While hurricanes have caused destruction in Hawaii before, landfalls are surprisingly rare considering the location in the middle of the ocean.

Hawaii

Hawaii experiences relatively few direct hurricane impacts, despite its tropical location. The most active hurricane season was when 12 tropical systems came close to the islands, but only a small number have ever made landfall, such as Hurricane Iniki in 1992, which remains the most powerful and destructive storm in the state's history.

Meteorologists attribute Hawaii's protection from hurricanes to several factors. A persistent high-pressure system northeast of the state often deflects or weakens approaching storms. Additionally, cooler sea surface temperatures to the east reduce hurricane intensity, and strong trade winds usually steer storms away from the islands. As a result, hurricanes approaching from the south are rare, and most storms pass by without causing significant impact.

Why do hurricanes so rarely hit Hawaii directly?

It's really hard to get a direct impact on Hawaii. Usually the storm either moves north or south. That was lead hurricane expert Alex DaSilva explaining how despite its tropical location, hurricanes making landfall in Hawaii are quite rare. Let's take a look at the history and reasons behind this phenomenon. Well, thanks so much for joining us here on AccuWeather Ahead. I'm Ariella Scalise, and let's dive into Hawaii's hurricane history. The most active hurricane season for Hawaii was in 2015 when 12 tropical systems came within 300 nautical miles of the islands, but not all caused wind, rain, or even rough surf for Hawaii. No more than two tropical systems have ever affected the islands in any previous hurricane season. In 1992, Hurricane Iniki and Tropical Depression Orlean both officially made landfall in the state within three days of each other. Iniki is considered to be the most powerful, deadliest, and costliest hurricane to ever hit Hawaii. Making landfall as a category four hurricane, winds were recorded at 145 miles per hour, and thousands of homes were destroyed. So while Hawaii has experienced hurricanes in the past, several factors contribute to why these storms often don't make landfall. A high pressure feature that looms in the atmosphere northeast of the state usually deflects or weakens storms by the time they get to the region. AccuWeather hurricane experts say sea surface temperatures tend to run too cool to the east of the island, so any hurricanes approaching from the east tend to lose wind intensity and fall apart before reaching the islands. It's hurricanes approaching from the south that are more likely to hit the islands, but this does not happen very often due to the strong trade wind flow from the east. This tends to keep hurricanes tracking south of the islands on a westerly course, taking them too far west to impact the main islands. Now you know. We'll be right back.

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