Hurricane Lane has strengthened into a Category 5 storm as it rolls toward Hawaii — just two weeks after Hurricane Hector passed the islands. Hurricanes rarely make landfall in Hawaii, as the Central Pacific does not see as many storms as the Atlantic or Eastern Pacific, and the Hawaiian Islands present a small target in the vast Pacific Ocean. Only four named storms — two hurricanes and two tropical
storms — have made landfall in Hawaii since 1959. Even close calls are somewhat rare, with Hawaii getting a named storm within 60 miles of its coastline about once every four years on average. But Hurricane Lane looks poised to affect the Aloha State, and was about 480 miles southeast of Honolulu early Wednesday with maximum sustained winds of 160 mph, just above the Category 5 threshold. READ MORE
