Storm preparation efforts have been complicated on the island of Maui, where emergency crews have been responding to a huge brush fire in the Lahaina area. The fire started at about 1 a.m. and spread to hundreds of acres. More than 100 homes have been evacuated. Officials said it’s unclear if the cause of the fire is related to the storm, but the high winds have been stoking it, and the response has been sapping resources that were going toward Hurricane Lane.<doc-sep>Hurricanes A guide to the world's deadliest storms Hurricanes are violent storms that can bring devastation to coastal areas, threatening lives, homes and businesses. Hurricanes develop from thunderstorms, fuelled by warm, moist air as they cross sub-tropical waters. Warm air rises into the storm. Air swirls in to fill the low pressure in the storm, sucking air in and upwards, reinforcing the low pressure. The storm rotates due to the spin of the earth and energy from the warm ocean increases wind speeds as it builds. When winds reach 119km/h (74mph), it is known as a hurricane - in the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific - or a typhoon in the Western Pacific. "Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the face. Well, we're about to get punched in the face." Florida Mayor Bob Buckhorn, ahead of Hurricane Irma (2017) The central eye of calmer weather is surrounded by a wall of rainstorms. This eyewall has the fastest winds below it and violent currents of air rising through it. A mound of water piles up below the eye which is unleashed as the storm reaches land. These storm surges can cause more damage from flooding than the winds. "Urgent warning about the rapid rise of water on the SW FL coast with the passage of #Irma's eye. MOVE AWAY FROM THE WATER!" Tweet from the National Hurricane Center The size of hurricanes is mainly measured by the Saffir-Simpson scale - other scales are used in Asia Pacific and Australia. Winds 119-153km/h Some minor flooding, little structural damage. Storm surge +1.2m-1.5m Winds 154-177km/h Roofs and trees could be damaged. Storm surge +1.8m-2.4m Winds 178-208km/h Houses suffer damage, severe flooding Storm surge +2.7m-3.7m Hurricane Sandy (2012) caused $71bn damage in the Caribbean and New York Winds 209-251km/h Some roofs destroyed and major structural damage to houses. Storm surge +4m-5.5m Hurricane Ike (2008) hit Caribbean islands and Louisiana and was blamed for at least 195 deaths Winds 252km/h+ Serious damage to buildings, severe flooding further inland. Storm surge +5.5m Hurricane Irma (2017) caused devastation in Caribbean islands, leaving thousands homeless<doc-sep>Steer like this to stay out of accidents in the snow TOPSHOT - A city worker drives through the flooded street during Hurricane Sally in downtown Pensacola, Florida on September 16, 2020. - Hurricane Sally barrelled into the US Gulf Coast early Wednesday, with forecasts of drenching rains that could provoke "historic" and potentially deadly flash floods.The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said the Category 2 storm hit Gulf Shores, Alabama at about 4:45 am (0945 GMT), bringing maximum sustained winds of about 105 miles (165 kilometers) per hour. "Historic life-threatening flooding likely along portions of the northern Gulf coast," the Miami-based center had warned late Tuesday, adding the hurricane could dump up to 20 inches (50 centimeters) of rain in some areas. (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP) (Photo by CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images) Why snow and blackouts in Texas are a preview for all of us Storm chasing photographers take photos underneath a rotating supercell storm system in Maxwell, Nebraska on September 3, 2016. Although multiple tornado warnings were issued throughout the area, no funnel cloud touched down. / AFP / Josh Edelson / XGTY RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE / MANDATORY CREDIT: "AFP PHOTO / Josh EDELSON" / NO MARKETING / NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS / DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS == (Photo credit should read JOSH EDELSON/AFP/Getty Images) Why hurricanes are so hard to predict IN SPACE - In this handout photo provided by NASA, Hurricane Patricia is seen from the International Space Station. The hurricane made landfall on the Pacfic coast of Mexico on October 23. (Photo by Scott Kelly/NASA via Getty Images) Larry Pierson, from the Isle of Palms, S.C., purchases bottled water from the Harris Teeter grocery store on the Isle of Palms in preparation for Hurricane Florence at the Isle of Palms S.C., Monday, Sept. 10, 2018. (AP Photo/Mic Smith) The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on NOAA-20 acquired this image of Hurricane Laura at 2:20 a.m. Central Daylight Time on August 26, 2020. HILO, HI - AUGUST 23: A car is stuck partially submerged in floodwaters from Hurricane Lane rainfall on the Big Island on August 23, 2018 in Hilo, Hawaii. Hurricane Lane has brought more than a foot of rain to some parts of the Big Island which is under a flash flood warning. