Hurricane Hanna Causes A Mess, Hot Atlantic Water Spells More Trouble

Debris scattered in Texas due to Hurricane Hanna 

A quick Vermont update at the bottom of this post, but since it's hurricane season and hurricanes are quite appropriately on everybody's mind....  

HURRICANE HANNA:

Hurricane Hanna showed what unusually warm water can do to a developing hurricane.

It's basically jet fuel for such storms.

Such was the case with Hurricane Hanna, which kept getting stronger all the way until it made landfall on the southern Texas coast.

Peak sustained winds were 90 mph, stronger than pretty much everybody anticipated just a day or two earlier.

The storm caused the type of damage you'd expect from such a storm. High winds damaged some structures, more than 280,000 homes and businesses were without power, widespread flooding damaged many other buildings, and embedded tornadoes caused added trouble. A large pier along the coast collapsed. Storm surges flooded parts of downtown Corpus Christi, Texas.

Hanna videos at bottom of this post.

Hanna, now well inland, is fading fast, but still dumping torrential rains and causing a lot more flooding.

OTHER STORMS:

Hanna was no doubt powered by warmer than normal water temperatures, but that's not the only ingredient you need. It's just one of the more important ones.

Case in point is former Tropical Storm Gonzalo. It fired up awfully quickly amid super warm ocean waters, but the sputtered. That's because dry air aloft got pulled into the tiny system and choked off its thunderstorms.  Former Gonzalo is now just a few scattered showers and storms heading into the Caribbean Sea.

So you see, hot water isn't everything.  It is hurricane jet fuel, but only if everthing works on all cylinders, so to speak.

It's certainly early in the hurricane season and forecasters are already watching the next potential Atlantic troublemaker. A growing disturbance way out in the central Atlantic will probably become Tropical Storm Isaias.

Damn name is impossible to spell and even worse to pronounce, but oh well.

Computer models - at least for now - take Wannabe Isaias to near or just off the southeastern United States coast in about a week or so.  The majority of models  seem to take this system out to sea, just missing the U.S., but these long range models are notoriously unreliable.  Anything could happen, so we'll just have to wait and see.

And let's not forget about Hurricane Douglas out in the Pacific!

Hurricane warnings are up for many of the Hawaiian Island.  Douglas this morning was a little more tha 200 mies east of Honolulu with top sustained winds of 90 mph.

It'll continue to slowly weaken as it approaches the islands, but will probably still be a hurricane as it passes through Hawaii. It's not weakening that fast because, in part, water temperatures heading toward the islands are not as cool as they usually are.

Trees and infrastructure aren't really designed to hold up against strong winds in much of Hawaii, so this could be a real troublemaker

Even if Douglas doesn't go directly over any of the islands, it will be close enough to cause hurricane force gusts through downsloping forces along mountains, or winds funnel through valleys.  The upper floors of Honolulu high rises risk lots of shattered windows, too, because winds near the top floors will be stronger than at street level.

Flash flooding will be a real hazard, too at least for the rest of the day

VERMONT UPDATE

Yeah, it's pretty hot out there, despite some morning clouds in the northern  half of the state that temporarily slowed today's warming. Warmer valleys still  have a shot of getting to 90 degrees today, despite some lingering partial clouds.

We'll need to watch a so-called "ridge runner" late this afternoon and early evening along the International Border. This is a disturbance that is running over the top of a hot dome of air in the middle of the nation through the Great Lakes and into Ontario.

It'll move east to southeastward into southern Quebec and eventually western Maine later today. Some of the thunderstorms with this thing could creep south to just along the border between Quebec and Vermont later today, and a couple storms could be strong, especially in the Northeast Kingsdom.

Other little "ridge runners" might affect us with scattered showers and storms late tonight and again Monday afternoon and evening.  The biggest "threat" from these will probably be locally torrential downpours. Some places won't get any rain and all. It'll be the usual hit and miss type stuff.

It's possible clouds tomorrow will hold temperatures below 90 in the north, but even if that happens, it'll be ridiculously humid, so it will be uncomfortable.

Just like last Tuesday, a weak cold front will come through this Tuesday with a risk of some showers and storms, and gradually lowering humidity starting later on Tuesday. We hope.

Videos:

News video summarizing the storm.  Love the transition from official telling people to stay inside during the storm and then cutting immediately to ABC report in the eye of the storm:



Lots of debris in the water on the Corpus Christi waterfront:

Hanna And Her Siblings

As expected, Tropical Storm Hanna formed in the Gulf of Mexico and is going to cause some mischief along the southern coast of Texas.

Hanna looked pretty healthy on satellite images this morning. As of 4 a.m., the storm only had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph, but I'm sure they'll find that it will have strengthened by later this morning.

Luckily, Hanna likely won't have time to strengthen all that much as it heads west towards Texas.  As of early this morning, it was only about 280 miles east of Corpus Christi, Texas and will make landfall by early Saturday afternoon.

Still, a well-organized system like Hanna sitting over very toasty Gulf of Mexico waters can strengthen fast. There's a chance that Hanna could become a hurricane even though it's already fairly close to land. Only after landfall is it guaranteed to weaken.

Pretty much all tropical storms and hurricanes weaken upon landfall.

It looks like Hanna might dump upwards of a half foot of rain in some sections of southern Texas, certainly enough to raise a flood risk.  It will have gotten stronger by the time it reaches Texas. It probably won't be all the way up to hurricane strength, but it might get close.

Meanwhile, Hanna's unreliable little brother Tropical Storm Gonzalo continues to churn east of the Lesser Antilles. That storm is a wild card, because it's small and unpredictable.   Smaller storms can strengthen or fall apart on a dime, and that's the kind of thing we're seeing with Gonzalo.

A little dry air intruded on Gonzalo yesterday, disrupting its circulation.  It still might get stronger as it moves into the Lesser Antilles by the weekend.  It's then expected to get weaker again once it's into the eastern Caribbean.

But little Gonzalo probably isn't done with surprises yet, so  the National Hurricane Center will certainly keep a close eye on the little devil.

Meanwhile, out in the Pacific, Hanna's big brother Hurricane Douglas continues to spin toward Hawaii. Douglas was a Category 4 monster early this morning with top sustained wind of 130 mph. Luckily, Douglas isn't near any land at the moment, so it's not wrecking anything.

However, Douglas is still headed toward Hawaii.  Cooler water in its path and strong winds aloft will surely weaken Douglas. It will still be a borderline hurricane/tropical storm with winds of 75 mph as it gets near the Big Island of Hawaii over the weekend, according to current forecasts.

Back in the Atlantic Ocean, a strong weather disturbance is coming off the west coast of Africa and will start to head west far out there.  This one could also eventually turn into a tropical storm or hurricane, so stay tuned!

