Hawaii braces for arrival of Hurricane Lester
Sept 2 (Reuters) - Hurricane Lester bore down on Hawaii on Friday, bringing heavy rains, large ocean swells and high winds as residents still drying out from Tropical Storm Madeline prepared for another dousing.
Lester was churning in the Pacific Ocean some 435 miles east of Hilo, Hawaii, at 5 a.m. local time on Friday and was expected to weaken and track slightly north of the islands over the weekend.
Hurricane watches were issued for the islands of Maui, Molokai, Lanai, Oahu and Kahoolawe, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Lester was carrying maximum sustained winds near 110 miles per hour on Friday morning.
A press deputy for Hawaii Governor David Inge said that a state of emergency he declared ahead of Madeline, which drenched the Big Island earlier this week but did not cause any major damage, was still in place ahead of Lester.
Inge's spokeswoman, Cindy McMillan, said that while the storm had taken a turn to the north, away from the islands, "we're still monitoring and preparing for contingencies."
On the U.S. East Coast, Hurricane Hermine wreaked havoc in Florida on Friday, knocking out power to more than 250,000 customers, flooding low-lying areas and raising worries about the spread of the Zika virus. (Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Leslie Adler)
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