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) (CNN) — Lane was downgraded to a tropical storm Friday, but it’s still drenching Hawaii with heavy rains and dangerous flash flooding. The center of the storm – about 150 miles south of Honolulu on Friday – is not expected to come ashore though the eye wall could pass dangerously close to the central islands, including Oahu and Maui, in the coming days. But it’s the Big Island of Hawaii – the easternmost island in the chain – that has been hammered hardest by rain. More than 35 inches fell in one spot over the past few days, causing serious flooding, landslides and road closures. “The potential for excessive rainfall remains high, which could lead to life- threatening flash flooding, as well as land and mudslides,” Honolulu’s office of the National Weather Service said. Lane will continue to pose numerous hazards across parts of the islands into the weekend, including strong winds, storm surges up to 4 feet above normal tides, and 10 to 20 inches of rain, forecasters say. Track the storm here Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell said the islands have “dodged a bullet” and warned residents to remain vigilant as heavy rains still loom. Forecasters say the storm is moving on a slow motion northwest and will move west on Saturday. “This path will take Lane away from the islands,” the weather service said. CNN Weather Numerous areas were under flash flood watches Lane’s approach came as people on Maui dealt with a separate hazard: Two brush fires were burning, one that was forcing evacuations around the resort area of Lahaina. Quiet morning in Honolulu Honolulu had an unusually quiet Friday morning. Most stores closed at 4 p.m. HT on Thursday, and on Friday the streets were fairly empty, which is rare for Honolulu. The stray tourist could be found walking around attempting to find something open, but for the most part the streets were peaceful. Only a few cars were driving down the main thoroughfare, Kalakaua Avenue, which backstops Waikiki Beach. Traffic was much less than usual; there were no tour buses, delivery trucks, or commercial traffic. Most of the hotels had removed their pool furniture and sun shades, so pool areas look somewhat odd without anything surrounding them. Some hotels have their restaurants open, though seemingly operating at a very reduced staffing level. The number of surfers and the number of big waves were down, too, when compared with Thursday. Many tourists spent Friday afternoon getting some last beach time, as conditions were expected to deteriorate within hours. Anticipating the storm On Kauai, residents were waiting for the coming storm. According to Hawaii News Now, many of them were hunkered down, having boarded up their homes and gathered supplies “Making the kids enjoy themselves. Having family time together, just expecting the worse but hoping for the best,” Crystal Battulyan, of Puhi, said. The family had brought board games in case the power went out. Other residents were out in the churning surf. “Oh it’s good! That’s why we’re here. Two days in a row,” surfer Kenny Kaufman told Hawaii News Now. ’It’s going to hang around for a while’ As the hurricane got closer to Hawaii, Gov. David Ige urged residents to set aside two weeks’ worth of food, water and other necessities. There have been some power outages in four counties, officials said. CNN Weather Despite the flooding and landslides making headlines nationwide, some tourists were unfazed, with nearly 300,000 currently visiting the state, US Sen. Mazie Hirono said Thursday. State and government officials prepare State and federal officials are bracing for the storm, with Hawaii opening emergency shelters, closing some public schools for the rest of the week, and placing nonessential government workers on leave. Instagram post not found. Post has been removed or is no longer public.<doc-sep>At a Glance Lane rapidly weakened as it approached Hawaii. Heavy rain was the main impact, particularly on Hawaii's Big Island. Lane is the third wettest U.S. tropical cyclone on record. Hurricane Lane weakened rapidly as it approached Hawaii but still brought flooding to the Big Island where rainfall totals from the storm ranked among the heaviest for any tropical cyclone in U.S. history. (IMPACTS: Flooding, Mudslides on Big Island) More than 50 inches of rain was reported in one location on the Big Island, and an additional four locations saw more than 40 inches of rain. Mountain View, located in the higher elevations of the Big Island, received 51.53 inches of rain from noon Aug. 22 to 4 a.m. Aug. 26, local time. Not far behind was Waiakea Uka, located just south of Hilo on the Big Island, where rainfall totaled 49.10 inches. Lane's maximum rainfall totals on the Big Island and Maui. Yellow and orange shadings depict heavier rain totals while light blue and green is where rainfall totals are much less. Lane ranks third on the list of rainiest U.S. tropical cyclones on record (preliminary), topped only by Hiki in 1950 (52 inches) and Harvey in 2017 (60.58 inches). Hilo picked up 36.76 inches of rain in the four-day period from Aug. 22-25, making it the wettest four-day period ever observed in Hilo in records dating to 1949. Fifteen inches fell on Aug. 24 alone, allowing it to become the fifth-wettest calendar day on record. August 2018 is also the wettest August on record in Hilo. Pahoa, on the Big Island, saw 3.36 inches of rain in one hour on the evening of Aug. 24, 1.28 inches of which fell in just 15 minutes. The heavy rain triggered road flooding on the Big Island, including in the town of Hilo, and mudslides and landslides occurred, blocking numerous roads. The Bayfront area was flooded by overflow from the Alenaio Stream. Advertisement Heavy rain also forced road closures on the island of Maui. The Piilani Highway was closed near Kaupo due to flooding, and Highway 20 was closed due to landslides. A U.S. Geological Survey station on Maui at West Wailuaiki received 24.71 inches of rain. Although Lane weakened dramatically as it approached Hawaii, it still brought some gusty winds to parts of the islands. A few gusts around 50 mph were clocked in