(FM97 News) - Hurricane Iselle continues to take aim at the Big Island. The Big Island is under a hurricane warning; Maui County, Oahu and we here on Kauai and Niihau are under a tropical storm warning; and the entire state is covered by a flash flood watch as two storms pack a potential one-two punch of heavy rain, high surf and strong winds. A tropical storm warning means gale and storm force winds are expected to occur somewhere in the warning area within 36 hours. Iselle, at last report, was about 300 miles east-southeast of Hilo and was moving west-northwest at 15 miles per hour. It had maximum sustained winds of 80 miles per hour, weakened slightly from the 2am forecast, with higher gusts of up to 98 miles per hour. Iselle remains a Category 1 hurricane. It is expected to drop 5 to 8 inches of rain on the Big Island, with some areas getting up to a foot of rain, which could cause flash flooding and mud slides. The storm is expected to hit the Big Island sometime this afternoon (08/07). Its expected to miss Kauai and pass to our south. Another storm, Julio, has strengthened slightly overnight as a Category 2 hurricane, continuing its path towards the Hawaiian islands. Julio had maximum sustained winds of 105 miles per hour with higher gusts. It was located 1,235 miles east of Hilo and was moving west-northwest at 17 miles per hour. Forecasters say there will be little change in strength during the next 24 hours, but a gradual weakening is expected to start late Friday or Friday night. Julio is expect to pass us to the north. Gov. Neil Abercrombie signed an emergency proclamation ahead of the storms, which allows for easier access to emergency resources at state and federal levels and activates the major Disaster Fund for disaster relief.
Posted on: Thu, 07 Aug 2014 16:40:13 +0000
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