of Lahaina.
Quiet morning in Honolulu
Honolulu had an unusually quiet Friday morning. Most stores closed at 4 p.m. HT on Thursday, and on Friday the streets were fairly empty, which is rare for Honolulu. The stray tourist could be found walking around attempting to find something open, but for the most part the streets were peaceful.
Only a few cars were driving down the main thoroughfare, Kalakaua Avenue, which backstops Waikiki Beach. Traffic was much less than usual; there were no tour buses, delivery trucks, or commercial traffic.
Most of the hotels had removed their pool furniture and sun shades, so pool areas look somewhat odd without anything surrounding them. Some hotels have their restaurants open, though seemingly operating at a very reduced staffing level.
The number of surfers and the number of big waves were down, too, when compared with Thursday.
Many tourists spent Friday afternoon getting some last beach time, as conditions were expected to deteriorate within hours.
Anticipating the storm
On Kauai, residents were waiting for the coming storm.
According to Hawaii News Now, many of them were hunkered down, having boarded up their homes and gathered supplies
“Making the kids enjoy themselves. Having family time together, just expecting the worse but hoping for the best,” Crystal Battulyan, of Puhi, said.
The family had brought board games in case the power went out.
Other residents were out in the churning surf.
“Oh it’s good! That’s why we’re here. Two days in a row,” surfer Kenny Kaufman told Hawaii News Now.
‘It’s going to hang around for a while’
As the hurricane got closer to Hawaii, Gov. David Ige urged residents to set aside two weeks’ worth of food, water and other necessities.
There have been some power outages in four counties, officials said.