Estimated arrival times of tropical storm-force winds. NOAA graphic

Wind and surf advisories went up Thursday for Maui County as Erick, which was downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm, approached the Hawaiian Islands.

At 5 p.m. Thursday, Tropical Storm Erick with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph was 365 miles south-southeast of Kahului. Erick was moving west-northwest at 13 mph.

On the forecast track, the center of Erick was expected to pass 200 miles south of Hawaii island Thursday and Thursday night, the National Weather Service said. “Significant weakening” is forecast the next couple of days with Erick being battered by vertical wind shear.

While Erick has weakened and the eye forecast to miss the islands, heavy rain and flash flooding remained a possibility for Maui County starting Thursday night and into tonight, county officials said. Deep tropical moisture is embedded in Erick and will increase chances for rainfall in Maui County, the weather service said.

Nearly a half inch of rain was reported at the Wailuaiki station in East Maui in the three hours through 5:45 p.m. Thursday. The weather service reported 0.11 inch in Haiku and 0.12 inch at Puu Kukui in the West Maui Mountains.

Tropical storm force-winds extended up to 105 miles from the center of Erick, the weather service said.

Strong gusty winds and high surf also may potentially affect the county and rest of the state, county officials said.

Easterly winds are expected to blow 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 45 mph for Maui County; winds this strong are capable of downing trees and causing power outages, the weather service said.

A wind advisory went up at noon Thursday and extends to 6 p.m. today.

Surf of 6 to 10 feet along east-facing shores of Maui was expected, triggering a high-surf advisory through 6 p.m. today. The swell generated by Erick will produce surf levels that could create strong breaking waves and shore break and rip currents.

A small craft advisory also was up until 6 p.m. today with seas at 12 feet. The advisory included Maalaea Bay, the Pailolo Channel, between Maui and Molokai, and the Alenuihaha Channel, between Maui and Hawaii island.

County officials advised residents to tie down or store loose objects, including potted plants, and to properly secure propane tanks. Residents also should have a 14-day supply of water and nonperishable food, as well as a first-aid kit, portable radio, flashlights and extra batteries.

A second system, Tropical Storm Flossie, will approach the islands later this weekend into early next week and could bring additional impacts to the islands, the weather service said.

At 5 p.m. Thursday, Flossie was moving briskly across the Pacific Ocean west-northwest at 18 mph and was 1,450 miles east-southeast of Kahului, the weather service said. Flossie had maximum sustained winds of 70 mph, slightly higher than the 11 a.m. report, and has the possibility of growing into a hurricane before gradually weakening today.

Contacts for information about the hurricane include:

• The Hawaii Tourism Authority web page at www.hawaiitourismauthority.org/news/alerts/storm-watch/, which will provide industry partners, residents and visitors with information, updates and online resources about the storms.

• Maui Emergency Management Agency at 270-7285 or www.mauicounty.gov/emergency. People also can sign up for emergency notifications on Maka’ala at www.mauicounty.gov.

• Maui Electric Co., which asks that the public call in power outages to its trouble line at 871-7777.

Due to Erick, an open house to preview the new concept of the Waiehu Golf Course clubhouse, set for 9 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Richard “Pablo” Caldito Park in Waiehu, has been canceled by the Department of Parks and Recreation.

* Lee Imada can be reached at leeimada@mauinews.com.