March Is Normally A Stormy Month. True To Form This Year

Strong rotation in a thunderstorm in Hawaii prompted a rare tornado
warning Tuesday. So far it looks like the twister did not touch down

Storms seem to be hitting different parts of the nation with some frequency this month, but that is what one should expect in March.

It's a transition month between winter and spring.  That means places that get cold winter storms  will still get them. But spring-type storm events, like severe thunderstorms, tornadoes and flash floods, are also on the increase.

Here's just a few examples and updates to prove the point.

In Hawaii, a winter season tempest known as a Kona Storm struck the state Tuesday, causing flash floods and intense thunderstorms. Two rare tornado warnings were issued, one for parts of Kauai island and the other for Niihau, but none are known to have touched down, says weather expert Dennis Mersereau, writing in Forbes. 

Elsewhere, flash flooding was ongoing in parts of the Dallas-Fort Worth area in Texas this morning. The flooding is the start of an expected busy weather day in Texas.

Severe thunderstorms and possible tornadoes are in the forecast for most of Texas and Oklahoma, especially this afternoon and evening.  Areas of flooding are also a good bet in those same locations.  Parts of the Ohio Valley are also under a flood threat today.

More severe thunderstorms and maybe a few tornadoes are expected in much of the Mississippi Valley Thursday.

A blizzard still looms in parts of the northern Plains Thursday and Friday as well.

Here in Vermont, we expect a mix of winter and springlike weather over the next few days as well.

Forecasters have backed off a little on the snow early Thursday. It looks like light accumulations will be limited to areas south and west of Interstate 89 and even there, there won't be more than an inch or two, mostly in higher elevations.

That warm front I talked about yesterday still looks to come through late Thursday night with a good splash rain with it, especially between midnight and 7 a.m. Friday.

Friday still looks springlike in Vermont, but not the pleasant, sunshiny type of springlike day we all like. Temperatures will almost certainly soar into the 60s to maybe around 70, but it will be windy.

NOAA's Storm Prediction Center put parts of the Green Mountain State into its first risk of severe thunderstorms of the season.  It's part of low but not zero risk of severe storms Friday in most of New York and Pennsylvania.

True, the risk is only marginal at this point with chances of isolated damaging winds with storms in southern Vermont Friday afternoon and evening.

Gusty showers and perhaps a thunderstorm could also occur through the rest of Vermont as well.

Behind the cold front, temperatures will crash Friday night and definitely be below freezing by Saturday morning. The front will probably bring a dusting of snow to many areas.

It'll be a chilly, kind of wintry weekend. Highs will only reach to around 32 degrees Saturday and in the 30s Sunday. By Monday, it will turn warmer again, but reach only typical levels for this time of year - somewhere in the 40s.

August World's Second Hottest, With Some Particular Standout Places

Another month, another red global map. Most places were once
again warmer than normal during August. 

The global temperature figures are in for August and hot times continue. For the world as a whole, August, 2019 was the second warmest August on record, says the National Centers For Environmental Information. 

The oceans were the hottest on record for August.  Due to some cool spots in the southern hemisphere, global land temperatures were fourth warmest on record, so August, 2016 remains Number 1.  

The Northern Hemisphere had its hottest summer on record. Not surprisingly, then, Arctic sea ice in August was at its second lowest level on record.

So far, 2019 is the third warmest on record and the year as a whole is almost guaranteed to be among the five hottest. September is off to a hot start in much of the globe, too, so that will count for something.

There have been some strange local records in recent weeks. The town of Utquiagvik, formerly Barrow on the northern tip of Alaska is usually a pretty cold place with no growing season. Subfreezing temperatures often occur there even in July.

This year, Utquiagvik actually DID have a growing season. As of Sunday, the town has been above freezing since June 25. That's 83 consecutive days above freezing in Utquiagvik. Another remarkable thing is the normal low temperature in early September there is about 30 degrees. Yes, below freezing.

Meanwhile, unlike northern Alaska, Hawaii is supposed to be warm, but this is ridiculous. Since April, Honolulu has broken 16 record highs and tied 19 others, says Hawaii News Now. 

On 28 of the 29 days ending Sunday, record high temperatures occurred somewhere in Hawaii, says Maui Now. 

An intense heat wave has gripped he Deep South, all month, with dozens upon dozens of record highs falling.  Some cities have reported all-time record highs for September.

Here in Vermont, we continue to enjoy a relatively cool September. The sun will be out all week, and by the weekend, we, too will share in the summer-like weather. It could easily be in the low 80s here by Saturday and Sundayh.

Hawaii is Going All Extreme Weather On Us All Of A Sudden

Snow on the ground at an elevation of only 6,200 feet in Maui,
Hawaii last weekend. 

Ah, Hawaii:

Warm sunshine, pleasant tropical breezes gently swaying the palm trees, sandy beaches, the views of Waikiki. What's not to love?

Lately, enough. Apparently, the weather in Hawaii in recent days, months and the past year hasn't been going according to script.

Meteorology seems to be conspiring to ruin Hawaii's reputation as the ultimate place of lovely weather.

KONA STORM SLASHES RECORDS

This past weekend was the piece de resistance. Arguably the most intenst Kona storm on record caused, well, some incredible weather records to fall in Hawaii. The records included snow, bone-chilling code and incredible wind speeds.

Kona storms in Hawaii are winter storms that approach from  the northwest. The jet stream is much further south in the winter than in the summer. The types of dips in the jet stream that cause winter storms in places like Vermont and the rest of the mid-latitudes sometimes come far enough south to barely brush the Hawaiian Islands.

This time, a cold upper level low came down from the North Pacific and came much closer than normal to Hawaii than most Kona storms. This one was also particularly strong. (Video of the snow, waves and wind are at the bottom of this post.)

The result was some decidedly un-Hawaiian weather. The wind atop Mauna Kea volcano gusted to 191 mph, which is probably the highest wind gust on record in Hawaii. Sustained winds up there were 125 mph.

There's no way to prove that this was the highest wind on record for Hawaii, because they don't really keep track of such things. But longtime observers say that's easily the highest wind they've seen.

The summit of Mauna Kea is at 13.803 elevations, so high winds, blizzards and frigid temperatures are pretty common there in winter. But not like this.

The coldest temperature on record in Hawaii is, or at least was, 12 degrees on the summit of Mauna Kea, on May 17, 1979. It looks like the temperature got down to somewhere between 8 and 11 degrees on Mauna Kea during last weekend's storm, but that reading will have to be verified before they become official.

On Maui, snow fell at an elevation as low as 6,200 feet, the lowest elevation at which snow was seen on record.  Snow has been seen atop 10,000 foot Haleakala on Maui, but never this low. People flocked to the Polipoli State Park in Maui last weekend so they could say they played in the snow in Hawaii.

