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Darby continues on path toward Hawaii as Celia’s remnants move away

Craig Gima
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NOAA / GOES WEST

This composite satellite image shows remnants of former Hurricane Celia north of Kauai and Oahu today. Tropical Storm Darby, center, is nearing the Central Pacific and weakening and Tropical Storm Estelle, right, is intensifying southeast of Mexico.

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NOAA / NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE

This animated loop shows a satellite view of the weather over Hawaii.

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NASA RAPID RESPONSE/NOAA/DOD

This satellite image shows the remnants of former Hurricane Celia (left) near Hawaii and former Hurricane Darby in the East Pacific Monday.

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NOAA / GOES WEST

This satellite image shows tropical storms Darby and Estelle to the left and two developing low pressure systems southeast of Estelle today.

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NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER

This graphic shows the projected intensity and path of Tropical Storm Darby over the next five days.

The center of what was once Hurricane Celia moved northeast of Kauai this morning, but the muggy conditions associated with the former tropical cyclone remained over the state and could generate more rain through Wednesday morning on Oahu.

Meanwhile in the East Pacific, former Hurricane Darby weakened to a tropical storm that could bring windy, humid and rainy weather to the islands this weekend.

Early this morning, the center of Celia’s remnants was about 130 miles north-northwest of Lihue, moving west, away from the main Hawaiian islands.

Monday’s 0.33 inches of rain recorded at the Honolulu Airport set a record for the date. It beat the previous rainfall record of 0.11 inches for July 18, set in 2014.

The system has cut off the tradewinds and shifted winds to the south, creating the possibility of afternoon showers over leeward areas. Some of the rains could be heavy over Kauai and Oahu.

The dew point, a measure of humidity, in Honolulu this morning was at an uncomfortable 71 degrees. Combined with temperatures expected to peak around lunchtime in the mid-80s, forecasters say it could feel as hot as 96 degrees today.

Some cooling tradewinds will likely return by Thursday, but the relief may be short lived.

Forecasters are watching Tropical Storm Darby, which was packing sustained winds of 65 mph about 1,125 miles east of Hilo at 5 p.m. The storm is moving west at 13 mph and should cross into the Central Pacific early Wednesday and pass close to or over the islands this weekend as a tropical storm.

The latest forecast track has the storm taking a sharp turn to the northwest as it gets close to Hawaii and moving north of the state.

Darby’s effect on Hawaii’s weather will depend on how close it passes to Hawaii.

A turn to the north would have the least impact, depending on how far away the storm passes north. It could still bring heavy rains, humidity and rain, similar to or a little more intense than the weather over the last two days.

If it passes south or over the islands, there could be stronger winds and heavier rains because the heaviest rains associated with the storm are generally on the northeast or northwest section of the system and the strongest winds are near the center of the storm.

The actual path of a storm can vary by more than 170 miles on forecasts five days out, so Darby’s effect on Hawaii’s weather is still uncertain.

Behind Darby, Estelle remained at tropical storm strength, with sustained winds of 70 mph, about 760 miles west-southwest of Baja California. Estele is moving west at 13 mph and is expected to weaken into a post-tropical cyclone by the weekend.

Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center are also watching two other areas of thunderstorms southeast of Estelle that could also develop into tropical cyclones in the next five days.

Estelle and the other developing systems are still too far away to predict if they will affect Hawaii’s weather.

2 responses to “Darby continues on path toward Hawaii as Celia’s remnants move away”

  1. Blunt says:

    Hot humid weather I don’t like. Rain is good. Haven’t had many hurricanes for a while. Exciting to watch those red and yellow spinners churning in the eastern Pacific as they get fired off from Mexico. Sooner or later one will hit us and we can buy up the “I was there” Tshirts. We’re overdue.

    • Morimoto says:

      Ignorant comment. We’re not “overdue”. Actually there’s a reason why the only direct hit by a hurricane since at least 1950 has been Kauai, twice. All the other islands have never been directly his by a hurricane and rarely by a tropical storm. I don’t think Oahu has even been hit by a tropical storm. Small target, cooler waters around the island, the mountains on the Big Island all contribute to the rarity of hurricanes coming near Hawaii.

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