Heavy Rain Expected As Olivia Heads Towards Hawai’i
Hurricane Olivia is expected to take an unusual path over the Hawaiian Islands around the middle of the week, but a repeat of Lane’s historic rainfall is not expected, according to experts at AccuWeather.
Olivia, currently a Category 1 hurricane, is moving swiftly westward toward the island chain.
AccuWeather meteorologists expect Olivia to be a tropical storm by the time it reaches Hawai’i later today and into Wednesday night.
Rough surf will continue to build along the north- and east-facing beaches of the islands as Olivia approaches.
AccuWeather Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski pointed out that since Olivia is moving at a much quicker pace than Lane, this will keep rainfall totals from reaching the same historic levels.
“Rainfall amounts of eight to 12 inches are possible, especially over the higher elevations of Maui and the Big Island, with an AccuWeather Local StormMax of 20 inches possible in the mountains,” said AccuWeather Meteorologist Steve Travis, adding that this amount of rainfall can cause flooding and mudslides.
Kottlowski added that Oahu could get hit with more rainfall than what Lane produced, given the path of the storm.