A second storm today is bringing more snow to Haleakala on Maui and the high volcano peaks on the Big Island of Hawaii, but the snow won't get to as low an elevation as it did a few days ago.

OTHER RECORDS

In other Hawaiian extremes, a storm that hit the state last April was just in the past couple of days verified as producing a United States record for the most rain in a 24 hour period.

In the 24 hours ending at 12:45 p.m. April 15, 2018, a total of 49.69 inches fell on Waipa Gardens, Hawaii. That breaks the previous national record of 43 inches in 24 hours, set on  July 25-26, 1979 in Alvin, Texas.

For perspective, there have only been three entire years in Burlington, Vermont on record that had more rain than what fell in 24 hours on that April day last year in Hawaii.

Also, last August, Hurricane Lane dumped 52 inches of rain on one town in Hawaii. That's the second highest rainfall of any hurricane or tropical storm in known United States history. Only the Texas Hurricane Harvey in 2017 poured more rain down.

Here's some videos:

A snowy drive in Maui, Hawaii, this past Sunday:



Video of high waves from the storm on Oahu:

Seattle And Hawaii Battling Weird Winter Storms

Huge wave crash into Hawaii in November 2013. This weekend, waves
that make this look like a bathtub could crash ashore in Hawaii as
a very dangerous, rare storm moves in. Image via Weather Underground

It's the heart of winter storm seasons, but two places that normally aren't that wintry are, well wintry.

One of the two places I'm talking about - Hawaii - of course won't be particularly snowy, but is having some serious stormy challenged. 

The other place I'm discussing - Seattle - gets snow pretty much every winter, but the snow there lately has been much more than they're used to.

HAWAII 

It can get stormy in Hawaii, but not like they're expecting this weekend.

In the winter, Hawaii is prone to something called Kona storms.  In these cases winter storms in the North Pacific come far enough south to drag cold fronts through or near Hawaii. Ahead of these cold fronts, winds come from the southwest in Hawaii, which is opposite of the usuall east to northeast trade winds.

When the Kona storms hit, normally dry areas of Hawaii get rain. (Usually the trade winds dump rain on east facing parts of Hawaii while western parts of islands behind mountains stay dry.)  These Kona storms also increase winds, and dump snow on the highest volcanic peaks, like Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa.

The storm this weekend is odd and a lot more intense than usual because it's coming directly from the north, heading due south toward Hawaii. Which means it won't be paradise in these paradise islands this weekend.

North facing shorelines face very serious surf and coastal flooding.  Wave heights just off the northern shores of the Hawaiian islands could reach 60 feet.

The National Weather Service in Honolulu said:"Overall, this low is shaping up to be a high-impact event, bringing mulitple weather hazards and significant threats to life and property.....Anyone with vulnerablle ocean front property needs to complete their preparations for this event as soon as possible."

The NWS said the storm and waves could bring unprecedented flooding and damage to north and west facing beaches in Hawaii.

The winds, as noted will come from an unusual direction for Hawaii. That means winds could rush down the south and east slopes of some mountains, causing high, damaging winds in areas that aren't used to it, including some areas of Honolulu.

Finally, this is a cold storm so by Hawaiian standards, it's going to be frigid this weekend. High temperatures Sunday will probably only barely make it to 70 degrees Sunday amid the high winds and rains. Lows Sunday night in Honolulu will be in the upper 50s, which is ice box weather for that region.

SEATTLE SNOW

A rare, snowy mess in Sequim, along the Washington State coast.
It snows a LOT in the Cascade Mountains, but it usually rains
near the coast. Not this week.

The same complicated weather pattern in the North Pacific that's causing the Hawaii storm is setting up an unusually long-lasting spell of winter weather in the Pacific Northwest.

As of late morning today, Seattle's Sea-Tac airport had gotten 7.9 inches of snow in the latest storm. That's on top of a few inches earlier in the week. Of the snow they've gotten, 6.4 inches fell on Friday alone, the second most Seattle has gotten in a single day.

They're not used to this. Seattle usually would have gotten about 3 inches of snow for the entire season by now. 

You can tell Seattle residents don't deal with winter this intense. Grocery store shelves were pretty much devoid of break, milk water and other staples by Friday afternoon. (Despite the snow, they're being re-stocked).

Usually Seattle comes in light flurries that melt quickly.  Seattle this month so far is a snowy New-England-y landscape There was snow on the ground three days during last week, and the snow that's there now will be there for awhile.

There are daily chances of snow, or even likely periods of snow through this coming Friday around Seattle.

The snow has really been piling up in the West Coast mountains, too. Down in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, some resorts got more than seven feet of snow last week. Another several feet of accumulation is expected in the coming week.

It's going to stay cold and snowy in Seattle well into the upcoming week.

Hurricane Lane Updates And More Smoke Attacks

Hurricane Lane continued to batter Hawaii overnight and this morning, and it's going to be a long day on the island chain.

This chart supplied by NOAA shows air pressure falling
dramatically, and winds increasing, then suddenly stopping,
then picking up again as the eye of Hurricane Lane
passed over a weather monitoring buoy south of Hawaii

Meanwhile, smoke from wildfires continues to make life unpleasant or worse in many parts of the world.

HURRICANE LANE

At last check, Hurricane Lane was a Category 3 storm with winds of up to 120 mph. It was grinding slowly northward toward Maui and Oahu.  Wind shear is slowly weakening the storm and these strong upper level winds will influence the path of the storm and the degree of destruction in Hawaii.

If the wind shear weakens Hurricane Lane relatively quickly, its northward path will abruptly shift toward the west, sparing much of the state the worst of the hurricane's effects.

If Hurricane Lane weakens a little more slowly than expected, the center of the storm will come close to or even possibly over the islands before turning west, which of course would make things much much worse.

The betting now is that the westward turn will come before Hurricane Lane reaches the islands. Still, it's already close enough to cause a lot of problems and that will just get worse today.

Already, more than 18 inches of rain has fallen on the Big Island of Hawaii, and there's been lots of flash flooding. One town has picked up 26 inches of rain so far. (For comparison's sake, here in Vermont, Burlington has had 22 inches of precipitation so far this year. So we've had less rain in eight months than that town in Hawaii had in a couple of days. )

The flooding will get worse as the hurricane slowly makes its way past Hawaii. Some places could get up to 40 inches of rain.

Wind and battering surf will be bring problems with Hurricane Lane, but the worst of it will be the flooding. Seems like that's a trend.

Oddly, in one are of Maui, it hasn't rained much yet and the wind is picking up. That's spreading a brush fire of all things that has forced the evacuation of a storm emergency shelter.

Speaking of wildfires...….

LOTS OF SMOKE, STILL

A recent hazy sunset in St. Albans this morning, created
by smoke from western wildfires overhead. The haze
has gained and ebbed, and was fairly thick this
morning, at least aloft.

