Hawaii

Global warming is changing how hurricanes operate ― and researchers are scrambling to keep up

Published

2 years ago

June 6, 2023

Global warming is changing how hurricanes operate ― and researchers are scrambling to keep up

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A growing body of evidence suggests hurricanes could be more severe on a warming planet. And researchers say tropical cyclones could act abnormally in other ways.

Consistent patterns in past hurricanes in Hawaii’s vicinity have allowed for the strategic placement of radars across the state. Now, researchers say these patterns might change.

The National and Central Pacific hurricane centers use radars to track hurricanes.

There are four WSR-88D Doppler radars in Hawaii that track the reflectivity and velocity of storms located on the south shore of Kauai, on Molokai, and the Big Island.

These radars didn’t exist yet when Hurricane Iniki hit Kauai in 1992.

And their locations are based on where tropical cyclones have approached the islands in the past. Previous hurricanes have approached from the east or up from the south.

Hurricanes Douglas and Olivia approached from the east, while Hurricanes Iniki and Lane came in from the South.

But experts are not sure hurricanes will continue this pattern.

“Storm tracks, hurricane tracks, may shift more northerly toward our region of the Central Pacific in the coming decades with the warming climate,” said Brad Romine, coastal geologist with the UH Sea Grant College Program.

Romine has been tracking climate change and the warmer waters predicted around the Pacific.

“The other thing that climate models are also pointing to is an increasing frequency of severe El Niño events,” Romine said. El Niño events are known to contribute to increased cyclone activity over the Pacific.

State climatologist Dr. Pao-Shin Chu said that stronger tropical cyclones are also developing earlier in the season.

“This is almost like a worldwide phenomenon. It’s not only occurring in the Central Pacific,” Shu said.

Research also hints at another worrying trend: Fewer, but stronger, hurricanes.

“We’ll have more intense hurricanes in the future. In the long term, we’re probably going to have to look at elevating some things, moving some things back away from the coastline in our most vulnerable areas, just to get things, development, out of the way of these increasing hazards,” Chu said.

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Related Topics:climate change El Nino Featured hawaii hurricane season

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Hawaii

Regents confirm Matt Elliott as Hawaii’s new athletic director | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Published

12 hours ago

June 16, 2025

Press Room

Regents confirm Matt Elliott as Hawaii’s new athletic director | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM
Newly appointed University of Hawaii athletic director Matt Elliott speaks to the Star-Advertisers Stephen Tsai and Dave Reardon after the Board of Regents meeting today.

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JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARADVERTISER.COM

Newly appointed University of Hawaii athletic director Matt Elliott speaks to the Star-Advertiser’s Stephen Tsai and Dave Reardon after the Board of Regents meeting today.

Matt Elliott, a key administrator at UCLA for 13 years and with the Hawaii Community Foundation for the past 18 months, today was named as the University of Hawaii’s athletic director.

Two weeks ago, UH president Wendy Hensel recommended Elliott from an initial field of more than 110 applicants. Hensel’s recommendation was confirmed during today’s special Board of Regents meeting on the UH Manoa campus.

Hensel made an official recommendation during the meeting. Ten regents then met in a 30-minute executive session. The regents unanimously approve Elliott.

Gabe Lee, BOR chair and co-chair of the search committee, described Elliott as the “best overall candidate.”

Regent Neil Abercrombie said Elliott will need more community support. Abercrombie also said Elliott faces the challenge of replacing Aloha Stadium, which was shuttered for spectator-attended events in December 2020.

Regent Lauren Akitake said Elliott’s law background will be useful in leading UH’s 21-sports program. Elliott has a law degree from Northwestern University.

At UCLA, Elliott was instrumental in the Bruins’ move from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten.

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Hawaii

Evacuations underway on Maui for Kahikinui brush fire driven by strong winds

Published

1 day ago

June 16, 2025

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Evacuations underway on Maui for Kahikinui brush fire driven by strong winds

FILE VIDEO: Air Maui Helicopters Director of Operations Richard Olsten flew over Lahaina for the first time after the deadly wildfires killed more than 100 people one year ago. When the wildfires started, Olsten’s aerial images were some of the first to show the devastating fires burning.

MAUI COUNTY, Hawaii – Evacuations were ordered for the homestead of Kahikinui on Hawaii’s island of Maui on Sunday after a wind-driven brush fire quickly spread.

