Thursday, August 7, 2014

First hurricane in 22 years aiming for Hawaii

ABC News via AP: ...At the White House, President Barack Obama was briefed by his homeland security adviser on preparations for the storms that are threatening his birthplace. Spokesman Josh Earnest said administration officials will remain in close contact with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other agencies that are that are preparing to help with response and recovery efforts as the storms near.

Hawaii has been directly hit by hurricanes only three times since 1950, though the region has had 147 tropical cyclones over that time. Meteorologist Eric Lau said the last time Hawaii was hit with a tropical storm or hurricane was in 1992, when Hurricane Iniki killed six people and destroyed more than 1,400 homes in Kauai, said meteorologist Eric Lau.

Hurricane Iselle was supposed to weaken as it slowly trudged west across the Pacific. It didn't — and now Hawaii is poised to take its first direct hurricane hit in 22 years. Iselle is on course to hit the Big Island tonight, and is being tailed by Hurricane Julio, which strengthened early today into a Category 2 storm....

NASA image of Iselle August 4, 2014

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