When I got up this morning in St. Albans, Vermont the sky, which should have been blue, was covered with a milky haze.

That's wildfire smoke blowing overhead. It is hazy at ground level, too, but it's not that bad. Most of the polllution here is high overhead, so as of this morning, the air isn't terribly unhealthy. 

Not so in many other places as wildfires continue to burn in large swaths of forest in the Northern Hemisphere during this long, hot summer.

We talked the other day about how awful it was in Seattle, but a wind shift off the ocean is greatly improving air quality there.

Inland, though, it's a different story. Air quality alerts remain in place for a large area of the northern Rocky Mountains.

In Germany, smoke choked Berlin because of a nearby forest fire. Worse, the area where the fire was burning has unexploded bombs left over from World War II, Reuters reports.  How's that for a fire fighting hazard?

According to Climate Central, the increase in the number of wildfire smoke days threatens to undo the progress made under the 1970 Clean Air Act. Emissions from factories and cars are cleaner than they used to be, but the rising trend in wildfires and wildfire smoke is working against that progress.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration is seeking to relax Clean Air Act rules.

Sigh.

Hurricane Lane Nears Hawaii And The Islands Are Screwed

A view of Hurricane Lane from the International Space Station. Photo
by astronaut Ricky Arnold, @astro_ricky

Hurricane Lane is beginning to affect Hawaii and it's going to be a rough couple of days on the island chain.

Hurricane warnings are up for much of Hawaii, including Honolulu, which had gone 26 years without such a warning. It's rare for a hurricane to affect Hawaii this much, rarer still for such a storm to take a track that affects the whole state.

The eye of the hurricane probably won't even come ashore on any of the islands. You'd think that's good news, and it is. The core of the highest winds will miss. But the hurricane is coming close enough, and it's large enough to engulf most of the island in at least tropical force if not hurricane force winds.

How bad things get depends largely on whether an expected shift in its path to the north is strong or lame. A strong northward turn will really make things bad.  A less sharp turn will help keep the worst of the weather offshore.

Regardless on what happens with Hurricane Lane's track, storm surges and battering waves are a huge threat. Even worse, the island chain is mostly mountainous. Heavy rains will cause flash floods that will rush down slopes, carrying away everything in their path.

The flood risk is the worst part of this storm. The hurricane warning for Hawaii says the flood impacts have the potential to be "devastating to catastrophic."

The hurricane warning continues with a dire picture of Hawaiians might face with the flooding:
"Flood waters can enter numerous structures within multiple communities, some structures becoming uninhabitable or washed away. Numerous places where flood waters may cover escape routes. Streets and parking lots become rivers of raging water with underpasses submerged."

And that part doesn't get into the high risk of destructive mud and landslides.

As I mentioned, hurricanes don't often hit Hawaii, so they're not as prepared as say, Florida. Many houses might not be able to withstand the high winds. It will take awhile for relief supplies to get everywhere, too. Most food and other goods come into Hawaii via ship. If ports are damaged, this flow of goods might slow down.

"Be prepared to shelter in place with 14 days of food supplies and water and any other necessities," Hawaii Gov. David Inge said Friday.

Huge crowds Wednesday at Hawaii grocery stores.

Good luck with that. Residents had already cleared store shelfs of water and nonperishable food. If anyone needs more, too bad at this point, unfortunately.

The first island to get hit is the Big Island, where Hilo is located. Up to eight inches of rain had already been reported there as of Wednesday night, and some places could get 30 inches.

 Flash flooding was already occurring this morning in Hilo and much of the the Big Island. A good chunk of the island will get tropical storm force winds, which are between 39 and 73 mph

Stormy weather will continue to advance northwestward along the island chain as Hurricane Lane itself heads in that direction. Things will deteriorate today across the Hawaii. The worst of the storm will reach the Big Island by the evening and around Honolulu Friday or Friday night.

Yesterday, Hurricane Lane was a dangerous Category 5 storm, the worst you can get. It's slowly weakening as high upper level winds begin to suck the life out of the storm. But that process is very slow, and it's still a major hurricane. Even if the hurricane is a low end Category 1 off the coast of Honolulu  - nearly the best case scenario at this point -  it could still cause dangerous rains, surges and wind.  

Now, it's mostly a waiting game to see how bad things get in Hawaii.

On the brighter side, the Atlantic Ocean, unlike last year, is very quiet. Ocean temperatures are cooler than last year in the prime breeding ground for hurricanes. Plus, upper level winds that tend to squelch wannabe hurricanes are stronger this year than last.

Still, we haven't hit the peak of hurricane season yet and there's no reason to believe a destructive Atlantic hurricane can't still develop.  A weather disturbance is about to come off the west coast of Africa and could develop into something next week.

Stay tuned.

Madison Flood, Seattle Smoke and Hawaii Hurricane?

 .

EDITOR'S NOTE:
A photo of the Madison flood that originally appeared in this post was removed, as photo credit was not given and I could not prove it was Madison flood. I regret the error.

Spots of nasty weather keep popping up in different places in the nation. Areas around Madison, Wisconsin were inundated by up to a foot of rain, smoke is choking some areas of the west, including Seattle, Washington and Vancouver, British Columbia. And Hawaii is under threat from a hurricane.

MADISON FLOOD

Around a foot of rain fell in and around Madison, Wisconsin yesterday and last night, creating some of the worst flooding some areas around there have seen in decades. 

Many roads were closed, with city officials warning people not to drive through certain sections of Madison this morning. Many people had to be rescued from stranded cars, and water flowed into a number of homes and businesses. One person has been reported missing due to the floods.

Video of the flooding is at the bottom of this post.

This was all part of a slow moving storm that also caused serious flash flooding earlier in the day around Omaha, Nebraska and Council Bluffs, Iowa, among other places. Homes and apartment buildings in Council Bluffs flooded. 

The storm system also spun off a few tornadoes and caused quite a few damaging thunderstorms.

The storm will affect us here in Vermont tonight and tomorrow, but no severe thunderstorms or flooding will happen.

SMOKE ATTACK

Skyline of Seattle, Washington obscured by smoke Monday. Image form
KIRO, Seattle

Wildfires continue to rage from California to British Columbia with pretty much no relief in sight. The fires aren't only affecting people right near the fires.

Millions of people are coughing in heavy smoke settling into populated areas, including Seattle, Washington and Vancouver, British Columbia.

Air quality in British Columbia over the past few days has often been the worst in the world, even worse than the epic smog attacks that sometimes engulf Beijing, China. Ironically, Beijing reported its best, cleanest air quality in a decade this past week.

All this smoke is obviously unhealthy. KIRO-TV reported the smoke in Seattle Monday was as unhealthy as smoking seven cigarettes. Authorities were warning people not to go outdoors if at all possible, and also not to bring pets outside either. Which would be difficult, I think.

