Ferocious winds roaring in from the Pacific have turned parts of Hawaii into a disaster zone, shredding roofs, toppling trees and cutting electricity to tens of thousands of homes and businesses. Gusts topping 95 km/h ripped roofs off Oahu homes, displacing 12 residents and scattering debris across already stressed communities. Power crews have restored service to more than 114,000 customers since Saturday, yet thousands in West Maui and other pockets remain in the dark as utilities juggle repairs with fire prevention shutoffs.
What makes this storm different is not only its intensity but its range, from hurricane‑force gusts at sea level to snow on volcanic peaks, all layered on top of a stalled front that dumped monumental rain and triggered landslides. The result is a stress test of Hawaii’s infrastructure, economy and emergency planning that hints at a more volatile future for an island chain already on the front lines of climate extremes.
Wind, rain and snow: a multi‑layered assault
The system that slammed the islands combined a powerful pressure gradient with a stalled frontal boundary, producing what felt like three different storms stacked on top of each other. At lower elevations, Wind gusts frequently exceeded 95 km and 60 m per hour, with localized bursts approaching 115 km and 70 m, strong enough to close roads and peel away roofing in exposed neighborhoods on Oahu and Maui. Higher up, a cold upper trough turned the summits into a winter scene, with Meteorologist Alex DaSilva reporting that the road to the summit of one volcano was closed after up to a foot of snow, even as lower slopes were drenched by more than 30 inches of rain at Waikamoi on Maui.
That vertical contrast, beaches lashed by flooding rain While the highest peaks of Hawaii were BLASTED by snow, is more than a curiosity, it is a sign of how much energy is now coursing through the regional atmosphere. A forecast earlier in the week warned that a cold front would reach the islands on Friday and then stall, raising the risk of flash flooding as moisture piled up over the same waters and valleys. When that scenario played out, landslides blocked at least one highway and emergency managers began talking about “monumental” rainfall totals that turned familiar roads into rivers and left some communities temporarily cut off.
Power outages expose uneven resilience
As the winds intensified, the power grid became the most visible weak point. High winds caused thousands to lose power across several islands, with lines knocked down by falling trees and poles and transformers damaged by flying debris. By early in the week, Hawaiian Electric reported that Power had been restored to more than 114,000 customers since Saturday, a remarkable pace that still left pockets of prolonged darkness in rural areas and on wind‑blasted coasts. In West Maui alone, Significant outages affected roughly 10,000 customers as crews struggled to work safely in gusts that made bucket trucks sway and debris unpredictable.
The outages were not only accidental. After Wind speeds increased to more than 80 m per hour in some areas while humidity plunged, Hawaiian Electric began proactive Public Safety Power Shutoffs, or PSPS, in West Maui and placed a PSPS watch on Hawaii Island and other parts of Maui to reduce wildfire risk. That strategy, familiar from California, is still new and controversial in Hawaii, where residents are balancing the trauma of recent fires with the immediate hardship of losing refrigeration, medical equipment and income. Utility updates on PSPS and restoration progress, including posts from Maui Electric that stressed Public safety as the priority, underscored how climate‑driven wind events are forcing grid operators to choose between two different kinds of disaster.
Communities under strain: homes, roads and daily life
Behind the outage numbers are families and small businesses scrambling to adapt. On Oahu, Unreal gusts ripped roofs off at least two homes, leaving 12 people displaced but, remarkably, no one hurt. Elsewhere on the island, Damage was reported across Oahu following the severe weekend Storm, with toppled trees crushing cars, fences splintered and residents describing how they had to reschedule events and appointments as roads closed and debris littered neighborhoods. For many, the storm revived memories of earlier disasters, from flooding in 2018 to the deadly wildfires that scarred Maui, and added another layer of stress to communities still in recovery.
Roads, the arteries of island life, took a beating as well. Photos showed a landslide blocking a key highway after the severe storm dropped a monumental amount of rain, a reminder that in steep volcanic terrain, saturated slopes can fail with little warning. Officials warned that landslides are a major worry whenever such rainfall coincides with deforested or burned hillsides, and that closures can isolate towns that depend on a single route for supplies and emergency access. Even where roads remained open, a wind advisory active for Maui County and Hawaii island until the evening urged drivers, especially those in vehicles with large profiles like trucks or vans, to use extreme caution in crosswinds that could shove them across lanes.
Government response and the preparedness gap
State and county leaders moved quickly into emergency mode as forecasts sharpened. In HONOLULU, Gov Josh Green urged residents to prepare for severe weather expected across Hawaii, announcing closures of public schools and state courthouses and operations, with plans to reopen on Tuesday if conditions allowed. His office issued a FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE bulletin from HONOLULU in which Governor Josh Green urged all residents to prepare for significant severe weather, emphasizing that advance planning, from stocking supplies to securing loose outdoor items, could reduce injuries and damage. On Hawaii Island, an Emergency Proclamation Relating to February 2026 Severe Weather cited a WHEREAS clause noting that the National Weather Service had issued a Flood Watch that threatened the health, safety and environment of the County, unlocking additional resources and flexibility for responders.
At the county level, alerts flowed steadily. A NWS Wind Advisory remained in effect for Maui County through Tuesday, predicting east winds of 20 to 30 miles per hour with higher gusts and warning of potential power outages and damages on several islands. As conditions evolved, An NWS wind advisory for Maui County was extended, with officials urging drivers in high‑profile vehicles to avoid exposed roads and bridges. In parallel, the Hawaii County mayor reported that “We dodged the bullet,” describing minimal storm‑related impacts and noting that Parks, golf courses and waste facilities were reopening even as scattered debris and stormy conditions lingered. That contrast, one county largely spared while others reeled, highlights how localized these events can be and why preparedness messaging has to reach every valley and shoreline, not just the hardest‑hit zones.
Climate signals and what comes next
Viewed in isolation, a single storm can look like bad luck. Set against a broader backdrop, the pattern is harder to ignore. A global reinsurer, Munich Re, has highlighted how Such winter storms in Europe have recently produced hurricane‑force winds in some areas, driving up losses and underscoring the link between warmer oceans and more energetic weather systems. In Hawaii, the combination of 70 mile per hour winds, nearly 30 inches of rain at Waikamoi and snow on high peaks suggests a similar amplification, with the Hawaiian Islands sitting at the crossroads of tropical moisture and mid‑latitude disturbances that are becoming more volatile. While the available sources do not yet provide detailed satellite or El Niño phase analysis for this event, the multi‑hazard profile fits with what climate scientists have warned will become more common.
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*This article was researched with the help of AI, with human editors creating the final content.
