Hurricanes like Lane rarely hit Hawaii. Here’s why.
The islands almost never encounter storms like this
By Mary Beth Griggs August 22, 2018
NASA/JAXA, Hal Pierce
Lane, currently a category 4 hurricane, is heading for Hawaii. The hurricane is forecast to approach the main islands starting on Thursday. It’s a dangerous situation for people in its path, and also an incredibly rare event. It was recently downgraded from category 5 status with wind speeds of 160 miles per hour. As the Honolulu office of the National Weather Service pointed out on Twitter Lane is one of two category 5 hurricanes to pass within 350 miles of the islands since records started being kept.
“It's pretty rare to even get a category five hurricane in the Central Pacific.†Brian McNoldy, a meteorologist at University of Miami who studies tropical cyclones says. “The records there aren’t great, but as far as we know, there’s only been five before this. And of those five, none have been this close to Hawaii. It’s definitely a bit nerve wracking to see it thereâ€
https://www.popsci.com/hurricane-lane-hawaii
