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Tropical Storm Darby 2016
Status: Closed
| Type of posting | Posting date(EST): | Summary | Downloads |
|---|---|---|---|
| Landfall | 7/25/2016 1:00:00 PM |
|
Landfall | Summary
Posting Date: July 25, 2016, 1:00:00 PM
Tropical Storm Darby formed just off the coast of Mexico on July 11, quickly reaching hurricane status as it moved westward toward Hawaii. Though it weakened on its approach to Hawaii, Darby made landfall along the Ka’u coast of the Big Island as a tropical storm, near where Tropical Storm Iselle made landfall about two years ago. At the time, Iselle was the first tropical storm approaching from the east to hit the Big Island since an unnamed storm hit from that direction in 1958. And haggard though Darby was after its eastern approach, it achieved what none of the tropical cyclones in the central Pacific did last year: It made landfall – and became only the fifth landfalling tropical cyclone in Hawaii’s recorded history. The record shows no Hawaii landfalls as close together as Iselle’s and Darby’s.
Figure 1. The wind history of Tropical Storm Darby, indicating that most of Hawaii experienced tropical storm force winds.
Darby was downgraded to a tropical depression as of 5 a.m. local time; there is a Flash Flood Warning for Oahu that was in effect as of this morning and may be extended. A Brown Water Advisory has also been issued. Heavy rain, rough surf, and wind gusts are expected across Hawaii.
Reported Impacts
Although Darby was no Iselle when it comes to the damage caused, the storm still made an impact. More than 1,000 households were without electricity on the Island of Hawaii, popularly known as the Big Island, this weekend, with 100 still without power as of this writing. Hawaii Electric Light reported working around the clock since Friday to restore power and continues to work on it. Numerous trees fell, especially the vulnerable albizia trees which are prevalent on the Big Island.
Figure 2. A fallen albizia tree from Tropical Storm Iselle in 2014. (Source: AIR)
Many county and state parks were closed over the weekend, with state parks on the Big Island and Makena State Park on Maui now re-opened, while park closures on Oahu are yet to be concluded.
All roads are open now, and emergency shelters are closed. Over the weekend, however, Umauma Bridge on Highway 19 closed as did Highway 11 between Volcano and Naalehu and the H-1 Freeway westbound. Emergency shelters on the islands of Hawaii, Maui, Molokai, and Lanai were open over the weekend.
