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Hurricane Iniki ( ; Hawaiian: ''iniki'' meaning "strong and piercing wind") was the most powerful hurricane to strike the U.S. state of Hawaii in recorded history. Forming on September 5, 1992, during the strong 1990–95 El Niño, Iniki was one of eleven Central Pacific tropical cyclones during that season. It attained tropical storm status on September 8 and further intensified into a hurricane the next day. After turning north, Iniki struck the island of Kauai on September 11 at peak intensity; it had winds of and reached Category 4 on the Saffir–Simpson hurricane scale. It was the first hurricane to hit the state since Hurricane Iwa in the 1982 season, and the first major hurricane since Hurricane Dot in 1959. Iniki dissipated on September 13 about halfway between Hawaii and Alaska. Iniki caused around $1.8 billion (1992 USD) of damage and six deaths. At the time, Iniki was among the costliest United States hurricanes, and it remains one of the costliest hurricanes on record in the eastern Pacific. The storm struck just weeks after Hurricane Andrew, the costliest tropical cyclone ever at the time, struck Florida. The Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC) failed to issue tropical cyclone warnings and watches 24 hours in advance. Despite the lack of early warning, only six deaths ensued. Damage was greatest on Kauai, where the hurricane destroyed more than 1,400 houses and severely damaged more than 5,000. Though not directly in the path of the eye, Oahu experienced moderate damage from wind and storm surge. ==Meteorological history== The origin of Iniki is unclear, but it possibly began as a tropical wave that exited the African coast on August 18. It moved westward across the unfavorable Atlantic Ocean and crossed Central America into the Pacific on the August 28. The wave continued rapidly westward and remained disorganized. Conditions slowly became more favorable, and, as the convection concentrated around a center, the wave was classified Tropical Depression Eighteen-E on September 5. At this time, the wave was located 1700 miles (2700 km) southwest of Cabo San Lucas or 1550 miles (2500 km) east-southeast of Hilo.〔 Initially, the thunderstorm activity was not concentrated towards the center and thus the depression was not expected to intensify beyond minimal tropical storm strength. The depression continued quickly westward and remained weak until the September 8, when it slowed enough to strengthen to a tropical storm.〔 Located at the southern periphery of a subtropical ridge, Iniki continued westward and strengthened over the unusually favorable central Pacific; it reached hurricane status on September 9 while 470 miles (760 km) south-southeast of Hilo. The subtropical ridge, which typically keeps hurricanes well away from the Hawaiian Islands, weakened due to an approaching upper level-trough and allowed Iniki to turn to the northwest. With very favorable upper-level outflow and warm water temperatures, Iniki steadily intensified, and attained major hurricane status on September 10 while south-southwest of the island chain.〔 As Iniki turned to the north, it continued to strengthen, reaching a peak of 145 mph (235 km/h) winds on September 11 while 170 miles (270 km) south-southwest of Poipū on the island of Kauai. It continued rapidly to the north-northeast, and made landfall on south-central Kauai early on the 11th with sustained winds of 145 mph (235 km/h), making Iniki a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. The National Weather Service reported wind gusts of up to 175 mph (280 km/h). The highest recorded wind speed from Hurricane Iniki was a 227 mph (365 km/h)reading from the Navy's Makaha Ridge radar station. According to the Honolulu Advertiser, that remarkable figure was recorded at a digital weather station whose wind gauging equipment blew off after taking the measurement during the storm. After crossing the island, Iniki rapidly accelerated north-northeastward, weakened rapidly, and was absorbed by a cold front as it lost tropical characteristics and became extratropical on September 13 about halfway between Alaska and Hawaii.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Hurricane Iniki」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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