Tropical Storm Guillermo is expected to bring rain and perhaps some thunder today as it brushes the Big Island, though residents largely will be spared the worst as the former hurricane shifts farther to the north, forecasters say. ADVERTISING Tropical
Tropical Storm Guillermo is expected to bring rain and perhaps some thunder today as it brushes the Big Island, though residents largely will be spared the worst as the former hurricane shifts farther to the north, forecasters say.
With the storm passing 230 miles to the northeast, there is little chance of East Hawaii experiencing tropical storm force winds, but the island remained under tropical storm and flash flood watches as a precaution.
“(Wednesday) morning, we’re probably looking at northerly winds maybe 10-15 mph, gusts up to 20-25 mph, and showers, heavy at times, possible,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Chevy Chevalier.
“It’s so far looking like minimal impact,” he said.
Rainfall is forecast at 1-3 inches with isolated pockets that could see as much as 7 inches.
Hawaii County Civil Defense Administrator Darryl Oliveira said those amounts are not out of the ordinary.
“It’s not in the volume we have seen that causes a lot of problems,” he said.
There are no plans to open emergency shelters.
“We did talk to the Red Cross,” Oliveira said. “Staff are notified and prepared. Nobody is on standby.”
The highest surf Tuesday was reported at Pohoiki, where waves were reaching 6 to 10 feet.
On Sunday, the island was forecast to take a direct hit from the storm, but by late Tuesday a weak ridge of high pressure and vertical wind shear was helping pull Guillermo to the north.
“It’s definitely a relief,” Oliveira said, adding residents appeared to have been prepared for a worse outcome.
“We’re only part way through the hurricane season,” he cautioned. “We still got all the way to November to go.”
Hawaii Electric Light Co. crews still were busy “preparing for the worst,” according to spokeswoman Rhea Lee-Moku.
She said the company places employee and customer safety at the top of its priority list, so even if predictions are for Guillermo to largely bypass Hawaii Island, it is better to keep a watchful eye and be prepared for any eventuality.
“One thing we learned through (last year’s Tropical Storm) Iselle is that we prepare well for emergencies,” Lee-Moku said. “Just like last year, we stood up our incident management team on Sunday, well in advance of Guillermo … But even prior to that we started tracking Guillermo, even before it was named. We knew it was headed this way, and we always track these storms in advance.”
Among their preparations, HELCO employees have been readying supplies and materials and ensuring all equipment is in working order.
On Tuesday afternoon, Tad Araki worked to clean chainsaws to be used to clear fallen trees, while Kale Hanohano prepared the grips on guy-wires, which are used to support wobbly utility poles in high winds.
The island has about 350 HELCO employees, all of whom are ready to get to work in the event the storm creates problems, Lee-Moku said.
“Not all of them are linemen — the people who actually repair down lines, broken poles and our transmission and distribution systems,” she said. “There are a lot of people behind the scenes, people who do the planning work, damage evaluations and assessments, the people who answer phone calls from our customers.”
Hawaii Department of Education spokeswoman Donalyn Dela Cruz said Tuesday afternoon no public schools on Hawaii Island planned any closures for today. However, Na Wai Ola Public Charter School in Mountain View and Laupahoehoe Community Public Charter School decided they would cancel classes.
Email Tom Callis at tcallis@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
Email Colin M. Stewart at cstewart@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
