WeatherFanatics: Ana Impacts Hawaii Despite Avoiding a Direct Hit

Monday, October 20, 2014

Ana Impacts Hawaii Despite Avoiding a Direct Hit

By Kristina Pydynowski, Senior Meteorologist

October 20,2014; 8:55PM,EDT

Hawaii will continue to face some hazards from Ana through early this week, despite escaping a direct hit.
Ana took a path to the south and west of Hawaii over the weekend, nearly paralleling the island chain but was close enough to bring gusty winds, heavy rain, and rough surf.
Ana weakened from a hurricane to a tropical storm late on Sunday as it continued to track away from the island chain.

"Beyond Monday, Ana will track in a general northwestward motion through the rest of the week moving away from Hawaii and staying away from other major land masses," said AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Erik Pindrock.
Bursts of heavy rain and gusty winds between 40 to 50 mph will rotate across Nihau, Kauai, and Oahu through Monday before conditions improve. Any power outages would be very sporadic and isolated. Similarly, any flooding and mudslides will tend to be localized.
However, seas will remain rough and dangerous for novice boarders, boaters and bathers around much of the islands into early this week.
In terms of wind and rain, the Big Island, Maui, and Molokai have seen the worst already and conditions returned to normal through Sunday.

The above animation shows Ana moving through the Central Pacific Ocean. The image was captured by the GOES Satellite's Longwave Infrared camera. (NOAA)
Although Ana did not make a direct impact on Hawaii, preparations were made well in advance of the system.
Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie issued an emergency proclamation on Wednesday in anticipation of the storm's arrival.
The proclamation, which includes all of the main Hawaiian Islands, allows the state to draw upon funds for protective measures, Abercrombie said in a news release. It also allows easier access to emergency resources at the state and federal levels, along with the suspension of certain laws as needed for emergency purposes.
"The best way the state can prepare is through this proclamation, which allows us to respond quickly to any potential impacts," Abercrombie said in the release.
The Big Island faced some of Ana's wrath on Saturday as the storm brushed by to the southwest. Heavy rain accompanied gusty winds throughout the day. Rainfall topped over five inches in Hilo with over ten inches falling across the higher terrain. Fortunately, little to no damage was observed on the islands.
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This latest tropical threat for Hawaii follows Iselle's historic landfall on the Big Island earlier this year.
"Iselle originated in the eastern Pacific, but Ana is the second formation in the central Pacific," stated AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Andy Mussoline.
"Wali formed in July but failed to reach Hawaii as a tropical system."
"Iselle was a much stronger hurricane as it approached Hawaii and had a larger wind field that encompassed much more of the islands than what Ana is expected to produce," Kottlowski said.
Typical trade wind showers will return across the islands through this week as Ana pulls away.

This image of Ana was captured on Saturday October 18 from the Terra/MODIS satellite. Photo/NASA.

AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski, Meteorologist Mike Doll, and Meteorologist Jordan Root contributed content to this story.

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