Hurricane Madeline will pass “dangerously close” to Hawaii Island, bringing tropical storm or hurricane conditions as early as Wednesday, the National Weather Service said.
Hurricane Madeline will pass “dangerously close” to Hawaii Island, bringing tropical storm or hurricane conditions as early as Wednesday, the National Weather Service said.
The category 3 hurricane had maximum sustained winds of near 120 mph as of Tuesday morning. It is forecast to pass approximately 50 miles from South Point late Wednesday or early Thursday, but still could make landfall, said meteorologist Chevy Chevalier.
Madeline, located 415 miles east of Hilo, will weaken by then to a category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph in the next 48 hours, potentially still bringing damaging wind, rain and surf.
“It could be a pretty damaging storm,” Chevalier said, adding damage could be worse than Tropical Storm Iselle in 2014.
The weather service issued a tropical storm warning and a hurricane watch for the island.
South Point could see the most damage. Forecasters say the area will see a 20 percent chance of hurricane conditions and a 86 percent chance of tropical storm conditions.
For Hilo, that’s 10 percent and 75 percent, respectively.
Tropical storm force winds of 39 mph or higher are expected from Wednesday afternoon through Thursday morning, the weather service said.
East Hawaii will see surf build Tuesday, reaching 15 to 25 feet through Wednesday night.
Total rain accumulations of 5 to 10 inches are possible, with some areas seeing as much as 15 inches, according to the weather service.
Meanwhile, Hurricane Lester, a category 3 hurricane located 1,360 miles east of Hilo on Tuesday morning, was packing maximum sustained winds of 120 mph. It is forecast to pass the island as a category 1 hurricane to the north Saturday.
Email Tom Callis at tcallis@hawaiitribune-herald.com.