The center of Olivia continues to move away from Hawaii, but it’s influence remains with the Aloha state a day after records were made. On Wednesday, Olivia made landfall on the island of Maui at 9:10am, making it the first tropical storm to make landfall there on record. A short time later at 9:54am, Olivia became the first tropical system of any kind to make landfall on the island of Lanai. In doing so, heavy rain spread throughout the state as gusty winds blew across many islands.
The strongest winds were felt on Maui and Oahu counties. Lanai Airport measured a peak wind speed of 55mph; other high winds included 51mph in Kaneola, 45mph at Molokai, 40mph at Kahului Airport, 46mph at Kuaokala, 43mph at Kawailoa, 41mph at Bellows Air Force Station, 41mph at Honolulu International Airport, 39mph at Kailua, and 38mph at Palehua.
More than 8″ of rain fell on parts of Maui from the storm and more rain continues today. A Flash Flood Watch is in effect statewide today in Hawaii, while a Flood Advisory is up for eastern portions of the Big Island of Hawaii. The area under the advisory includes Hilo, Hawaiian Acres, Paauilo, Mountain View, Papaikou, Keaau, Volcano, Hawaiian Paradise Park, Pahoa, Pahala and Naalehu.
RADAR and rain gages showed moderate to heavy rainfall continuing across the eastern slopes of the Big Island; rainfall has also spread into the Kau District as far as Naalehu. The highest rain rates were about one inch per hour. According to the National Weather Service office in Honolulu, this rainfall is expected to continue into the afternoon.
In the latest advisory from the Central Pacific Hurricane Center, the center of Olivia was located near latitude 18.7 North, longitude 163.0 West. Olivia is now only a tropical depression. The depression is moving toward the west-southwest near 14 mph. The Central Pacific Hurricane Center forecasts that the system will turn toward the west tonight and Friday, followed by a shift toward the west-northwest until dissipation later in the weekend. Maximum sustained winds are near 35 mph with higher gusts. Olivia is expected to become a post-tropical remnant low tonight, then weaken on Friday and Saturday. The estimated minimum central pressure is 1009 mb or 29.80 inches.
