Hawaiians prepare for hurricane’s wrath
Experts don’t expect big 1-2 punch from weather
From Oahu to the Big Island, Hawaiians stocked up on food and gasoline and hauled out generators as the outer bands of rain began inundating some islands with the approach of Hurricane Lane.
As Hawaii braces for Hurricane Lane, island residents can at least feel comforted they won’t be hit by a double-whammy of natural phenomena.
The Kilauea volcano in the Big Island has settled down in the past two weeks, and it doesn’t figure to interact much with the approaching storm.
The U.S. Geological Survey said in its update Wednesday that “Hurricane Lane is forecast to pass to the west of the (Big Island) and should not have a significant effect on the eruption aside from minor rockfalls at the summit and increased” steaming.
That’s good news for the thousands of Hawaiians who were affected in numerous ways by the volcanic eruptions that began May 3. An estimated 700 homes were destroyed by lava as Kilauea shook with eruptions over several weeks, with a 5.3 magnitude earthquake during one of the bursts further unnerving the locals.
In addition, toxic gas and volcanic smog, or “vog,” plagued residents and visitors from islands near and far for weeks. And in mid-July, 23 passengers were injured when a “lava bomb’’ crashed through the roof of a tourist boat off the Big Island.
No one-two punch from Mother Nature is expected to slug the Aloha State even if Hurricane Lane makes landfall, which appears unlikely. Projections called for the storm, which strengthened to Category 5 early Wednesday morning, to dwindle into a Category 2 by the time it gets closest to the islands late Thursday and early Friday.
Volcanoes are unpredictable, but experts say they don’t get activated by changes in the air pressure from an incoming storm, as has been speculated.
“The forces that drive eruptions aren’t usually at the surface. Eruptions are driven by forces much deeper,
whether or not magma is actually moving toward the surface,” said Janine Krippner, a volcanologist at Concord University in Athens, West Virginia. “So because those are quite deep, it’s unlikely they’re going to be affected by something above the surface like air pressure.”
On the other hand, an active volcano could have an effect on a major storm, exacerbating it to some extent. That was the case when Tropical Cyclone Flossie slammed into Hawaii in 2013, as particles spewed out by Kilauea contributed
“The forces that drive eruptions aren’t usually at the surface. Eruptions are driven by forces much deeper.” Janine Krippner, a volcanologist at Concord University in Athens, West Virginia
to intensifying a lightning storm.
“The physics does allow for more smaller droplets to form and get blown higher in the storm, which promotes lightning as it gets above the freezing level rather than raining out,” said Steven Businger, a professor and chair of the atmospheric sciences department at the University of Hawaii.
The most impactful interaction of volcano and major storm on record came with the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines. The second-largest volcanic explosion of the 20th century coincided with the arrival of Typhoon Yunya, and they combined to bring volcanic ash with heavy rains, killing 250 to 300 people.
Major flooding is likely with the amount of rain predicted from Hurricane Lane. Meteorologist Chevy Chevalier of the Central Pacific Hurricane Center said that’s the biggest concern with this storm, unless it changes course and veers closer to land.