HONOLULU (AP) — Tropical Storm Hone drew near Hawaii on Saturday with gusts of wind and heavy rain that could cause flooding on the Big Island while raising the risk of wildfires on the islands' drier sides. Hone, which means “sweet and soft” in Hawaiian, had top winds of 65 mph (105 kph) early Saturday. It will likely strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane as it passes near or south of the Big Island from Saturday afternoon into early Sunday, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
“They gotta take this thing serious,” said Calvin Endo, a Waianae Coast neighborhood board member who lives in Makaha, a leeward Oahu neighborhood prone to wildfires. A tropical storm warning was in effect for the Big Island, and a red flag fire warning was issued for the leeward sides of all islands through 6 p.m.
on Saturday. The National Weather Service issues the alert when warm temperatures, very low humidity and stronger winds combine to raise fire dangers. Most of the archipelago is already abnormally dry or in drought, according to the U.
S. Drought Monitor. The winds are expected to be strongest where they blow downslope from higher terrain, over headlands and through passes, the hurricane center advised.
The situation recalls last year's deadly wildfires on Maui, which were fueled by hurricane-force winds. While Hone presents high fire dangers, “it’s not on the magnitude of that,” weather service meteorologist Derek Wroe in Honolulu said Saturday. The Aug.
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