- Do Hurricanes Ever Hit Hawaii?

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Does hawaii get many hurricanes. Not Many Hurricanes Hit Hawaii and this is Why

 

Follow AndreaTWeather. On August 6 at UTC p. Click image to enlarge. Credit: NASA. Now — 22 years later — not one, but an unprecedented two hurricanes are making a beeline for the island chain and residents are preparing for a threat they rarely face.

In general, wind shear refers to any change in wind speed or direction along a straight line. Imagine a spinning hurricane with a stiff wind blowing across the top of the hurricane — it weakens, and steers, a hurricane. The change in horizontal wind with height is called vertical wind shear. Wind shear will often disrupt tropical storms. There is often a lot of shear near Hawaii, with easterly trade winds at low levels and westerly winds aloft. That is why quite a few remnant tropical circulations go by south, north, or occasionally through the islands, but rarely does a tropical storm or hurricane [reach them].

So the combination of warmer than normal sea surface temperatures and reduced wind shear has helped tropical storms to develop and approach Hawaii. This warmer ocean water also allows for a tropical system formation closer to Hawaii and across the eastern Pacific. Follow Moving To Kona on Facebook.

While the eight Hawaiian Island chain sits squarely in the tropical Pacific, hurricanes are actually pretty rare. At least in recorded history, some islands have never experienced a full fledged hurricane!

Climate Change And Hurricanes : Whether you believe that climate change is manmade or a natural weather fluctuation, any increase in ocean temperatures around Hawaii can result in a higher percentage of hurricanes impacting Hawaii.

The Big Island has this big rock sitting right in the middle of it. In fact, it is the tallest peak in the entire world when measured from base to peak and stands over 13, ft above sea level. Just imagine what happens if a storm happens to avoid all the obstacles in its way to get to Hawaii and happens to hit the Big Island. It then faces the biggest obstacle of them all in the form of a huge brick wall. What does the storm do?

It has no other choice than to go around it. Some of it goes to the left, some goes to the right, some goes over but ultimately the storm gets all broken up and therefore reduces the strength of the storm. Looking over the past storms we can see that they normally hit Hawaii between mid July and mid September. Since the high-pressure systems sit near Hawaii between May and October it creates the best possible barrier to hurricanes Hawaii could ask for. The biggest concern about storms hitting Hawaii is the fact that it is an island.

It is literally, thousands of miles from food sources, fuel and aid. This is exactly why those who live here must be prepared. When a storm hits you need to be prepared to live on your own for at least 2 weeks. Although unlikely that you would truly be on your own for that entire time it is better to be safe than sorry, right? Here is what should be included in your supply kit:.

In addition to a kit they recommend having a plan in place including:. Living here in Hawaii I feel pretty darn safe. Actually, I feel even safer after doing this research and realizing all the reasons why it is very unlikely Hawaii will get hit with a hurricane. And if it does I live in probably the best spot in Hawaii to make sure I never see a hurricane while living in paradise!

If you stay, know where the closest shelters are. More about Hawaii hurricanes. Hawaii Hurricane Season Updated on: September 14, How often and when were the last hurricanes to hit Maui and Hawaii?

When were the most recent hurricanes in Hawaii? What about Typhoons and Cyclones?