All eyes on Tropical Storm Darby as it pushes through Hawaii
Digital Reporter
Sunday, July 24, 2016, 5:49 PM - Forecasters are keeping a close eye on Tropical Storm Darby as it tracks through Hawaii Sunday.
Darby touched down near Pahala on Hawaii's Big Island Saturday, and it's expected to deliver a dumping of rain and increasing high surf as it crosses through the Hawaiian Islands.
As of Sunday morning HST, tropical storm warnings are in effect for the whole state, with the exception of the Big Island of Hawaii
"Tropical storm conditions are expected over Maui County and Oahu today through tonight, and over Kauai late tonight and Monday," the National Weather Service said in a bulletin.
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Watch Below: Darby Track
Maximum sustained winds were near 65 km/h near the storm's centre, with stronger gusts. The storm is expected to weaken overnight and the storm will degrade into a tropical depression Sunday night or Monday.
As for rain, total amounts could reach 250 mm for many areas, though localized amounts of 380 mm aren't out of the question.
All the rain isn't necessarily a bad thing for Hawaii -- the state has only seen 60 per cent of its average rainfall this year. However, so much all at once raises the risk of flash flooding and landslides, particularly on slopes facing east and northeast.
#Darby is only the 5th named storm since 1949 to make landfall on Hawaii, CPHC says. PHOTOS: https://t.co/p9NnMc00Rn pic.twitter.com/KrrpaGghNy
— Nicole Bento (@NicoleHNN) July 24, 2016
High surf Sunday morning (HST) brings the chance of waves nearing six metres, with gusting winds of 63 km/h expected.
In the lead-up to Darby, Hawaii Governor David Ige declared the state as a disaster area on Friday. In the event of severe damage, this declaration allows the state access to use emergency funds.
Surfs up in Hawaii as TS Darby approaches. 9, 12, then up to 15-20-foot waves/swell ... Eastern Pacific +wavy pic.twitter.com/rFXQxPau0E
— Ryan Maue (@RyanMaue) July 21, 2016
While the Atlantic Basin remains stagnant for the most part (for now), the Eastern Pacific is heating up.
The U.S. NWS satellite radar captured all four active tropical systems in the eastern Pacific Thursday.
Wow! This IR satellite image shows four active tropical systems in the E Pacific! pic.twitter.com/79CH8h32OE
— NWS OPC (@NWSOPC) July 22, 2016
On Friday morning, Georgette officially became the seventh named storm to form in July, tying the record for most July named storm formations set in 1985, the U.S. NWS confirmed.
Tropical Storm #Georgette advisory 8 issued. #Georgette moving west-northwestward with no change in strength. https://t.co/mbw53R5dme
— NHC E. Pacific Ops (@NHC_Pacific) July 23, 2016
Be sure to monitor the ALERTS section for updates on watches and warnings.
Will the warm blob in the Pacific return?
Summer and Fall of 2015 were not only marked by a strong El Niño in the equatorial Pacific, but also by what was referred to as "The Blob," a large pool of warmer than usual water sitting of the coast of North and Central America.
This summer, the Eastern North Pacific is already showing a positive SST anomaly pattern and model predictions indicate that by September, it could intensify further with values ranging anywhere from 37 to 39 C off the coast of Alaska and Canada.
Although this is a different ocean-atmosphere interaction signal to keep an eye on, the warmer waters in the north Pacific will probably have an effect on the nature of the Pacific Northwest storms moving into the region later this Fall. However, the warmer SST anomalies to the south, off the west coast of Mexico and Central America, could have a weakening effect on hurricane development and intensification in the Atlantic Ocean basin in the coming months.