Lane continues to churn its way towards the Hawaiian Islands as a whopping category 4 hurricane. Currently about 285 miles south of Kailua-Kona and 420 miles southeast of Honolulu, Lane is tracking west-northwest at 8 mph. It is likely that Lane has hit its peak intensity and will begin to slowly weaken. However, Lane could still be category 2 strength Lane as late as Friday and then perhaps a strong tropical storm by Saturday. Given the sheer magnitude of Lane, tropical storm force winds are expected to extend 100 miles from the center. This means that from now through Saturday nearly all the Hawaiian Islands have a high probability of experiencing high winds.
There is still a reasonable amount of uncertainty on the ultimate path that Lane will take. Two of the most reliable forecast models call for a Maui landfall Friday, while another of the models has Lane on a path moving over/near Oahu or Kauai Saturday.
The Hawaii Insurance Commissioner has declared a catastrophe in advance of Hurricane Lane. Temporary licensing will be available to those working on behalf of an insurance company, independent adjusting company or producer. The adjuster must already hold a current license issued by another state that has licensing requirements substantially similar to those of Hawaii.
Hurricane Lane poses a serious threat to the Hawaiian Islands, regardless of final storm track or intensity. We will continue to monitor this system and provide updates in the coming days.
Hurricane Lane- Image Courtesy NOAA
