Conditions were nearly perfect last night in Honolulu for viewing and capturing these images of this total lunar eclipse. The rare celestial event was the first total lunar eclipse visible from Hawaii in 4 years. As usual this eclipse was spectacular as they always are. And what made me happy was that I got some decent (though not perfect) photos of the phenomena.

Larger version of this photo.

Hurricane Flossie was downgraded to a tropical storm last night. Today the winds are blowing at around 50 mph. The storm did not directly strike the Big Island of Hawaii, though its effects were seen and felt through most of the southern region of that island. There was some flooding, rain, some wind and a lot of high surf. The storm will probably completely miss the rest of the Hawaiian island chain.

Flossie Fizzles

Hurricane Flossie was downgraded to a category 2 storm this morning. It is still a threat to the Big island of Hawaii. The people there should be feeling the effects of the hurricane by noon HST today. I talked to some people on the Big Island this morning, and they already report more rain showers… not much wind yet.

For more information on this hurricane visit the following links:

NOAA Hawaii Hurricane Flossie

Hurricane Flossie Discussion Topic at HawaiiThreads.com

If Flossie continues on its present track, it will miss the islands of Maui, Lanai, Molokai, Oahu and Kauai. Right now at this moment in Honolulu, the weather looks like a typical sunny day in paradise.

The Big Island of Hawaii was hit by a moderate earthquake tonight that registered at 5.3 on the Richter scale. It looks like the quake is volcano related as it occurred downslope near the current Pu’O eruption that has been ongoing since 1983.

A friend of mine from Hilo called me shortly after it happened. (I’m on the island of Oahu more than 220 miles away)… he said it was quite big and long. We had just gotten off the phone talking about the approaching hurricane.

Yes, Hurricane Flossie is still a factor on our near future weather. The last report showed that the hurricane was blowing with sustained winds of up to 120 mph, which is slightly less than it was this morning. The hurricane is a category 3 storm.

Forecasters predict the storm will just pass about 70 miles south of the Big Island of Hawaii tomorrow. The residents will still bear much of the brunt of the storm since winds radiate more than 140 miles out from the center. And this is assuming it stays on the same track. If it veers a few degrees north, the Big Island of Hawaii will definitely be hit. The other islands will also be in the direct path.

Here in Honolulu the effects of the hurricane should be minimum if the present track holds. As for the earthquake, it was not felt on Oahu.

We are following the progress of Hurricane Flossie, preparing for the worst but hoping for the best, earthquakes not withstanding.

Map graphic from the USGS.

Hurricane Flossie is still a threat to the Hawaiian Islands. The storm is a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 140 mph as of this morning. Here is the NOAA summary report from 5:AM HST:

http://www.prh.noaa.gov/cphc/pages/prod.php?file=/data/HFO/TCPCP2

BULLETIN
HURRICANE FLOSSIE ADVISORY NUMBER 20
NWS CENTRAL PACIFIC HURRICANE CENTER HONOLULU HI EP092007
500 AM HST MON AUG 13 2007

…A HURRICANE WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR THE BIG ISLAND OF HAWAII…

AT 500 AM HST…1500Z…THE CENTER OF EXTREMELY DANGEROUS HURRICANE FLOSSIE WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 14.9 NORTH…LONGITUDE 149.5 WEST OR ABOUT 495 MILES SOUTHEAST OF HILO…HAWAII AND ABOUT 705 MILES SOUTHEAST OF HONOLULU…HAWAII.

FLOSSIE IS MOVING TOWARD THE WEST-NORTHWEST NEAR 15 MPH AND THIS MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE THROUGH TONIGHT.

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 140 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS. FLOSSIE IS A CATEGORY FOUR HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON SCALE. SOME WEAKENING IS FORECAST DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS.

HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 40 MILES FROM THE CENTER…AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 110 MILES.

ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS 957 MB…28.26 INCHES.

THE MAIN EFFECTS FROM HURRICANE FLOSSIE ARE EXPECTED ON THE BIG
ISLAND TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT. A WARNING MAY BE REQUIRED FOR THE
BIG ISLAND LATER TODAY. EVERYONE IN HAWAII IS URGED TO CLOSELY
MONITOR FUTURE BULLETINS AS THIS EXTREMELY DANGEROUS HURRICANE
APPROACHES THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS.

REPEATING THE 500 AM HST POSITION…14.9 N…149.5 W. MOVEMENT TOWARD…WEST-NORTHWEST NEAR 15 MPH. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS… 140 MPH. MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE…957 MB.

AN INTERMEDIATE ADVISORY WILL BE ISSUED BY THE CENTRAL PACIFIC HURRICANE CENTER AT 800 AM HST FOLLOWED BY THE NEXT COMPLETE ADVISORY AT 1100 AM HST.

Hawaii is bracing for a possible hit by Hurricane Flossie which is churning about 1200 miles east of the state near the Central Pacific Ocean. Forecasters currently predict that the storm may weaken as it travels over cooler waters and that its track should have it pass a few hundred miles south of the state. Winds are currently clocking in at 115 mph.

State civil defense is preparing for the worst and urges residents to also prepare with their hurricane kits.

Hopefully this storm will weaken to a tropical storm. Hawaii has been in a drought situation for most of this year, and we definitely need some rain. The rain would be okay, not the strong damaging winds. So like if a storm with winds of 40 mph or less hits with plenty of rain, it may be a good thing.