Hawaii is bracing for it first hurricanes in more than 20 years, as two of the Pacific storms, dubbed Iselle and Julio, were drawing a bead on the island chain.
Island residents were stocking up on water and other supplies and heading for shelter as Iselle, classified a Category 1 windstorm packing 85 mph winds and carrying the threat of heavy rains and flash floods, approached at a speed of 18 mph from southwest of the city of Hilo on the Big Island of Hawaii.
Julio, currently classified as category 2, was following close behind, the National Weather Service reported.
Iselle, expected to hit the Big Island late Thursday, was expected to lose some strength and get reclassified as a tropical storm, forecasters said, but that didn't happen.
"What ended up happening is the storm has resurged just enough to keep its hurricane strength," said Mike Cantin, a National Weather Service meteorologist. "Not a major hurricane, but definitely enough to blow things around."
After passing over the Big Island Iselle is expected to downgrade to a tropical storm before it passes over the islands of Maui and Oahu by early Friday.
Julio, although currently stronger than Iselle with winds of 105 mph, is also expected to weaken in the next few days.
The two approaching storms have cause officials to announce school closings on the Big Island, Maui, Lanai and Molokai, and the tourism industry says it expects to take a hit from the storm, with many potential visitors possibly rethinking their summer vacation plans.
And as if the storms weren't enough to rattle Hawaii residents, the Big Island experienced a 4.5 magnitude earthquake earlier Thursday.
No major damage was reported, but is was enough get the attention of people making hurried trips to grocery stores and boarding up windows in their homes.
"We have a hurricane. Now we have this on top of it. What else?" said Kelsey Walker, an assistant manager at a Waimea grocery store.
The island state has only suffered three direct hits by hurricanes since 1950, although tropical storm are common in the region.
In 1992 six people were killed and more than a thousand homes destroyed when Hurricane Iniki hit the island of Kauai.
In preparation for Iselle and Julio, Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie put his signature to an emergency measure what will allow state officials to draw from disaster funds set up by the state legislature.
While Hawaii kept it eyes on its two storms, in the Eastern and Central Pacific another weather system dubbed Genevieve, has been upgraded to a super-typhoon with winds of 16 mph.
Genevieve is currently about a thousand miles south of Midway Island, NASA said.
