Tropical Storm Calvin sideswipes Hawaii
AccuWeather meteorologists say Calvin will bring drenching rain, gusty winds and dangerous seas to parts of Hawaii this week as the tropical system skims just south of the island chain.
We haven’t had any new tropical storms in the Atlantic Ocean recently and that’s fairly normal for mid-July. But why is that? AccuWeather’s Bernie Rayno explains.
As Tropical Storm Calvin was making its closest approach to Hawaii on Wednesday, residents and visitors across the state were bracing for the state’s first encounter with a tropical system in just over a year. AccuWeather forecasters say Calvin will unleash heavy rainfall, gusty winds and churn up seas as it tracks just south of the island chain.
Tropical storm warnings remained in effect for the Big Island and its surrounding waters Wednesday in anticipation of Calvin's downpours and locally damaging winds.
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green said on Tuesday that state offices and schools were closing on the Big Island in advance of Calvin and would remain closed on Wednesday. State parks on the Big Island were also closed due to the passage of the storm. Green issued a state of emergency declaration for the Big Island in order to “make resources available to address potential storm impacts.”
As of 5 a.m. HST Wednesday, Tropical Storm Calvin was located about 170 miles southwest of Hilo, Hawaii, and 250 miles south-southeast of Honolulu, according to the National Hurricane Center. Calvin was moving past the island chain swiftly at a speed of 20 mph.
"Calvin will pass just to the south of the Hawaiian Islands on Wednesday, bringing rough surf and rip currents to north- and east-facing beaches," AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Adam Douty said. Stiff winds and rough seas will also occur in the channels between the larger islands.
Conditions will be dangerous for surfers or any folks wanting to head to Hawaii's beaches.
The National Weather Service in Honolulu issued a high surf warning for the Big Island's east-facing beaches in effect into Wednesday, warning of "dangerously large and disorganized waves."
Forecasters say Calvin will usher in other dangers in addition to hazardous seas.
"The storm is also expected to bring downpours and flooding to the islands into Thursday, along with gusty winds, which can cause localized power outages," explained Douty.
A large swath of Hawaii can receive 1–2 inches of rain from Calvin, with some portions of the Big Island set to record 4–8 inches.
Due to Hawaii's mountainous terrain, there can be large variations in both the location and intensity of the heaviest rain. Areas with steep terrain that receive heavy rainfall are more susceptible to mudslides.
Any non-flooding rainfall may be welcome in parts of the islands. Moderate drought conditions were being reported in the western and central part of Maui as well as a section of the Big Island, according to the United States Drought Monitor.
While relatively cool waters surround the islands, sea surface temperatures are a bit higher south of the islands, where Calvin is tracking. This may allow the system to hold onto tropical storm status until it pushes farther west on Wednesday night and Thursday.
"Some localized damaging wind gusts remain possible, mainly on the Big Island," said Douty.
Due to expected impacts from rain and wind, Calvin is a 1 on the AccuWeather RealImpact™ Scale for Hurricanes.
After impacting the Hawaiian Islands, Calvin is expected to quickly lose organization and become a tropical rainstorm for a time before fully dissipating late this week.
Calvin's track just south of Hawaii this week will mark the closest that a named tropical system has gotten to the state since Darby impacted the area in 2022.
This image captured early Wednesday morning, July 19, 2023, shows Tropical Storm Calvin. The center of the storm was located to the south of the Big Island of Hawaii. (AccuWeather Enhanced RealVue™ satellite)
Almost exactly a year ago, Hurricane Darby passed just south of Hawaii's Big Island. Darby, a tropical storm that was losing wind intensity at the time, still managed to bring rain to the southern portion of the state before dissipating on July 17, 2022.
Calvin first formed well off the southwestern coast of Mexico back on July 7 and has been on an adventure spanning about 3,000 miles of the Pacific Ocean since.
While over the open eastern Pacific Ocean last week, Calvin rapidly intensified into the basin's first major hurricane of the season. Calvin topped out at Category 3 hurricane status before encountering conditions that caused it to lose wind intensity this past weekend.
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