Typhoon/Hurricane in Hawaii?

[Yuptag]

Originally Posted by whtviper1

Some.

List of Hawaii hurricanes - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Thanks!

The islands of Hawaii, with Kauai as the notable exception, appear to be remarkably immune from direct hurricane hits. The USGS states that "more commonly, near-misses that generate large swell and moderately high winds causing varying degrees of damage are the hallmark of hurricanes passing close to the islands."[30] This has also drawn media attention.[31][32] One notion is that Hawaii’s volcanic peaks slow down or divert storms.[33] A partial source of this idea may be the long list of hurricanes in the above paragraphs that dissipated into tropical storms or depressions upon approaching the islands. Satellite images of hurricane Flossie's breakup when approaching Hawaii Island fueled this idea.[34] Another example may be hurricane Felicia which dropped from Category 4 down to a tropical depression with residual winds predicted at only 35 miles per hour (56 km/h).[35]

[David_01]

Hi..this is very interesting forum.

[hotzcatz]

We had Hurricane Iwa about ten years before Iniki. Iwa put the lights out for a bit and there was some damage but not a lot. Most of the damage was Oahu and Kauai, it completely bypassed Hawaii, Maui & Lanai. I'm not sure if Niihau was damaged, if Kauai took a hit, then Niihau probably did, too, but folks always seem to forget about Niihau. Iwa was '82 or so and right before Thanksgiving since we cooked the turkey in pieces on a hibachi. The Windward side of Oahu was without power for several weeks, but the leeward side got power quicker. Several folks were injured and killed by the storm but it was mostly collateral to the storm and not directly by the storm.

This was before internet and cell phones so folks didn't really need power as much. At the time Iwa hit the islands, it wasn't as built up as it is now. There was probably about sixty percent of what is now there. Still a lot of folks, but not as jammed in and they hadn't quite overbuilt the water table yet. Everyone who had a gas stove cooked the food thawing in everyone's refrigerators. The Chinese restaurant in Kailua didn't have power but they had gas for the stove so they stayed open and fed a lot of folks who didn't have any way to cook. I don't know where they got the food they cooked or how (or if) they charged folks for the meals, but they were very busy the week after the hurricane. It was too dark inside the restaurant for folks to eat inside, but they'd be sitting all around the place having food outside. Folks weren't driving much, I don't remember the buses running.

There were also the "killer Konas" (stormy Kona winds) which did some damage several years after Ewa, but they didn't get an official name. Not as widespread of damage, though.

Iniki was about ten years after Iwa and it completely bypassed the island of Hawaii (it was a clear beautiful day) and then whapped into Oahu and then stomped on Kauai. Lots of damage, the lights were out for quite some time, especially on Kauai. Folks were hurt and some were killed, but I don't know the numbers. Kauai was heavily damaged and they'd just finished filming Jurassic Park there, too. Spielberg was in a hotel on Kauai during the storm although they'd finished the film by then. Lots of chicken coops were destroyed by the storm and since then the escaped chickens have become feral and numerous.

A lot of the insurance companies just up and left the state or declared bankruptcy. There were a lot of folks who never got paid on their insurance claims if I remember right. Now hurricane insurance is mandatory and even folks on Hawaii island - which has never been hit by a hurricane in recorded history (at least, I think so, but I didn't look it up) have to have insurance. I think that's so the insurance companies will still be able to make money if Kauai gets hit again and they have to actually pay out money next time.

[hawaiian by heart]

We talk about Typhoons and hurricanes in Hawai'i, but i also remember flash floods during the 70s and 80s, a big heavy fast rain causes fast flooding in streets etc, sometimes strong enough to sweep ppl off there feet. I remember flooding during rainy season.

[Jungjohann]

The New Year's Eve Flood on Oahu, Hawaii: December 31, 1987 - January 1, 1988

Sometimes it's the non-hurricane that does the damage. I flew back to Maui from Oahu into this storm, and the guy across the aisle threw up!!! Mid-Pacific, (remember them?), were the only guys flying, new DeHaviland jet, and it was ALL OVER the place. That one and the big Kona storm from 1980 always remind me just how unpredictable the weather can be over here, even with the GOES and everything else up there.

Aloha,,,, uuuuurrrrrpppppp,,,,,, (just thinkin about that flight)