This story has been updated to reflect the National Hurricane Center’s update that the tropical wave, Invest 91L, which would’ve become Tropical Storm Gabrielle, has dissipated.
As of press time, two storms—Hurricane Kiko in the Pacific and the possibility of Tropical Storm Gabrielle in the Atlantic—are threatening landfall.
Hurricane Kiko
Tropical cyclones rarely score a direct hit on the Hawaiian Islands, but Hurricane Kiko could potentially make landfall on one or more of the islands, forecasters say.
Kiko formed off the southwest coast of Mexico on Sept. 1 and is—as of press time—a Category 3 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph. The storm is currently churning west at about 9 mph.
Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 30 miles from Kiko’s center, and tropical-storm-force winds extend up to 80 miles, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
“Kiko is forecast to approach the Hawaiian Islands during the early to the middle portion of next week,” the NWS said in a Sept. 4 advisory. “The risk of direct impacts from wind and rainfall is increasing. However, it is too soon to determine the exact location or magnitude of these impacts, and interests there should continue to monitor the progress of this storm.”
The NWS said that Hurricane Kiko has recently weakened but could intensify again as it moves toward Hawaii.
No hurricane warnings or advisories have yet been issued for any of the Hawaii, with the storm still a week away from potentially reaching the islands.
Hurricanes are relatively rare events in the Hawaiian Islands, according to the Department of Meteorology at the University of Hawaii. Cool waters around the island and prevailing winds tend to weaken or deflect storms as they approach, although El Niño years can be the exception to this rule.
Since 1950, five hurricanes or tropical storms have caused serious damage in Hawaii, with the most destructive being Hurricane Iniki, which hit Kauai in 1992 (an El Niño year) with 130 mph winds and caused over $2.3 billion in property damage.
More recently, the center of Category 4 Hurricane Douglas passed within 30 miles of Oahu in July 2020, downing trees and causing some flooding.
No hurricane has made landfall on the Big Island of Hawaii in recorded history, however.
[Updated] Tropical Storm Gabrielle
Invest 91L, which was tracking to become Tropical Storm Gabrielle has dissipated. Currently, the Hurricane Center is now tracking two tropical waves over the central Atlantic and western Caribbean.
A tropical disturbance in the eastern Atlantic is strengthening and could soon develop into Tropical Storm Gabrielle, with the Leeward Islands on alert in the coming days.
According to the National Hurricane Center, the system has a 60 percent chance of formation in the next 48 hours and a 90 percent chance of becoming a Tropical Storm in the next seven days. Forecasters expect it to move west or west-northwest at about 15 mph, on a path that could bring it closer to the northeastern Caribbean by mid-next week.
