The National Weather Service calls for warning on their Watches, Warnings and Advisories page for Hawai'i.
The message couldn’t be any clearer about preparedness for this weekend’s potential bad weather:
‘A powerful low pressure system is expected to move toward islands from the north over the weekend, bringing multiple weather hazards. While the details and exact timing still remain uncertain, this low will bring the potential for strong and gusty north to northwest winds from Friday into the weekend, with winds especially strong over ridges and mountaintops, and where they accelerate downslope. The low is also expected to produce very large surf along exposed north and west facing shores, with a chance for significant coastal flooding.
If you have outdoor plans for the weekend, be prepared for very windy conditions. If your plans include marine activities, you may want to consider postponing them.
Stay tuned for forecast updates from the National Weather Service or your favorite media outlet.’
We are still within the cool “winter” season, which means a lot of rain, high winds and potential flooding.
It’s never too early to prepare for windy and rainy weather, such as making sure that anything left in the open (yard, porch etc.) is put away and can’t fly during high winds into windows, cars, doors or harm others.
Make sure all your windows are closed when leaving the house – even cracked window can create flooding inside a dwelling within minutes under a heavy rain.
Always abide by the flash flood or any other advisory warnings on your phone or TV. During flash flood, seek higher ground and never cross moving body of water, no matter how shallow you might think it may be. Even 3 inches of fast moving water can sweep a person off their feet, which could result in sustaining serious injuries or even drowning.
Don’t go hiking – especially on hiking trails that lead into valleys, where there is small to almost no chance of escaping flash floods and the debris carried by water and falling rocks.
At home, make sure you have enough food, water and supplies that can carry you through the weekend, in case of power and water outages. Check your batteries in your flashlights, check if you have enough gasoline for your generator, check your medicine supplies and don’t forget about supplies for your pet. There might be a chance that you won’t be able to leave the house due to blockages on the road, such as flooded streets, fallen trees, damaged utility poles, etc.
There might be shortages of supplies at stores as well…better be prepared than left stranded.
For more information, visit National Weather Service Honolulu:
on the web at http://www.weather.gov/hawaii
on Facebook at facebook.com/NWSHonolulu
on Twitter at twitter.com/NWSHonolulu
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