Hurricane Horn pounded the Hawaiian Islands on Sunday, bringing heavy rains and leaving thousands without power.
Horn reached Category 1 status when it passed 75 miles south of Kauai. Weakening into a tropical depressionAccording to the National Weather Service.
Maximum sustained wind speeds reached nearly 70 mph, with even stronger gusts recorded.
About 10,000 people across Hawaii were without power by 3 a.m. local time, according to outage tracking site PowerOutageUS.
Hawaiian Electric, which provides power to 95 percent of the 1.4 million residents on the islands of Oahu, Maui, Hawaii Island, Lanai and Molokai, said crews had restored power to the majority of customers who lost power during the disaster.
By early Monday morning, that number had dropped to about 3,000, with most of the outages on Hawaii Island.
Wind and rain are expected in Hawaii on Monday, with coastal marine warnings in effect.
A flood watch was also issued for the Big Island overnight Monday, according to the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency, and the NWS office in Honolulu urged residents to seek higher ground and avoid driving or walking through flooded water.
But water isn’t the only thing holding up traffic: The Hawaii Department of Transportation has been working to remove rocks and boulders that were blocking Maui roads. Trees and debris have also been removed.
Mauna Loa Road in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park was also temporarily closed due to high winds. Most of the park was closed due to the danger posed by Horn Volcano.
Over the weekend, windward areas of the Big Island had already seen 2 to 4 inches of rain, with wind gusts exceeding 60 mph, the NHC said.
Hawaiian Electric Gusts of wind and heavy rain “Trees could easily fall, with partial falls or broken branches, causing new power outages,” it said, warning residents and visitors to stay at least 30 feet away from downed power lines.
On Oahu, a tree fell on power lines, knocking out power to several customers in the Mililani area.
Red flag warnings were lifted for all islands over the weekend. Warnings are issued when a combination of high temperatures, very low humidity and strong winds creates increased fire danger. Horn, whose name means “sweet and tender” in Hawaiian, said memories of deadly fires last year caused by hurricane-force winds were still fresh on Maui.
The fire that ravaged the historic town of Lahaina on August 8, 2023, killed 102 people and became the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century. Dry, lush grass and drought conditions helped the fire spread.
More than 73 percent of the islands are currently under threat of moderate to severe drought, according to the U.S. drought monitor.
The cause of the Lahaina fire remains under investigation, but it may have been ignited by exposed power lines or leaning poles toppled by strong winds. The state’s two power companies, Hawaiian Electric and Kauai Island Utilities Cooperative, were prepared to shut off power if necessary to reduce the chance that live, damaged lines could spark a fire, but later announced that no safety precautions were necessary as the horn passed over the islands.
Hurricane Girma and newly formed Tropical Storm Hector are moving westward as Tropical Storm Horn progresses. The NHC says Hector may strengthen over the next few days, while Girma has strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane. It is forecast to remain a hurricane as it approaches the central Pacific basin, but is expected to gradually weaken.
The storm was expected to continue weakening as it moved far north of Johnston Island Tuesday night.
Associated Press report
