Hurricane Hone is passing just south of Hawaii, close enough to sweep the coast of the Big Island with tropical storm force winds
Hurricane Hone passed just south of Hawaii early Sunday, dumping enough rain for the National Weather Service to call off its red flag warnings that strong winds could cause wildfires on the drier sides of islands in the archipelago.
Hone (pronounced hoe-NEH) had top winds of 80 mph (130 kph), according to a 2 a.m. advisory from the Central Pacific Hurricane Center in Honolulu, and was moving west near the southernmost point of the Big Island, close enough to sweep the coast with tropical storm force winds and to drop up to a foot (30 centimeters) or more of rain on the windward and southeast-facing slopes of the Big Island, with locally higher amounts possible.
Hurricane Gilma, meanwhile, increased to a Category 4 hurricane Saturday night, but it was still about 1,480 miles (2,380 kilometers) east of Hilo and forecast to weaken into a depression before it reaches Hawaii.
“Hone’s main threats to the state continue to be the potential for heavy rainfall leading to flooding, damaging winds and large surf along east-facing shores,” the weather service advised early Sunday.