In British Columbia, the smoke was so thick that flights around Vancouver were delayed, and activities at some soccer camps were postponed.

The smoke keeps making its way eastward. There have been occasional air quality alerts in places like Minnesota. Here in Vermont, we have seen periods of hazy skies occasionally over the past week due to the western smoke.

HAWAII HURRICANE?

Powerful Hurricane Lane was spinning southeast of Hawaii this morning with top sustained winds of 140 mph. Current projections indicated it could come close to, or even over some of the Hawaiian islands later this week.

Hurricane Lane could strike Hawaii later this week

It's still a bit uncertain if that will happen, but people are being told to start preparing, just in case.

Even if Hurricane Lane hits Hawaii, it will weaken a bit by the time it gets there. It would still be a powerful, dangerous storm, so  it's probably a good idea if residents start at least thinking about it.

Destructive hurricanes are rare in Hawaii but they do happen. In 1992, Hurricane Iniki hit Kauai, killing six people, injuring 1,000, destroying 1,500 homes and damaging countless other. Total estimated damages were at $1.8 billion dollars.

Here's a video of the flash flooding breaking a small retaining wall and surging into an understandably frightened woman's house:

Hawaii Volcano Proves Sulfur Dioxide Pollution Is Really, Really Bad

This guy near a volcanic fissure in Hawaii last week is smart to wear a
gas mask. Sulfur dioxide levels are at dangerous levels near the vents.

If you want proof that sulfur dioxide pollution is bad, look no further than Hawaii

You probably noticed that in some of the amazing images coming out of Hawaii's volcano zone, the vegetation near the fissures has turned brown and dead.

Much of that actually isn't from the heat generated by the lava. A lot of vegetation is dead because of the immense amount of sulfer dioxide coming out of the vents and fissures.

If sulfur dioxide can kill plants, imagine what it can do to a human body. No wonder people are evacuated from the volcano zone. Yes, the lava is extremely dangerous. So is all that sulfur dioxide in the air.

Which is why a lot of people advocate for more pollution controls in general. Sulfur dioxide is one of the pollutants that get into the air from the burning of fossil fuels and emissions from factories. 

Obviously, sulfur dioxide concentrations in the air are far less in cities than right near the Hawaii volcano, even on the most polluted days.

But still, sulfur dioxide is harmful. It is one ingredient that forms tiny particles during periods of high pollution. These particles can get deep into peoples' lungs and cause health problems.

A badly polluted day in an average American city won't turn trees brown like the high concentrations of gases in Hawaii are doing, but the air pollution can still slow plant growth, which potentially has an impact on crops. Sulfur dioxide can also help lead to acid rain.

In super high concentrations like around the Hawaii volcano, the sulfur dioxide basically turns to sulfuric acid when you breath it in. So people exposed to the gas quickly suffer shortness of breath, and a burning sensation in the eyes and throat.

Long term effects of exposure to sulfur dioxide are not clear.

You can see in the surroundings in this video from Hawaii how the sulfur dioxide has turned the landscape brown:

Hawaii Flood Disaster Might Have Set New U.S. Rain Record

A destroyed house floats down a Hawaii creek during epic
flash floods earlier this month. Photo via Twitter
@TheRobertHayes

This was little noticed in the media, and I didn't cover it, but there was a terrible flash flood on the island of Kauai about a week and a half ago.

This storm is now reported to perhaps have broken the United States record for the most rain within 24 hours.

The National Weather Service office in Honolulu, Hawaii says a remote rain gauge in Waipa, near the north shore of Kauai recorded an incredible 49.69 inches of rain within 24 hours on April 15. That would break the United States 24 hour record, which has been 43 inches in Alvin, Texas on July 25-26, 1979.

Some of you might have thought the epic rains of Hurricane Harvey in Texas last August beat these records as there were media reports of 50 inches of rain in that disaster.

I checked, and that 50 inches was a storm total from Harvey, not rainfall in just 24 hours. Some places in Texas got 30 inches of rain within 24 hours, which is incredible and extreme, yes, but not the record.

The new Hawaii record is preliminary, not official. There's an outfit called the National Climatic Extremes Committee that will convene, review the data, and determine its validity. If this committee decides everything checks out, then this will become the new 24 hour United States rainfall record.

No word yet on when the committee will come up with a decision.

Whether or not that 49 plus inches of rain is real, there's no doubt the flash flooding on Kauai was extreme.

Military troops and helicopters airlifted at least 220 people stranded by flooding and massive landslides. Many tourists were also stranded. Dozens of homes were destroyed, and many others were demaged.

One woman said she was forced to climb to the roof of her house, and was eventually rescued by someone on a Jet Ski. 

Tourism, certainly a lifeblood of the region, is taking a big hit. The northern shore of Kauai is a mess, but the southern half of the island is fine, and open for business. And so is the rest of the Hawaii island chain.

Some of the moisture associated with the Kauai disaster was picked up and turned into an "atmospheric river" or "pineapple express" that deluged the Pacific Northwest a few days after the Hawaii disaster, notes the Cliff Mass Weather And Climate Blog. 

The atmospheric river produced some relatively minor flooding in Washington State, but nothing like what was experienced on Kauai.

VERMONT, NORTHEAST WATER

In case you haven't noticed, it's wet out there this morning. At least it's not snowing. Just note that there is some high water and minor flooding around.  This water has nothing to do with the above mentioned Kauai flood disaster. However, you should stay away from any local floods and not drive through inundated streets.

Widespread flooding is not expected around here with this rain. Even with snow melting off the mountains, there's just not enough precipitation to cause any serious, widespread floods.

That said, the Ausable River in the Andirondacks was under a flood warning, but that has since been canceled. I wouldn't be surprised if some Vermont rivers approach  minor flood stage today.  Still, current forecasts indicate no real flooding from Vermont rivers today, which is good.

Further north and east, flood watches are up for most of Maine.

It has been a relatively wet April in Vermont. As of midnight last night, the month was running an inch ahead of normal for precipitation this month. It kept raining this morning, showers will continue much of today, and additional showers will come in Friday afternoon or night.

Tropical Trouble: Florida, Hawaii Most Under Threat Now

Thunderstorms are firing up big time in that
weather disturbance heading toward Florida.
It's an indication that there's a good chance it
will be upgraded to Tropical Storm Hermine later today 

I know I've been posting awfully frequently about tropical disturbances and hurricanes ane such, but it is the peak of the hurricane season.

Things are busy and heating up even more, so it's a good idea to stay up to date.

The biggest threats for bad tropical weather right now are in Florida and Hawaii.

There's now even a slight chance a wannabe tropical storm could bring some drought relief to southeastern New England. That's a long shot, but it's something to hope for.

