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Hawaii News

Nora’s remnants bring rain to Hawaii as Tropical Storm Olaf forms

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What’s left of former Tropical Storm Nora is moving over the island chain, bringing heavy rain to the Big Island and Maui, higher humidity and an increased chance of showers to all islands this weekend.

A flood advisory for the Big Island was been cancelled.

Hawaii Police have closed Highway 19 at Kaawalii Gulch due to a landslide and heavy runoff.

Persistent moderate to heavy showers were also falling over windward slopes of the West Maui mountains and Haleakala.

“Stream gauges in windward West Maui indicate elevated water levels in the Honokohau Stream, the Waihee River and in Kahakuloa Stream. On the Hana Coast, a stream gauge in the Hoopoe Stream indicates elevated water levels as well,” the National Weather Service said this afternoon.

Locations in the warning include, but are not limited to, Lahaina, Pukalani, Haliimaile, Pauwela, Waikapu, Wailuku and Haiku-Pauwela. 

A flood advisory has been extended until 2:30 a.m. Radar just after 11:24 p.m. indicated heavy rain that will cause minor flooding over the windward Maui coast. Radar showed rain falling at up to 1 1/2 inches per hour.

Locations in the advisory include, but are not limited to, communities in the windward west Maui from Waiehu to Honolua to Napili, and from Hana to Pauwela in windward Haleakala. 

The National Weather Service also issued a high surf advisory for south-facing shores of all islands until 6 a.m. Sunday. Surf of 6 to 10 feet can be expected. 

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Olaf formed in the East Pacific, about 1,485 miles southwest of Baja California. It is expected to become a hurricane this weekend. Olaf had sustained winds of 40 mph and was moving west at 14 mph.

It’s too early to say if the storm will have an effect on Hawaii’s weather.

The rain from the remnants of Nora will mostly affect windward areas, but the leeward sides of the islands may also get “intermittent passing showers,” forecasters said.

“Heavy rain is expected at times through Saturday, mainly for the windward and mauka areas. A slight chance of thunderstorms is also in the forecast for the Big Island Saturday afternoon,” the weather service said. “The moisture should move west of the state by Monday and we will return to a drier and more stable weather pattern through much of next week.”

Tropical Storm Olaf is expected to become a category 1 hurricane by Sunday and could strengthen into a major hurricane as it crosses into the Central Pacific early next week.

Olaf will be the 15th tropical cyclone this season in the Central Pacific and the 14th named storm in a record-breaking year. 

The previous record for tropical cyclones in the Central Pacific was 11.

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