Hurricane Lane is seen from the International Space Station. NASA astronaut Ricky Arnold shared the image online and wrote, "The crew ...
 |
| Hurricane Lane is seen from the International Space Station. NASA astronaut Ricky Arnold shared the image online and wrote, "The crew of the Space Station sends much aloha to everyone there." Photo by Ricky Arnold/NASA |
UPI
Hurricane Lane has weakened into Tropical Storm Lane as it dumped more than a dozen inches of rain in some parts of Hawaii, the Central Pacific Hurricane Center said.
The center of the storm was located about 130 miles south-southwest of Honolulu and 113 miles west of Lihue, the CPHC said in its 2 a.m. HST update. The storm, which weakened into a tropical storm Friday, was moving north-northwest at 3 mph with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph.
The CPHC said some parts of the state could expect between 10 to 20 inches of rainfall. Some parts of Hawaii's Big Island have already received more than 40 inches of rain.
Although forecasters expected Hawaii to escape a direct hit from the storm, tropical storm warnings were in effect for Oahu, Maui County and Hawaii County. Kauai County is under a tropical storm watch.
Lane's current track shows the storm veering west away from the islands.
Despite the rainfall totals, Honolulu's Mayor Kirk Caldwell said the situation could have been much worse.
"We dodged a bullet," Caldwell said in a Hawaii News Now report. "Mother Nature is unpredictable and this event brought us all together like never before."
President Donald Trump declared an emergency for Hawaii on Thursday and ordered federal assistance. The order authorizes the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate all disaster relief efforts. Emergency measures will be provided at 75 percent federal funding, the White House said.
Hawaii Gov. David Ige advised residents to prepare at least two weeks worth of supplies.
COMMENTS