Remnants of Hurricane Barbara on way towards Hawaii
The remnant of former hurricane and tropical storm Barbara will bring breezy trade winds, high surf, and possible flooding rains to Hawaii, with the Big Island expected to bear the brunt of the weather, forecasters said today.
Barbara, which once was a powerful Category 4 hurricane in the eastern, fell apart as it entered the Central Pacific Saturday, but what remains of the system was a few hundred miles east-southeast of the Big Island and moving west this morning.
The National Weather Service in Honolulu today issued a high surf advisory for all islands, a flash flood watch for Hawaii island, and a gale watch and small craft advisory for waters around the leeward and southeast side of the Big Island and for Alenuihaha Channel.
Forecasters said that breezy trade winds will bring a few showers, mainly to windward areas, to the islands today.
“Later tonight and Monday, deep moisture associated with the remnant of Barbara will move over the islands from the east, reaching windward Big Island as early as tonight,” forecasters said. “This increase in moisture will bring the potential for locally heavy rainfall, especially windward. Winds will also increase as the low passes, with locally windy conditions possible on Monday, especially on the Big Island.”
Barbara’s remnants are expected to pass just south of the Big Island on Monday before weakening Tuesday as it moves west of the islands, they said. Potentially heavy rain “is expected to begin moving over the Big Island tonight, then spread to at least some of the other islands through Monday.”
A flash flood watch has been issued for the Big Island from this evening through late Monday night. The weather service said the initial threat of heavy rain will be over windward areas, spreading to leeward areas on Monday.
“Although all islands are likely to see some locally heavy rainfall, especially windward … the potential for flooding rainfall away from the Big Island appears less likely at this time — but expansions to the flash flood advisory are definitely a possibility,” forecasters said this morning.
The high surf advisory is in effect through 6 a.m. Monday and calls for 6 to 9 feet waves through today for eastern shores of Molokai, Oahu and Kauai; 7 to 12 feet surf through tonight for eastern shores of the Big Island and Maui; and 5 to 8 feet waves through tonight for southern shores of all islands.
The weather service said drier and more typical trade-wind weather will gradually return to the islands Tuesday into Wednesday, and continue into next weekend.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami, meanwhile, is issuing advisories for Tropical Storm Cosme, far out in the eastern Pacific. Cosme was barely a tropical storm, with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph this morning, and was 655 miles west-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California. The hurricane center expects the storm to dissipate within four days and not threaten any land.
