Hurricane Ignacio weakens as it passes by Hawaii

KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii – Greg Colden, a farmer on Hawaii’s Big Island, said he is most worried about the damage that more rain and sustained winds could do to the area as Hurricane Ignacio passes by this week.

“I’m more worried about the rain. We’ve had over 10 inches in August, which is an anomaly for us. The trees are saturated already, and if we get some sustained winds, they could topple. That could cause quite a bit of damage,” Colden said. He is one of the owners of Kona Natural Soap Co. in Holualoa and has 450 coffee trees and 1,250 cacao trees.

But he’s not overly worried.

“We’ve gone through this so many times. Unless it whips around the island and we take a direct hit, we should be OK,” Colden said.

Colden and other Hawaii residents were calmly awaiting Ignacio on Sunday as the Category 3 hurricane came closer to the Big Island and Maui, which are under a tropical storm watch.

The Central Pacific Hurricane Center reported Hurricane Ignacio was on a weakening trend Sunday as it moved northeast of Hawaii. Winds dropped from 130 mph to 115 mph, and the hurricane was expected to become a tropical storm by Tuesday, said Anthony Reynes, a meteorologist with the center.