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HONOLULU (AP) — Tropical Storm Horn, which means “sweet and mild” in Hawaiian, approached Hawaii on Saturday, forecast to pick up winds in dry parts of the state and increase the risk of wildfires even as memories of the last deadly fire on Maui this year were still fresh.
Horn has maximum sustained winds of 105 kilometers per hour (65 miles per hour). The Central Pacific Hurricane Center predicts a slight increase in hurricane strength over the next two days, but Horn is expected to remain below peak hurricane intensity between Sunday and Monday.
As of 6 p.m. Saturday, a tropical storm warning was in effect for the Big Island, and a red flag fire warning was in effect for the leeward sides of all islands. The National Weather Service issues warnings when warm temperatures, very low humidity and strong winds combine to increase fire risk.
“They have to take this seriously,” said Calvin Endo, a Waianae Coast Neighborhood Council member who lives in Makaha, a wildfire-prone community on Oahu.
Much of the archipelago is already abnormally dry or in drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. The National Hurricane Center warns that winds are expected to be strongest where they blow downhill from high altitudes, over headlands and through mountain passes.
The situation is reminiscent of last year’s deadly wildfires on Maui sparked by hurricane-force winds. Derek Waugh, a National Weather Service expert in Honolulu, said Saturday that while Horn poses a high fire risk, it is “not as severe as previous storms.”
Meanwhile, Hurricane Gilma was moving westward across the Pacific Ocean behind Horn, moving away from land Saturday afternoon as a Category 3 storm. The National Hurricane Center predicted the hurricane would strengthen and then gradually weaken as sea surface temperatures cool and the air mass becomes drier and more stable.
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