Tropical Storm Hone Moves Away from Hawaii, Leaves Flooding in Its Wake

Tropical Storm Hone has moved away from Hawaii’s main islands, but not without leaving heavy rain and flash flooding in its wake, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported. Hone had briefly strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane early Sunday, reaching winds of 75 mph while situated about 160 miles south-southwest of Honolulu.

However, by Monday morning, it was downgraded to a tropical storm as it continued to lose strength, now producing gusts of 65 mph. Currently located 240 miles west-southwest of Honolulu, Hone is moving west at 13 mph, and is expected to pass north of Johnston Island by Tuesday night.

The NHC warned that Johnston Island could receive 6 to 12 inches of rain, with an additional 3 to 5 inches possible on south-facing slopes, leading to potential flooding and “life-threatening” surf conditions.

Flash flood warnings were in effect across most of Hawaii’s Big Island until early Monday. On Sunday, flights at Hilo International Airport faced cancellations, and over 2,900 utility customers on the Big Island remained without power as of Monday morning, down from more than 24,000 outages reported the previous night.