Powerful hurricane Lane heads for Hawaii

Hurricane Lane early Thursday morning, located 290 miles south of Honolulu. (NOAA)

A state of emergency is in effect across the Hawaiian Islands in advance of powerful hurricane Lane. On Thursday, Lane was located 275 miles (445 km) south of Honolulu, meandering northwest at 7 mph. Winds gusted over 130 mph in the center of the hurricane making it a Category 4 storm. Lane had weakened slightly, down from a rare Category 5 storm earlier in the week.

Further weakening is likely over the weekend, but Lane will remain a strong hurricane as it skirts along the eastern coast of the islands. Even if Lane does not make a direct landfall on the island chain, significant impacts are occurring and expected to persist into the weekend. Extremely heavy rain has already produced flash flooding and mudslides. Just Thursday alone, some locations on the Big Island reported over 20 inches (500 mm) of rain. The slow movement of the storm will only prolong the serious flood threat. Huge waves have been crashing along the south facing beaches, with heavy surf expected to spread further north on Friday. A storm surge of up to 4 feet is causing significant beach erosion. Evacuations have been ordered, along with the closure of schools and businesses.

Despite Hawaii's location in the middle of the central Pacific, it has not had a direct landfall from a hurricane in 26 years. In 1992, Category 4 Hurricane Iniki devastated the island state with a direct hit, producing 145mph winds and over $3 billion dollars in damage. Only two other storms have made a landfall in the satellite era, Dot in 1959 and Iwa in 1982.