The Hawaiian Isles bid adieu to Hector on Thursday, and it’s back to normal today with drier tradewind weather continuing through the middle of next week.
But high surf generated by Hurricane Hector kept Oahu lifeguards busy Thursday, especially on southern shores.
According to the Honolulu Emergency Services Department, lifeguards rescued
94 people and recorded
1,200 “preventative actions,” or warnings to prevent someone from getting into trouble, officials said.
Of the rescues, 63 were in Waikiki, 29 at Ala Moana Beach Park and two at Sandy Beach, officials said.
Hurricane Hector “left a trail of moisture,” high humidity and advisory-level surf Thursday, though Hawaii
received no direct impact from it, said Derek Wroe, lead forecaster of the National Weather Service.
It remained a major Category 3 hurricane as it passed to the south of the islands, heading west, and was
415 miles southwest of Honolulu on Thursday afternoon.
The Big Island received intense rainfall Thursday afternoon with heavy showers and thunderstorms on windward and interior areas, Wroe said. Isolated thunderstorms remained in the Thursday evening forecast, but there were no reports of flooding.
“A tale of two worlds on Oahu today,” Weather Service lead meteorologist Robert Ballard colorfully tweeted. “Windward is cool and rainy, leeward is a partly sunny steambath.”
Surf from 8 to 12 feet hit south shores from Maui to Kauai but was expected to drop below 8 feet by Thursday night.
