By Jordan Root, Meteorologist
August 28,2015; 11:00PM,EDT
Ignacio may enhance showers and stir rough surf for the Hawaiian Islands as it approaches next week.
Ignacio, located about 800 miles east-southeast of Hilo, Hawaii, has been strengthening since forming Tuesday afternoon and continues to become better organized, stated AccuWeather Meteorologist Dave Samuhel.
The combination of low wind shear and warm waters allowed Ignacio to become a hurricane on Wednesday evening.
Wind shear is the change in direction and speed of air flow over different levels of the atmosphere. When wind shear is strong, these changes are very great.
"Ignacio is moving rather slowly, so it will not be a threat to Hawaii for some time," Samuhel said. The main danger Ignacio poses in the near-term is rough seas for those with shipping interests.
"Regardless [of its current distance], Hawaii residents should keep an eye on Ignacio," added Samuhel.
"The initial thinking is that Ignacio will pass just east of the Big Island Monday night, local time," stated AccuWeather Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski. "The large area of high pressure to the north could help guide it closer to the other islands Tuesday and Wednesday of next week, but it will be weakening by that time due to passing over slightly cooler waters."
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Kottlowski quickly stressed that the above track is not etched in stone, and residents should not let their guard down for a potentially more impactful scenario to unfold.
The AccuWeather Hurricane Center will continue to provide updates over the next several days.
While Ignacio spins in the eastern Pacific, drier air will gradually work in later this week to replace the tropical air mass and downpours that have been targeting Hawaii since the weekend.
Satellite view of Tropical Storm Ignacio in the eastern Pacific. (Satellite/NOAA)Honolulu recorded 3.60 inches of rain Monday, more than six times the normal monthly amount.
Honolulu has received nearly 8 inches of rain for the month so far, which is 13.5 times their normal for the entire month. The heavy rain caused many issues ranging from flooding and washed-out roadways to sewer overflows.
According to a press release from the City and County of Honolulu, several sanitary sewer overflows occurred due to heavy rain, forcing beach closures and a Brown Water Advisory to be issued.
A light trade wind shower pattern will resume by this weekend but may once again become disrupted quickly as Ignacio approaches.
Rainfall amounts for the month of August have been well above normal across Hawaii. This is largely brought on by an increase in tropical activity from an influence of El Niño.
| City | Observed Amount (inches) | Normal Amount for August (inches) |
| Hilo | 16.88 | 9.85 |
| Wheeler AFB | 12.83 | 3.87 |
| Lihue | 7.39 | 2.13 |
| Honolulu | 7.63 | 0.56 |
| Kalaeloa | 4.85 | 0.59 |
With the El Niño expected to strengthen into fall, the risk for additional tropical activity will continue over the next several weeks. This means the risk for additional flooding rainfall but also rainfall that would help the drought.
As of Thursday, the U.S. Drought Monitor reported nearly 25 percent of Hawaii was in the grips of a drought. This figure is down from 30 percent a week earlier.
Rainfall from tropical systems would continue help alleviate drought conditions across the state.
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