Here are the details:

FLORIDA'S WANNABE HERMINE

That hyped storm that we've been talking about that came across the Caribbean and into the southern Bahamas, Cuba and south of Florida never developed as so many had forecasted.

Now this thing has gotten into the Gulf of Mexico and looks like it's finally getting its act together. Upper level winds that had been tearing the wannabe tropical storm apart have waned a bit. The water beneath the storm is incredibly warm.

Satellite photos this morning show that this thing has really revved up, with big thunderstorms now nearer to the center of the little storm's circulation. I really think the National Hurricane Center later today will upgrade this - finally - to a tropical storm and name it Hermine.  (Not to be confused with Hermoine from the Harry Potter series.)

Forecasts call for Wannabe Hermine to move north, then northeastward toward the Big Bend of Florida. That's the spot in Florida on the northwestern side of the state where the peninsula ends and turns west to form the state's panhandle.

There's a chance that Wannabe Hermine could strengthen into a hurricane by the time it hits that northwestern corner of Florida.

So, that region is under a hurricane watch and a tropical storm warning. At this point, the storm cold cause storm surges in low-lying sections of northwestern Florida of three to five feet in some spots

Worse, Wannabe Hermine could easily drop five, ten, even 15 inches of rain on northwestern Florida, which would create a big flash flood problem.

Things are getting a little more interesting regarding what happens after that with Wannabe Hermine.

It looks like it will emerge into the Atlantic Ocean along the Georgia and South Carolina coasts. If it remains offshore and not inland in those states, it could restrengthen after crossing northern Florida, or at least maintain its power.

Heavy rains could set off flooding in parts of Georgia and South Carolina over the weekend.

Most computer models take Wannabe Hermine off the coast and away from the United States after it gets past North Carolina. But a few computer models want to take it toward coastal New England.

Though that would wash out Labor Day plans in southeastern New England, that area is experiencing an nasty drought and could use a good dousing.  The chances that Wannabe Hermine would make it to New England seem low at the moment, but it's something to watch.

Another thing to consider that's VERY IMPORTANT: If you're planning a beach trip anywhere along the East Coast, including all of New England's shoreline, there's going to be dangerous rip currents, waves and such will make going in the water dangerous

What with Wannabe Hermine, powerful Hurricane Gaston way off the coast and Tropical Depression #8 heading away from North Carolina, the seas along the East Coast are going to be way, way stirred up. Be careful!!

HAWAII TROUBLE:

Hurricane Madeline is going to go just south of the Big Island of Hawaii this afternoon. It was a major hurricane, but luckily, it's rapidly weakening.

Hurricanes Madeline and Lester churning toward
Hawaii yesterday. They're both on a weakening
trend today but still pose a big threat to Hawaii.  

Still, this is a big deal for Hawaii. The Big Island in particular can expect damaging winds, storm surges on the coast and nasty flash floods today as Madeline goes by. The rest of the Hawaiin chain is in for rough weather today, too.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Lester is expected to pass just to the north of the Hawaiian Islands later Friday and Saturday, with more wind, flooding and trouble like that.

I don't think there's ever been an occasion before where two hurricanes threaten Hawaii so much within just a few days of each other. Really nasty.

Another Tropics Update: Things Are Damn Busy!

That tropical disturbance that has been hyped for a week
now is still NOT a big deal now that it's gotten south
of Florida. But now it's showing signs of spinning up
a little better and could become a tropical storm
in the next few days in the Gulf of Mexico.  

As of Sunday afternoon, the activity regarding tropical storms, hurricanes and wannabe tropical storms and hurricanes is getting fast and furious.

All KINDS of things are happening. Whether any of these will be a huge threat to life and property, especially here in the United States, is open to question, but it's all something that we should watch.

INVEST 99L

Let's start with that thing everybody in Weather Land has been talking about for days and days, known as Invest 99L.

The National Hurricane Center gives an "Invest" name to anything it's watching that could develop into a tropical storm.

Invest 99L has been the subject of all the buzz for days. That's because at least a week ago, some of the weather models have been saying it could be a HUGE threat to the United States. Other computer models said, "Pffft." but it's more fun to hype catastrophe than a big yawn.

Anyway, Invest 99L has been making its way westward across the tropical Atlantic. By the time it got near the Bahamas Friday, some computer models said it would be a monster, but of course it isn't.

Right now it's getting into the Florida straights and heading toward the Gulf of Mexico.

Soon, the time might be ripe for Invest 99L to get going. Upper level winds had been tearing apartany attempts by Invest 99L to develop into a tropical storm.  But as it enters the Gulf of Mexico, those high level winds will diminish a little bit.

Plus, the Gulf of Mexico water is very, very warm, which could help this thing get going. The National Hurricane Center, which had been sort of bored by this system as it was in the Atlantic, is perking up with some concern.

They now give Invest 99L a high chance of developing into a tropical storm in the next few days. That could pose a wind and especially heavy rain threat, most likely to some spots in the eastern half of the U.S Gulf Coast in the coming days.

Once it reaches the Gulf Coast in a few days (if it does actually make landfall) nobody has a clue as to what it will do after that.

Everybody thought this would be the next tropical storm, and it would be named Hermine. However, a surprise happened west of Bermuda overnight.

TROPICAL DEPRESSION EIGHT

An area of showers and thunderstorms not far from Bermuda was sputtering and struggling the past few days as dry air prevented things from getting going.

You can see a swirl in the middle of this satellite shot from Sunday
where the center of the tropical depression is, but that big
white clump you see is thunderstorms being torn westward
away from the center by strong upper level winds. That
means this thing probably won't get much stronger. A 

But in a bit of a surprise, this weather disturbance grew into a tropical depression, which is a step shy of a tropical storm.

Chances are it will strengthen to Tropical Storm Hermine in the next day or so, but it won't get super ultra strong. Upper level winds are ripping thunderstorms away from its center, which is hurting it, and the air is still kinda dry nearby.

Still, it could side swipe the North Carolina Outer Banks with gusty winds, rough seas, rip currents and locally heavy rains Tuesday or Wedneday before it turns and heads out to sea.

HURRICANE GASTON

The bad news is Hurricane Gaston out in the Atlantic Ocean is strong and getting stronger. The good news is it doesn't appear to be any kind of threat to the United States. At last check, it was well east of Bermuda with sustained winds of 105 mph. Yikes!

Hurricane Gaston looking strong and healthy out in the
middle of the Atlantic Ocean Sunday. No threat to the United States, though. A 

It might strengthen a bit more as it sort of hangs out there not going much of anywhere for the next few days, but then it will head off into the North Atlantic to die.

SOMETHING IN NIGERIA

A strong wave of stormy weather is in Nigeria this weekend and will soon head westward, head out of Africa and into the eastern Atlantic. There's a strong chance this thing could develop into a hurricane, but don't believe any hype on this one yet

If it does end up threatening the United States, which is iffy, it would do so in about 10 to 14 days.
Don't worry about this one yet.

