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Almost five years ago, Hurricane Lane, a category 5, passed within 150 miles of South Point on Aug. 22, 2018. It set the state record for tropical cyclone rainfall (58 inches) and caused over $7 million in damage. Image from NOAA’s GOES-West Satellite |
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| Water raging down Wood Valley Road from the deluge brought by Ana in October of 2014. Photo by Julia Neal |
The NOAA announcement came the day after Typhoon Mawar battered Guam and the Northern Marianas in the Western Pacific were typhoon season starts earlier, May 15 and lasts until Nov. 30, the same day hurricane season ends in Hawai'i. After lashing Guam, Mawar quickly strengthened on Thursday becoming a Super Typhoon with 175 mph winds, gusting to 210 mph, and headed toward the Philippines.
Case noted that as the President designates emergency assistance coordinated by FEMA for Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands to address Mawar, Hawai'i is involved in Hurricane Preparedness Week to highlight the importance of preparedness by residents throughout these islands. The disaster shelter for Kaʻū is the Robert Herkes Kaʻū District Gym in Pahala, with the Red Cross running this county Parks & Recreation facility when needed.
The Central Pacific Hurricane Center continuously monitors weather conditions in Hawai'i using satellites, land-and ocean-based sensors and aircraft reconnaissance missions operated by NOAA and its partners. These observations are fed into complex computer models that run on NOAA’s supercomputers. Forecasters at the Center use that information to develop storm track and intensity forecasts and provide critical decision support services to emergency managers at the federal, state and county levels.
The Central Pacific Hurricane Center will extend the forecast range of the Tropical Weather Outlook from five to seven days this season. The seven-day outlook will provide emergency managers and communities with more time to prepare for tropical activity and creates a seamless suite of products when combined with the two-week Global Tropical Hazards Outlook from the Climate Prediction Center.
Check for watches and warnings on the Central Pacific Hurricane Center’s website throughout the season, and visit FEMA’s Ready.gov for additional hurricane preparedness tips. To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar. See latest print edition at kaucalendar.com, in the mail and on stands.
TWO SOLAR FARMS PLANNED NEAR NĀ'ĀLEHU GO TO A PUBLIC MEETING NEXT WEDNESDAY, May 31 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Nā'ālehu Community Center. The two shared solar projects for Kaʻū are both accessible from South Point Road. Neither are planned to include battery backup. They are designed to provide solar to more than 200 homes plus businesses and agencies.
Pivot Energy is sponsor and Arion Energy is owner of the two new projects. A .50MWac Solar PVGeneration Plan covering 15.4 acres would be known as Ka Lae 1 Solar Farm. The address is 93-5570 Kai Makani Place. TMK is 3-9-3-004-040. See website at https://go.pivotenergy.net/ka-lae-shared-solar.
A .50 MWac Solar PV Generation Plant covering 16.09 acres would be known as Ka Lae 2 Solar Farm. The address is 93-2307 South Point Road. TMK is 3-9-3-004-027. See website at https://go.pivotenergy.net/ka-lae2-shared-solar.
Subscribers to the shared solar, including households, local businesses and organizations would save on their Hawaiian Electric bill. The summary says that the project "brings local jobs and economic benefits, and helps the Island of Hawai'i transition to clean renewable energy. Renewable energy can help increase grid reliability, improve air quality and improve public health."
Hawai‘i Police Department’s Traffic Services Section reviewed all updated crashes and found 346 major accidents so far this year compared with 309 during the same period last year, an increase of 12 percent.
To date, there have been eight fatal crashes, resulting in nine fatalities, one with multiple deaths; compared with 14 fatal crashes, resulting in 16 fatalities one with multiple deaths for the same time last year. This represents a decrease of 42.9 percent for fatal crashes, and 43.8 percent for fatalities.
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