Maui County Fire Department said the fire sparked around 10 a.m. in the Kahikinui area around Mile Marker 24 and 25.

A brush fire burning on Maui on Sunday, June 15, 2025 leading to evacuations.

(Maui County Emergency management)

“The fire is currently moving up the mountain, pushed by strong winds,” the Maui County Fire Department said on X.

The Kahikinui brush fire is estimated to be about 20 acres and uncontrolled.

The fire is moving upslope into challenging terrain, fueled by high winds, officials said. According to the National Weather Service in Honolulu, winds near Kahikinui were gusting near 20 mph with higher gusts near 50 mph.

MAUI WILDFIRE REPORT HIGHLIGHTS HEROICS OF FIREFIGHTERS DURING DEADLY WIND-WHIPPED FIRESTORM

About an hour after the fire started, Maui County Emergency Management (MEMA) issued an emergency evacuation order for mile marker 24 in Kahikinui. The evacuations included 30 to 40 homes, according to MEMA.

Residents were notified through the new Genasys Protect App, MEMA Alerts and emergency officials going door-to-door.

Maui Police have shut down Pi’ilani Highway (Hawaii Route 31) from mile marker 20 to 41 due to the firefight.

The American Red Cross set up a temporary evacuation point at Grandma’s Coffee House on Kula Highway in Ulupalakua.

No injuries or structural damage were reported as of Sunday afternoon, according to Maui County Emergency Management.

Less than two years ago, Maui County experienced the deadliest fire in modern U.S. history and Hawaii’s worst natural catastrophe when wind-whipped fires swept through communities including Lahaina, destroying everything in their path and claiming at least 102 lives in the coastal town.

This is a developing story. Refresh this page and check back for updates.

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Hawaii

Korean convenience store chain coming to Hawaii | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Published

2 days ago

June 15, 2025

Press Room

Korean convenience store chain coming to Hawaii | Honolulu Star-Advertiser

A convenience store chain with about 18,500 locations in South Korea is coming to Hawaii.

Local real estate investor and developer Robert Kurisu plans to open CU stores initially in urban Honolulu under a master franchise agreement, starting with a flagship location in Executive Centre, the downtown Honolulu hotel and condominium tower.

The first Hawaii store, slated to open by the end of the year, will be the first U.S. location for the chain focused on selling Korean brands of food, household items, cosmetics and other merchandise.

Kurisu said in a news release that CU Hawaii stores also will feature Korean rice rolls called gimbap, reimagined popular local dishes such as poke and loco mocos, as well as new flavors of musubi, bentos and sandwiches.

Other features of CU Hawaii stores, which are slated to range in size from 700 to 2,500 square feet, include instant ramyeon or ramen cooking stations and customizable drinks.

“Due to the high cost of living in Hawaii, local people deserve affordable, convenient, quality options for every day life,” Kurisu said in the release. “We look forward to introducing CU, a fresh and modern Korean convenience store, to the Hawaii market.”

A representative of Kurisu’s venture, CU Hawaii LLC, said information was not available on how many more CU stores are envisioned in Hawaii, where any expansion in the state may occur and when.

Local retail analyst Stephany Sofos said other retailers in Hawaii have already demonstrated local demand for Korean merchandise that suggests CU will do well.

“It’s catering to a market that everybody wants,” she said.

In 2020, Korean specialty grocery store H Mart opened an initial Hawaii location in Kakaako followed by a second store in Pearl City two years later.

A much older player has been Palama Super Market, established in 1977 in Pawaa as Dae Han General Grocery Store. Palama Super today has three grocery stores and four Palama Express convenience stores on Oahu, including one downtown. The first Palama Express store opened in 2016 at Aloha Tower Marketplace.

Hawaii’s convenience store landscape has long been dominated by 7-Eleven generally and ABC Stores mainly in resort areas.

CU was established as a convenience store brand in 2012 by Seoul-based BGF Retail. BGF opened its first convenience store, Garak- Siyoung Store, in 1990. Prior to establishing CU, BGF had been in the business through a licensing agreement with FamilyMart, Japan’s second- largest convenience store operator behind 7-Eleven.

BGF began expanding CU outside South Korea in 2018 and since then has added about 680 stores in Mongolia, Malaysia and Kazakhstan.

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