Hawaii Under State of Emergency as Tropical Storm Calvin Pummels Big Island
© Flickr / NASA's Earth Observatory
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Residents of the island of Hawaii, better known in the US state as the Big Island, were bracing on Tuesday evening for the passage of Tropical Storm Calvin, which brought torrential rain, powerful winds and rough seas. After its passage, the storm began to dissipate.
Hawaii Governor Josh Green ordered a state of emergency on Tuesday in anticipation of the storm, warning residents to prepare for mudslides and wind damage.
“I spoke with the FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency] director today; they’re prepared to support us in case of a big disaster,” Green told residents on Tuesday.
Calvin is forecast to pass south of Hawaii County tonight, bringing a period of flash flooding, dangerous surf and damaging winds. Calvin is expected to weaken as it moves westward to the south of the other Hawaiian Islands Wednesday and Wednesday night. https://t.co/StSnEHgzif pic.twitter.com/odI4Ft6dlg
— NWSHonolulu (@NWSHonolulu) July 19, 2023
The storm was projected to bring as much as 4 to 8 inches of rain and 55 mile-per-hour winds to the Big Island, which as the southernmost island in the archipelago was the only one to experience tropical storm conditions. The bulk of the storm passed south of the island, but at least 3 inches of rain was also expected on Maui, an island about 30 miles north of the Big Island.
“Calvin has almost completed its passage south of Hawaii County,” the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in an update at 8 a.m. local time on Wednesday. “Expect periods of flash flooding, dangerous surf and damaging winds. Calvin will continue to weaken as it moves westward to the south of the other Hawaiian Islands today and tonight, bringing the potential for some peripheral impacts.”
By 11 a.m., the NHC announced Calvin had lost all tropical characteristics and became a post-tropical storm. “Gradual weakening is expected until dissipation occurs late Thursday,” it said, adding the alert would be the center’s final notice on the storm.
Moving westward at a pace 21 mph, Calvin briefly attained hurricane-strength winds while over the eastern Pacific, but weakened by the time it closed in on Hawaii.
Despite its location in the central Pacific, direct hits by hurricanes on the Hawaiian islands are rare, with many near-misses recorded. The islands have a reputation of being “immune” to strong hurricanes, due to a pattern of major storms either dramatically weakening or abruptly changing course as they close in.
