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Hurricane Norman is expected to miss islands

It will bring high surf along east-facing shores

The Maui News – Hurricane Norman is expected to skirt northeast of the islands over the weekend while generating advisory-level surf along shorelines and a hurricane warning and small-craft advisories in the waters surrounding the islands, the National Weather Service said Tuesday afternoon.

At 5 p.m. Tuesday, Hurricane Norman had maximum sustained winds of 80 mph, a Category 1 system, and was 625 miles east of Hilo. It was moving westward at 12 mph. It was expected to turn northwest tonight and Thursday, the weather service said.

Some increase in wind speeds was expected today with Norman forecast still to be a hurricane Thursday, the weather service said.

Hurricane-force winds extended 25 miles out and tropical storm-force winds 105 miles from the center, the weather service said.

Large swells generated by Norman were expected to reach the islands Tuesday night and build into Thursday, the weather service said. Surf heights along east-facing shores were expected to reach 10 to 14 feet today.

A high-surf advisory is in effect for east-facing shores of Maui until 6 a.m. Friday. The advisory means that the surf will cause beach erosion and rip currents. The weather service expects to raise the advisory to a warning today.

A hurricane warning has been posted for waters offshore of the Hawaiian Islands from 46 miles to 276 miles. Hurricane conditions are possible today through Friday, the weather service said. Seas as high as 14 feet and winds near 30 mph are possible.

A small-craft advisory was posted for 6 a.m. today to 6 a.m. Friday for the Alenuihaha Channel, between Hawaii island and Maui, and Pailolo Channel, between Molokai and Maui, and Maalaea Bay. Waters southeast of the Big Island also fall into the advisory area.

Another hurricane, Olivia, will approach the islands from the east early next week, the weather service said. It still was 790 miles from the southern tip of Baja and was swirling with 125 mph winds, a Category 3 system. It was moving west at 12 mph.

NEWSLETTER

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