Hawaii Hurricanes

Those who live along the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea can attest to the destructive force of hurricanes.  Each year, their shores are beset by some of the most ravaging storms known to mankind.  From the small tropical depression all the way up to a category 5 hurricane, these storms are relatively abundant in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean.

Hawaii, with its warm tropical waters, does not face the typical danger as those other areas, though.  While the water there is warm, it is not as warm.  Still, there is no buffer of cool water like California that keeps tropical storms and hurricanes mostly at bay.  So, hurricanes and strong tropical storms are a definite possibility in Hawaii, but the conditions surrounding the islands are not as favorable as other areas.

Tropical storms often form in the Pacific, but by the time they reach the island of Hawaii they have died down from their peak strength in most cases.  A perfect exception to this typical rule was Hurricane Iniki which struck Hawaii in September of 1992.  The hurricane was a raging category 4, and caused over two billion dollars in damage.  Hawaii’s hurricane Iniki also caused the death of 6 people.