Cat 5 Hurricane Lane is going to make Hawaii hurricane history but...

By Jesse Ferrell, AccuWeather meteorologist

8/26/2018, 4:43:10 PM

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DISCLAIMER: These thoughts are my own, may not represent the official forecast from AccuWeather and may not be updated in a timely fashion.

Hurricane Lane became a Category 5 storm last night (downgraded this morning) -- and it is historical. These are our current forecast maps (note: will not update):

You can watch the storm on webcams from Earthcam, Surfline, Explore.Org a, Marriott, SPG Resorts and KonaWebcams.com

I tweeted yesterday there have only been three storms anywhere near Hawaii in recorded history:

*Adjusts tie* Hurricane Lane is almost a Cat 5. Worth noting only 3 Cat 5s anywhere near Hawaii, all in 1994.
https://t.co/TDu9c42QGf pic.twitter.com/vxaRed3ijX
— Jesse Ferrell (@Accu_Jesse) August 21, 2018

(That history goes back to the mid-1800s, but a likely hurricane that hit there in 1871 is not in the database). Today, the NWS at Honolulu confirmed it is the first Category 5 within 350 miles of the state since 1994 (which, oddly had all three of those Cat 5s I mentioned above.

No Cat 5s since 1994. That's 24 years! https://t.co/CzxVl9Bf1P
— Jesse Ferrell (@Accu_Jesse) August 22, 2018

Hurricane Lane is a dangerous storm, especially because Hawaii hasn't experienced a hurricane in more than 25 years. That may mean that trees and structures are not used to the high winds. However, with regard to winds, there's no way that this storm will be their "Maria." Lane will continue to weaken; high winds will not be able to decimate the islands like happened with Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico or like happens to the small Pacific islands with super typhoons.

That said, the rain (and mudslides) will be the big threat. Because of its fast forward speed, only six people were killed by Hurricane Iniki 1992, which was the island's worst storm on record. Lane will be much slower moving, dropping as much as 20 inches of rain, which could easily cause mudslides and kill more people than Iniki.

SATELLITE IMAGES:

Hurricane Lane just "weakened" to a Cat 4, but Hawaii has only been hit by a couple of hurricanes in history, so they...
Posted by WeatherMatrix on Wednesday, August 22, 2018

SATELLITE IMAGES:

The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of AccuWeather, Inc. or AccuWeather.com

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