Hurricane Lane, a category 5 storm, closes in on Hawaii

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August 22, 2018 5:48 AM

As of 5 p.m. Tuesday in Hawaii, the storm, packing 155-mph winds, was moving west-northwest toward Hawaii at about 9 mph, he said. Hurricane-force winds were extending about 40 miles from the center.

Hawaii is bracing for possible landfall from Hurricane Lane, a Category 5 storm that forecasters are warning could bring whipping winds, flooding and high surf.

Tropical storm-force winds could arrive on the Big Island by Wednesday afternoon local time, with hurricane-force winds to follow soon afterward, said Gavin Shigesato, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. The storm would then continue toward Maui and Oahu around Thursday morning, he said.

The storm was upgraded to Category 5 at 6:30 p.m. local time Tuesday.

Mountainous areas could be particularly prone to flooding, and the southern shores could experience damaging surf levels, with more than 20 inches of rain possible. There is danger of tornadoes and large waterspouts, and the National Weather Service warned residents to prepare for considerable property damage, saying some locations “may be uninhabitable for weeks.”

Gov. David Ige of Hawaii said he had been in touch with Federal Emergency Management Agency officials and had signed an emergency proclamation. Officials had placed food, water and generators in each county of the state, he said.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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