HAWAII

There's a couple potential tropical storm threats for Hawaii over the next week or so.

Hurricane Lester with 85 mph sustained winds, is chugging westward across the Pacific Ocean, and is sort of headed toward Hawaii. If it makes it there, it would be sometime next weekend, so people in the Aloha State will have to keep an eye on our buddy Lester.

Before Lester gets near Hawaii, the islands will have to contend with Tropical Storm Madeline, which will be near Hawaii midweek. It should weaken by the time it gets there, but it could unleash some torrential rains and flash flooding to parts of Hawaii in the next few days.

TYPHOON LIONROCK

A typhoon named Lionrock is threatening Japan. Isn't that a great name for a typhoon or hurricane?

This isn't so great for Japan, though. It's threatening to hit the central or northern parts of Japan with winds of up to 75 or 80 mph and torrential, flooding rains this week. Could be big trouble for them.

Hurricane Season In Full Force With Lots To Watch, Right Danny?

This mornings' satellite imagery shows tiny little
Hurricane Danny well east of the lesser Antilles, but headed their way.  

UPDATE:

Boy, Danny Boy got pretty rambunctious since I first wrote about him this morning (see the previous discussion below.)

Maximum sustained winds are up to a whopping 115 mph, making is a strong, Category 3 hurricane.

It's much stronger than I think most forecasters ever thought it would get.

Like I said earlier, small sized hurricanes can strengthen and weaken much faster than normal sized hurricanes.

Danny is a little bigger in area now that what I described this morning, but he's still pretty tiny, in area, for a hurricane.

The National Hurricane Center says Danny appears to be peaking in strength as of mid-afternoon Friday, but will soon start to weaken as upper level winds and dry dusty air interfere with the system.

Still, Danny has surprised us once, he could surprise us again. Even if it does weaken, who knows if it might eventually gain back some strength many days down the road as it possible approaches the Bahamas after going through or near Puerto Rico next week?

Time will tell.

PREVIOUS DISCUSSION
We've known for months the current El Nino ocean and weather pattern would tamp down on tropical storm and hurricane development in the Atlantic Ocean this year.

But nobody said El Nino would get rid of these storms completely. With the peak of the hurricane season now at hand, there's definitely stuff to talk about there.

The main star of this tropical show is of course Hurricane Danny. It's a tiny little thing, giving us the label "microcane" to describe it.

No doubt the wind is strong and dangerous. Sustained winds were 85 mph near Danny's eye. But the area of hurricane force winds is just 10 miles across. If you put Danny in the middle of Lake Champlain off of Burlington, Vermont,  the hurricane force winds would barely touch the Vermont and New York shorelines.

The cloud area of Danny Boy is so tiny that if you put it in the middle of Vermont, the sun would be peeking out near the Canadian and Massachusetts borders.

Compare that to the cloud shield of notorious Hurricane Katrina in 2005, which basically filled up the entire Gulf of Mexico.

FORECAST FOR DANNY 

When hurricanes are teeny, tiny like Danny Boy, they can either intensify super fast, or fall apart just as fast. That makes forecasting Danny a challenge.

The National Hurricane Center says Danny is in a sweet spot today over very warm oceans and low wind shear, which means that strong upper level winds won't blow the top off the storm and wreck it.

These strong upper level winds over the tropical Atlantic are very common and unusually strong when there's an El Nino, so that's why we're not expecting as many hurricanes as we've had in past years.

Also, there's  masses of dry, dusty air from the Sahara Desert that have blown across the Atlantic. That happens a lot, too, and that dry dusty air suppresses hurricanes. Danny is now in a spot that doesn't have such dry air.

Danny is moving to the west, and he's going to encounter two of the things that can weaken hurricanes: OK, the water is going to stay very warm in Danny's path, and hurricanes love warm water to feed off of and strengthen. So Danny has that going for him.

But the wind shear overhead is going to increase, and some of that dusty Saharan air might get scooped into Danny. That would weaken it, definitely. And remember I said Danny is a small little guy, so the wind shear and dusty air could easily bully him into weakening.

Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center say they think Danny is going to go over the the Lesser Antilles, then maybe head toward Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic early next week.

That's not necessarily a bad thing. Puerto Rico is going through an intense drought, worse than California, really. They're rationing water there. If the winds of Danny die down, but his heavy rains continue, that could help Puerto Rico some if Danny continues on his expected path.

Land interaction makes hurricanes weaken,  again especially with small ones like Danny, so hitting Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic could possibly even finish Danny off.

If he does survive, I have no idea if he'll make it to the United States eventually. Nobody else does, either. If Danny does manage to get to the United States nobody has any idea where, or with what strength. So ignore the online click bait that says the United States is in for it with Danny. Amirite, AOL.com, purveyors of online weather click bait?

OTHER ATLANTIC THREATS TO WATCH

This time of year, the potentially most dangerous hurricanes come off the west coast of Africa, head toward roughly the Cape Verde islands, and sometimes eventually become monsters as they travel westward over the Atlantic.

We're entering the peak of the Cape Verde type hurricane season, and one disturbance has just emerged off the African coast and is heading west. Another clump of storms is in Africa, and will head off into the Atlantic in a couple days.

Both storms have the potential to turn into horrible hurricanes, but the chances of low. Even in the most favorable hurricane seasons, many of these Cape Verde storms don't develop into anything and just disappear. Or if they do form, some then turn north to die over the chilly waters of the North Atlantic without hitting any land or harming anybody.

Remember, this is an El Nino year, so these African/Cape Verde systems are even more likely than usual to die a quick death as strong upper level winds tear them apart. But these two systems are worth watching to see what, if anything develops over the next week or two.  There's a chance they could make it.

There's another system south of Bermuda. It's just a plain old disorganized low pressure system with a mess of willy-nilly showers and thunderstorms. But it could take on some tropical storm characteristics in the next few days. Even if it does, there's no immediate threat to land.

HAWAII

I'm actually saving the potentially biggest hurricane threat to American soil for last. Out in the eastern and central Pacific, El Nino has the opposite effect on hurricanes than it does in the Atlantic.

The ocean out there is unusually warm because of El Nino, which makes for a better environment for hurricanes to form and grow. Wind shear isn't that high, so hurricanes are less likely to get torn apart than usual.

Hawaii isn't threatened all that often by hurricanes, but occasionally they do get them. Hawaii is much more under threat than usual this year with the strong El Nino heating up the nearby oceans.

Especially if a hurricane takes an unusual track from the south, where the ocean is warmer, rather than the east, where the water is a bit cooler.

