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By Anna Skinner
Associate News Editor
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Severe winds in Hawaii on Tuesday prompted the National Weather Service (NWS) to issue a warning that walking outside in some parts of the state could be dangerous.
NWS issued an urgent weather alert on Monday afternoon. The strong southwest winds will create dangerous conditions through Wednesday, specifically for high summit areas on the Big Island and at Haleakala on Maui.
"Southwest winds will increase across the high summits of the Big Island and Haleakala on Maui tonight and will become very strong Tuesday and Tuesday night," the warning said. "The strong winds will gradually decline on Wednesday but may remain elevated on the Big Island summits into Thursday."
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The winds are expected to be 80 miles per hour on the Big Island and 60 miles per hour at Haleakala. Gusts, however, could be much stronger, peaking at 100 miles per hour on the Big Island, NWS senior forecaster Jon Jelsma told Newsweek.
The gusts are so strong that they could cause injuries by forcefully opening and closing doors. WLS-TV's Meteorologist Larry Mowry reported, "An average person could be moved by a 67 mph wind, and an average car can be moved by a 90 mph wind."
"If you have unsteady footing as you're moving along, it would make it pretty difficult to walk," Jelsema said.
Windy weather is common during the winter months, Jelsema said, considering that the jet stream dips further south over the Hawaiian Islands.
The NWS alert also urged residents to prepare for road closures and to postpone travel to the summits until the wind died down. Nearly the entire state of Hawaii was under a wind advisory, which is less severe than the high wind warning.
Strong winds have created a problem for much of the U.S. since the weekend, with the biggest concern being frigid wind chill in the contiguous U.S. An arctic blast brought bone-chilling temperatures to most states, plunging temperatures in the northern U.S. to 60 degrees below zero. Cold weather stretched as far south as Texas, prompting the state's power grid operator to request that residents preserve power by not using large appliances like washing machines.
Hawaii has faced its fair share of severe weather this winter, including snowfall at the summits of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa and freezing rain on the slopes of Haleakala earlier this month.
On Tuesday, the Aloha State faced a weather alert for high surf conditions in addition to the warning about strong winds. "Dangerously large breaking waves" up to 25 feet were posing a problem for north-facing shores in Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Maui and the Big Island until Tuesday evening, the NWS warned.
"Expect very strong breaking waves and powerful currents. Waves breaking in channel entrances may make navigating the channels dangerous," the warning said. "Stay away from the shoreline along the affected coasts."
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