KAILUA-KONA — Clearer weather is coming to West Hawaii skies in the coming days, but forecasters are advising that the season for storms isn’t over yet.
“Although it’s calming down through the weekend, it is still the peak of the hurricane season here in the central Pacific,” said meteorologist Tom Birchard.
The hurricane season begins June 1 and runs through Nov. 30, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
As of noon Tuesday, Birchard said, the remnant low that was once Flossie was about 300 miles north of Kailua-Kona and moving north at about 10-15 miles per hour.
Meanwhile, a moisture plume remained draped over Maui and Hawaii Island, but that was moving away slowly.
The bulk of the rainfall the region saw in recent days was associated with Tropical Storm Erick, which passed south of Hawaii Island on Friday.
Birchard said rainfall peaked between Thursday and Friday with as much as 3 inches of rain in some leeward areas.
Heading into and through the weekend, Birchard said it’s looking fairly calm.
He said there might be a “slug of moisture” moving south of the island around Saturday leading to a few more showers, but it’s otherwise fair.
While there’s been some high surf on east-facing shores in recent days, Birchard said that’s also trending down.
“So a fairly benign weekend or next couple days coming up weather-wise for the Big Island,” he added.
That said, he urged people on the island to recognize that the season for hurricanes isn’t over.
“Don’t tune out,” he said, “because the season’s not over by any stretch.”
