NATIONWIDE -- A major hurricane is heading west in the Central Pacific toward Hawaii.

  • Hurricane Lane not expected to make direct landfall
  • But will be close enough to be dangerous
  • Lane could dump between 10 to 15 inches of rain
  • Believe it or not, Hawaii does not see a lot of hurricanes

Hurricane watches and warnings have been posted for the Hawaiian Islands. Hurricane Lane will impact the islands for the end of the week and into start of the weekend.

The storm may not make direct landfall, but it is going to be close enough to be dangerous and potentially life-threatening. The islands will be on the northeast side of Lane, which is where the strongest winds and heaviest rains are found in hurricanes.

Hawaii is typically spared by hurricanes and tropical systems thanks to an area of high pressure to its north. This area of high pressure acts as a protector for the islands.

Typically, the high will be strong enough to deflect tropical storms and hurricanes south of the Hawaiian Islands as we most recently saw when Hurricane Hector passed south of the islands.

Another factor that inhibits development is cool ocean waters to the north of the islands. Tropical systems need ocean temperatures of 80 degrees or warmer. Usually, ocean waters are too cool to support tropical systems.

This high pressure system that normally acts as a brick wall in steering tropical systems away from Hawaii has weakened its grip over the region and it has drifted to the north.

This is will allow Hurricane Lane to move north and impact the islands. Lane could dump as much as 10 to 15 inches of rain with some areas picking up 20 inches of rain when it nears the islands by late week and into the weekend.

There have only been two hurricanes that have made landfall in Hawaii since records began in 1950. The last hurricane to make a direct hit on the islands was in 1992 and that was Hurricane Iniki.

Iniki was Category 4 storm with winds of 140 mph and it caused $3.1 billion worth of damage. It is the costliest hurricane in Hawaii history.

The only other hurricane to make landfall was Hurricane Dot in 1959.

Many may remember that Tropical Storm Iselle made landfall in 2014. Iselle was a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 140 mph before weakening into a tropical storm at landfall. Tropical Storm Darby made landfall in 2016.