- Forecasters downgrade Hurricane Madeline to a tropical storm as it veers past Hawaii's Big Island but officials reiterate warnings to residents
- Weather Service downgraded Hurricane Madeline as its winds decreased
- Its center wasn't expected to make landfall on any Hawaiian island
- Officials reiterated warnings to prepare for heavy rain and strong winds
- Hurricane Lester was expected to drop to a tropical storm by Sunday
Forecasters have downgraded Hurricane Madeline to a tropical storm as it veered past Hawaii's Big Island, but officials reiterated warnings to prepare for heavy rain and strong winds.The National Weather Service downgraded the storm Wednesday as its winds decreased to 70 mph. Its center wasn't expected to make landfall on any Hawaiian island.Still, the Big Island and Maui County were under tropical storm warnings.Scroll down for videoCalm before the storm: It was quiet at around 6am Wednesday morning on Hilo, as this tweet from a resident showsEscaped: This man told reporters he was in and out of Hawaii in eight hours after cancelling his work there - otherwise he'd 'be stuck there for four days'Share this article
'It doesn't matter if it's a strong tropical storm or a category 1 hurricane,' said Eric Lau, a meteorologist with the weather service. 'If you have 70 mph winds verses 75 mph winds, it's still a strong storm, so residents still need to be prepared.'Meanwhile, Hurricane Lester was about 1,000 miles from Hawaii and expected to drop to a tropical storm by Sunday.The developments came as merchants boarded up shop windows along Hilo Bay and shoppers snatched supplies of food and water from grocery store shelves after initially being told the island could be hit by its first hurricane in a quarter-century.'Hopefully our roofs stay on, and our houses don't float way or get blown away,' Big Island resident Mitzi Bettencourt said as she covered walls of glass windows while the island was under the hurricane warning. 'It's like, 'Oh my God, are we going to get flattened or what?''Elsewhere, the National Hurricane Center said Tropical Storm Hermine had formed in the Gulf of Mexico and was centered about 350 miles from Tampa, Florida.It was expected to pick up speed and approach the northwest Florida coast Thursday night. A warning was dropped about a tropical depression that had been moving toward North Carolina.Oncoming storms: Hurricanes Madeline (left) and Lester (right), photographed over the Pacific Ocean TuesdayStormy weather: Twin Hurricanes Madeline and Lester were heading towards Hawaii. Forecasters have downgraded Hurricane Madeline to a tropical storm and Hurricane Lester was expected to drop to a tropical storm by SundayIn Hawaii, Peggy Beckett, a retiree and beekeeper, stopped at a Hilo supermarket to pick up onion bagels, cheese, cold cuts and salad to add to her canned food at home.She also has a cooler with ice plus a portable burner and batteries to get her through the storm.Noting the lines of people at the market, Beckett said people were getting prepared but weren't panicking.'There's always a lot of disbelief on the island that the storms will really be as big and bad as forecast,' she said, noting that she and her partner had taken precautions to protect their beehives.Bettencourt manages several vacation rental properties, and her own home sits a few blocks from the ocean.She and her neighbors were stocking their pantries, stowing lawn furniture and preparing for power outages.Employees boarded up windows at Hulakai Store, a surf shop in Hilo. 'We'll probably keep it up till Sunday, waiting for the second one to come through,' said supervisor Renee Balanga.CBS2 caught up with one unhappy visitor Wednesday who cut short his Hawaii stay after realizing he was in Madeline's path.Workers install flashing around the roof and windows of a restaurant in Cedar Key, Florida, in preparation of Tropical Storm HermineAriel Callahan, five, and her grandmother Kelly Smith, navigate rain water at Anona Elementary School in Largo, FloridaU.S. President Barack Obama boards Air Force One to depart for Hawaii from Reno-Tahoe International Airport in Reno, Nevada'I landed yesterday at noon and cancelled all my work and literally grabbed a red-eye and came home,' the man, who had just landed in LAX, said.'I was literally on the island for eight hours.'But he said he felt he did the right thing - 'Otherwise I'd be stuck there for four days.'Delta announced that it would offer free cancellations for tickets on delayed or cancelled flights, and free one-time changes to non-canceled flights from certain cities in Florida, Georgia, and North and South Carolina.And Hawaiian Airlines said customers holding tickets to or from Hilo from Wednesday to Thursday would be allowed a one-time free reservation change.Gov. David Ige has issued an emergency proclamation for both storms, allowing the state to quickly spend money.Big Island schools were closed and about a dozen facilities were outfitted as emergency shelters.#HurricaneMadeline set to bring heavy rain, strong winds, dangerous surf to #Hawaii. Update: https://t.co/Nj2ojFKWWr pic.twitter.com/bhyglhreMS— Weather Network US (@TheWeatherNetUS) August 31, 2016#HurricaneMadeline forcing Hawaii travelers to return home early @flyLAXairport @CBSLA pic.twitter.com/Bvn6rVNAkh— JASMINE VIEL (@jasmineviel) August 31, 2016Worrying: This satellite image taken Tuesday at 10am EDT showed stormy times ahead for Hawaii (bottom-center) as Hurricanes Lester and Madeline marched toward HiloPresident Barack Obama is scheduled to visit Oahu this week. The White House was tracking the weather but didn't anticipate changing Obama's schedule.The Hawaiian islands of Maui, Molokai, Lanai and Kahoolawe were under a tropical storm watch, but there were no alerts for Oahu or Kauai.On the Big Island, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park was closed.The U.S. Coast Guard asked crews of barges and ships to prepare to leave Hilo Harbor and told ocean-going vessels to seek sheltered waters until storm conditions subside.
Thursday, September 1, 2016
State of emergency declared in Hawaii because of two Hurricanes
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