Maui County, in Kaneloa and Maalaea Bay, on Thursday night, Aug. 23. Trees were downed in a few parts of the county Thursday night, Aug. 23. A brush fire in Lahaina that prompted evacuations was blamed on the storm's winds. Sustained winds over 30 mph were reported, with gusts over 55 mph at times. A second fire also developed just four miles away. Waianae, on the western shores of Oahu, reported a wind gust of 55 mph late Friday, Aug. 24. Other high wind gusts included: the Oahu Forest: 74 mph Kohala Ranch: 68 mph Kawaihae: 64 mph Maui Airport: 58 mph Honolulu: 45 mph As Lane approached Hawaii, a NOAA buoy located near the hurricane's center reported peak sustained winds of 83 mph with a gust to 107 mph early on Thursday, Aug. 23, local time. Light winds were reported a short time later as Lane's eye passed directly over the buoy. Lane formed as a tropical storm in the eastern Pacific on Aug. 15 and became a hurricane the next day. Tuesday evening, Aug. 21, Hurricane Lane joined an exclusive company of central Pacific Category 5 hurricanes, the first since Ioke in 2006, only the second on record within 350 miles of Hawaii (John in 1994 was the other) and the most intense North Pacific hurricane east of the International Date Line since Patricia in 2015.<doc-sep>
A powerful hurricane that brought torrential rains to Hawaii's Big Island, closing roads and causing flooding that prompted the rescue of at least 11 people, was downgraded Friday to a tropical storm, but forecasters warned the danger to the islands is not over. The Central Pacific Hurricane Center warned that Tropical Storm Lane, which had maximum sustained winds of 70 mph and which was around 150 miles south-southwest of Honolulu and traveling northwest, "will still bring more flooding and damaging winds to parts of the main Hawaiian islands" and could cause landslides. "I would just like to emphasize that there still is the potential for flash flooding and rain damage due to Lane," Hawaii Gov. David Ige said at a Friday evening news conference, adding that emergency responders would remain on the job monitoring the storm. On Saturday, the National Weather Service in Honolulu tweeted that preliminary rain totals from four stations on Hawaii's Big Island showed more than 40 inches of rain from Lane, with the highest being a station in Waiakea Uka reporting nearly 45 inches of rain. Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell said that “we all planned for the very worst and hoped for the best" and he said that officials were right to prepare. "The good news is, Lane got weak and fell apart," he said. "We dodged a bullet. It doesn’t mean it's over — we're going to have rain and wind and local flooding and we need to be vigilant." The storm, which had been a Category 4 hurricane earlier this week before weakening to a tropical storm by Friday night, has dumped more than 30 inches of rain on parts of Hawaii’s Big Island, with other areas receiving more than a foot and in some spots more than two feet of rainfall, the National Weather Service said. Flooding in the city of Hilo on the Big Island led to waist-deep water in some places. Around 1,980 customers were without power on Oahu on Friday afternoon, utility company Hawaiian Electric tweeted. The National Guard and firefighters rescued six people Thursday trapped in a flooded home on the Big Island, the Associated Press reported. There were no injuries. Five tourists from California were rescued from another house. Brush fires Friday in western Maui fueled by high winds led to the evacuation of around 100 homes, NBC affiliate KHNL of Honolulu reported. More than 2,300 acres were burned and some homes were damaged. A woman was injured in the blaze and taken to a hospital for treatment, the station reported. 5pm: #Lane has weakened considerably through the day today thanks to strong shear near the islands. Lane is now a Tropical Storm with max winds of 70 mph and still poses a threat for flooding through tomorrow. A Tropical Storm Warning has replaced all Hurricane Warnings. #hiwx pic.twitter.com/A0WSc6LEBZ — NWSHonolulu (@NWSHonolulu) August 25, 2018 The now tropical storm was moving northwest at a sluggish 3 mph Friday evening, the hurricane center said. Hurricane warnings that had been issued for the island of Oahu and Maui County were downgraded to tropical storm warnings. The Big Island also was under a tropical storm warning. Officials cautioned that the slow speed of the storm could prolong rain in parts of the state. Some 1,500 people across the Hawaiian islands were in shelters Thursday night, with around 1,000 on Oahu, where Honolulu is located. The last Category 5 storm to even come close to Hawaii occurred in 1994 when Hurricane John skirted 345 miles south of the islands. The last severely damaging hurricane was Iniki, a Category 4 storm that killed six people in September 1992. The storm is expected to turn to the west towards open ocean and pick up speed Saturday, when the center of the storm is expected to pass south of Kauai, forecasters said. In the brush fires burning in west Maui, Tyler Dreiling, 25, passed out briefly after helping make sure no one was in the houses in an evacuation zone in Lahaina. "I was just running door-to-door making sure there wasn’t anyone else still in houses," he said in a phone interview with NBC News. Eventually he went home to find out that his own neighborhood was being evacuated. "I grabbed a couple of things and walked out and it was pretty close to the main highway when I started to feel dizzy," Dreiling said. He was staying at Maui High School, which has been made into an emergency shelter.