You are here

Home » Hurricane Lane Prompts Haleakalā National Park Closure

Hurricane Lane Prompts Haleakalā National Park Closure

Share
By NPT Staff - August 22nd, 2018
Hurricane Lane was expected to give the Hawaiian Islands a glancing blow/NOAA

Hurricane Lane was expected to give the Hawaiian Islands a glancing blow/NOAA

Hurricane Lane was on course Wednesday to deliver a glancing blow, at least, to Hawaii, prompting Haleakalā National Park to close. Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park has been mostly closed for months due to volcanic activity from the  Kīlauea Volcano.

Haleakalā staff announced that to protect visitor safety, the Summit and Kīpahulu Districts of the park would close at 4 p.m. Wednesday in anticipation of heavy winds and rain. The entrance gates would be locked and the park would not open for sunrise viewing on Thursday or Friday mornings. Park managers planned to assess conditions on Friday evening and re-open the park once it is safe to do so.

The park's Kīpahulu and Hosmer Grove campgrounds were scheduled to close at noon on Wednesday. Backcountry hikers have been notified they will need to leave the park before 4 p.m. Wednesday. All cabin reservations for Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday have been canceled.

While a hurricane warning was in effect for the Big Island, where Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park is located, Maui, home to Haleakalā, was under a hurricane watch early Wednesday. Other park units expected to be impacted by the storm were Kalaupapa National Historical Park on Molokai; Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park, Pu`uhonua O Hōnaunau National Historical Park, and Pu`ukoholā Heiau National Historic Site, all on the Big Island, and; World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument and Honouliuli National Monument, both on Oahu.

"On the forecast track, the center of Lane will move very close to or over the main Hawaiian Islands from Thursday through Saturday," the National Hurricane Center said. "Maximum sustained winds are near 160 mph (260 km/h) with higher gusts. Lane is a category 5 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Slow weakening is forecast during the next 48 hours, but Lane is forecast to remain a dangerous hurricane as it draws closer to the Hawaiian Islands."

Heavy rains, up to 20 inches in some areas, could generate landslides on the islands, the center added.

Add comment

CAPTCHA

This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.

The Essential RVing Guide

The Essential RVing Guide to the National Parks

The National Parks RVing Guide, aka the Essential RVing Guide To The National Parks, is the definitive guide for RVers seeking information on campgrounds in the National Park System where they can park their rigs. It's available for free for both iPhones and Android models.

This app is packed with RVing specific details on more than 250 campgrounds in more than 70 parks.

You'll also find stories about RVing in the parks, some tips if you've just recently turned into an RVer, and some planning suggestions. A bonus that wasn't in the previous eBook or PDF versions of this guide are feeds of Traveler content: you'll find our latest stories as well as our most recent podcasts just a click away.

So whether you have an iPhone or an Android, download this app and start exploring the campgrounds in the National Park System where you can park your rig.