Enter something now with the boring name of Tropical Depression 3-C. It's a disorganized mess of storminess way off to the southeast of Hilo, Hawaii. But forecasters think it will strengthen over warm water as it heads west to northwest south of Hawaii.

But here's the problem. Upper level winds might eventually steer the storm northward and it could come close to the western Hawaiin island toward the early or middle part of next week as a full fledged hurricane. They'll name it Kilo if it becomes a full fledged tropical storm or hurricane.

Remember, if would-be Ignacio indeed comes up from the south, it's more dangerous for Hawaii than if something tried to cross cool water and come at Hawaii from the east.

We don't know this for sure yet, but we better keep an eye on it. Especially if you're in, or planning to vacation in Hawaii.

Ghosts Of Pacific Hurricane Blasted Canada, Carolinas, Maine, Malta, Sicily.....

A severe "Medicane" storm in the Mediteranean Sea
this week distantly had a bit of its origins
in a Pacific Ocean hurricane.  

During the third wee in October,  a hurricane named Ana threatened Hawaii.  Turns out it didn't actually make landfall there, but it did give them a scare, along with some high surf, gusty winds and some heavy rain.

Ana then fell apart, and its remnants moved across the Pacific Ocean. The Ana remnants combined with other weather systems to cause a nasty storm with wind gusts to hurricane force in British Columbia, Canada  around October 28.

That British Columbia storm, partly the remains of Ana, then combined with other weather systems to produce that epic storm in the eastern United States last weekend.

That's the one that caused the record early snowfall in the Carolinas, and then blasted northern Maine with up to 21 inches of early season snow.

The ghosts of Ana continue to haunt. Energy from the nor'easter that hammered the Carolinas and Maine went across the Atlantic Ocean, where it helped spin up a nasty storm in the Mediterranean Sea late this week.

A snowstorm in Bangor, Maine last weekend left this damage
A bit of the storm had its origins as a hurricane in the Pacific
Ocean. The nor'easter that brought this snow helped
contribute to a subsequent severe storm in the Mediterrannean.  

According to Dr. Jeff' Master's weather blog, the storm in the Mediterranean was dubbed a "medicane" because it acquired characteristics of a tropical storm or hurricane.

The "medicane" wasn't a true hurricane as it had a blend of elements of a tropical system and that of a regular storm system.

It was a nasty storm though, causing terrible flooding in Malta, and sustained winds on the island of 47 mph gusting to 66 mph. Other weather stations on Malta reported gusts of over 90 mph.

Still, it's amazing to see that the ghosts and traces of a hurricane near Hawaii subsequently helped lead to very troublesome storms in such disparate places as British Columbia, South Carolina, Maine, Malta, and at last report, Sicily.

I wonder if the ghosts of Ana will cause trouble anywhere else. Who knows? Maybe it'll be Hawaii's turn again.  I really, really strongly doubt that would happen, but wouldn't it be wild if it did?

Hurricanes, Typhoons Keep Buzzsawing The Pacific

Incredible clouds around the eye of
Super Typhoon Genevieve. Click on the
image to make it bigger and easier
to see the detail.  

It's quite a year out in the Pacific Ocean this year for severe tropical weather.

I guess Pacific really is the wrong word to describe that ocean.

We all heard about Hurricane Iselle, which hit Hawaii as a strong tropical storm yesterday. 

It dumped up to 14 inches of rain on the Big Island of Hawaii. There's been a lot of flooding, mudslides, rock slides, structural damage from wind and trees down.

I haven't heard of any deaths yet, which is a great thing.

Then there's Hurricane Julio, which is going to harass Hawaii, but not hit it. It looks like Julio is going to pass far enough north of Hawaii to only give minor effects. Which is good, because they have their hands full with the aftermath of Iselle.

Hurricane Genevieve crossed the International Date Line the other day as it traveled west. That changed its name to Typhoon Genevieve. Typhoons and hurricanes are the same thing, they're just have different names in different parts of the world.

Genevieve became a super typhoon, meaning it has sustained winds of 150 mph or more. It looks like Genevieve is not a big threat to any land areas at the moment.

Typhoon Halong was trashing southwestern Japan as of Saturday, with severe flooding in that part of the country.  The area had already been hit by torrential rains and typhoons, and the flooding from Halong is expected to get extremely scary, and turn into among the worst Japan has seen.

Rain was reported falling at a rate of three to four inches an hour in some places.

Not good.

Hawaii Braces For Rare Hurricane, Another One Will Then Harrass State

Hurricane Iselle spinning toward Hawaii yesterday.  

Hurricane Iselle was still making a beeline for the Big Island of Hawaii Thursday morning, and it could become the first hurricane on record to hit that particular island in the Hawaiian chain.

Hurricane Julio is coming right behind Iselle, but it looks like Julio will curve north of the islands, but will probably come close enough to cause some more wind and more flooding

That two tropical systems would threaten Hawaii in one week is unprecedented, notes Mashable.

Hurricanes thrive on warm ocean water, and die when the water gets cooler.

Hawaii is normally sort of protected by normal ocean currents that keep the water surrounding the island kind of on the cool side. So hurricanes usually, but not always,  die before they reach Hawaii.

Ocean temperatures in much of the Pacific Ocean, including in areas near Hawaii, are warmer than average, which gives tropical storms a kick in the pants to stay alive.

In fact, the forecast with Iselle kept getting worse over the past few days.  As Iselle headed toward colder water, it was expected to weaken into a tropical storm. But shifting winds in the upper atmosphere that usually tear hurricanes apart didn't materialize yesterday, so Iselle actually strengthened a bit.

Now, it's entering cooler water and those upper level winds, called shear, are starting to affect Iselle. It may or may not be a hurricane by the time it reaches the Big Island, but whether it is a hurricane or just close to it is just a matter of semantics.

Since Hawaii doesn't usually get such strong winds, trees and structures aren't able to withstand winds of 50, 60, 70, or 80 mph like in some other areas of the United States. So wind damage might be worse than if it hit, say, Florida, where there are somewhat stronger building codes.

Or, buildings that were up to code in Hawaii might have issues nobody knows about because there hasn't been strong winds in such a long time.

The rain is going to cause flooding too. Water will rush down the steep slopes of the islands. They're expecting 5 to 8 inches of rain in many areas, with some spots reaching a foot. The flash flooding and landslides might be terrible.

As I said, this might end up being the first time the Big Island of Hawaii, the easternmost one, is hit directly by a hurricane.

More western islands in Hawaii, where the water temperature is a little warmer, have been hit by hurricanes before.

The most noteworthy was Iniki in 1992, which hit the island of Kauai with 140 mph winds. It killed six people and caused widespread damage.

Here's a video of Iniki lashing Kauai Island in Hawaii in 1992. It's from a Discovery Channel show called "Destroyed in Seconds." After the narrator sets up the scenario, things get scary 45 seconds into the video: