Storm headed
south of Big Island

The system likely will bypass
the isles, but forecasters stress
an attitude of vigilance

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A tropical storm that's expected to pass within 120 miles of the Big Island this week didn't strengthen into a hurricane yesterday as expected, but forecasters are warning island residents to be prepared all the same.

"Things change," said National Weather Service lead forecaster Tim Craig. "A lot of things can happen over the next couple of days. We can't dismiss this system yet."

Tropical Storm Estelle, now packing winds of up to 65 mph, is expected to pass south of the Big Island late Tuesday or early Wednesday.

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A high surf advisory likely will be posted tomorrow for the Big Island's southwest coast, where surf is expected to reach 8 to 10 feet by tomorrow night because of the storm. Waves in the area will probably remain in the 8-foot range through Tuesday night, Craig said.

Big Island residents will also see heavy rains associated with the storm and a slight pickup in winds.

The storm is not expected to affect Oahu or other islands that much but may bring some rain and stronger tradewinds, Craig said.

Estelle, which was about 905 miles east-southeast of Hilo last night, is moving at about 10 mph and slowly weakening. It's been moving northwest, but by this morning was expected to turn west-northwest and steer clear of the island chain.

"If the track is correct, the heavy rain associated with the storm will pass by to the south of the Big Island," Craig said. "We're not dismissing a possibility of heavy rain (on the Big Island), just (not expecting anything) ... really organized and really bad."

At least 100 American Red Cross of Hawaii volunteers on the Big Island are gearing up for the storm anyway and preparing in the event that residents are evacuated or homes damaged.

"What we done mainly is put our shelter team volunteers on the Big Island on alert," said Red Cross Hawaii operating chief Cassandra Isidro. "We also have some supplies positioned."

The storm hadn't spurred a rush for emergency goods yesterday among Big Island shoppers, sales associates at hardware and big box stores said.

"We haven't seen an increase" in business, said Missy Rose, assistant manager at the Ace Hardware store in Keauhou. "I think we're all going to be waiting for it to hit so that this nasty weather can go away."

Estelle is the third tropical cyclone system to form in the central Pacific this hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30.

Central Pacific Hurricane Center forecasters have predicted that at least four tropical cyclones -- one hurricane, two tropical storms and one to two tropical depressions -- will form in the area this year.

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