Hawaii's Hurricane Trio

Hawaii doesn't get a lot of hurricanes. This year we got a bunch in a row after a long time, and they all happened very fast.

Hurricane Lala

Lala showed up in August and hit the Island of Hawaiʻi head-on. That's the first

direct hit on the island since 1871, which is so long ago that the last one

happened before anyone's grandparents were born. Up on the peak of

Mauna Kea, the wind gusted to 140 miles per hour, a record for that spot.

To put that in perspective, it's about twice as fast as you'd go on the highway,

and that's the speed of the air itself. 

Across the state, Lala damaged or destroyed more than 100 homes.

About 200,000 residents lost electricity, so people spent a few nights with

flashlights and warm drinks from the fridge. Trees fell, shingles flapped, and candles scented our homes. Four people died. Most of us complained about the power,

but for some families this storm was a real tragedy. Ka'u had significant damage beyond repair. We continue to reach out to help and stay strong for each community.

But school was off as we bundled up at home...

Hurricane Lowell

Lowell came in September and turned out to be the overachiever of the bunch.

It reached Category 5, the top of the hurricane scale, and it did that more than once.

No hurricane in the Pacific had pulled that off since Ioke in 2006,

and that was twenty years ago. After that, it turned north and passed just west

of Niʻihau as a Category 2. On September 3, Governor Josh Green declared a state of emergency because Lowell was coming and another storm, Karina, might follow it.

Lowell's core went by close to the west side of Kauai on September 7th and 8th.

Early on the 8th (UTC), a tornado watch was issued for Kauai County and the water around it. That was the first tornado watch on record for the state of Hawaii.

Usually, it's just lava flow watches. 

Hurricane-force gusts knocked out power for about 90% of the people on Kauai.

At least three people died.

Hurricane Nolo

Nolo just passed, and I have to be honest: for us, it was pretty much nothing.

A few inches of rain never hurt the Big Island.

School was off for Nolo too. So we got a day off for a storm that barely showed up, and a day off for a storm that took the power out for 200,000 people.

I'm not sure the school knew which one it was getting ready for, but I'm not going to argue with a day off.

Still, Nolo is why people get a little too relaxed. If your storm was a puddle, it's easy to think the next one will be too. Lala and Lowell proved that wrong pretty quickly.

Future Tips!!

• Figure out what you’ll do if the power goes out. 

• Keep water, snacks, flashlights, camping lanterns, and batteries

• Charge all devices 

• See if you need to stay put or evacuate 

• Take care of each other and spend quality time!

When the whole island is dark, it turns out to be the most entertaining thing in the house.

Board games are the way to go!

Stay safe and dry.