It's hurricane season in Hawaii and it's turning out to be one helluva season.
Two very rare, back-to-back storms are headed for the islands: Hurricane Iselle, a weakening but still potentially dangerous category 2 hurricane, which currently has maximum sustained winds of up to 100 mph and Hurricane Julio, which was upgraded from a tropical storm late Tuesday.
Iselle is only a few days from reaching landfall, with Julio following closely behind, and there are a mix of reactions from Hawaii's locals. As CNN pointed out, some residents on the Big Island, where the storms are expected to hit first and at their strongest, don't seem bothered by the approaching storms because of the state's history of missing direct hits from passing tropical cyclones.
Others, such as those living on the crowded island of Oahu, however, are preparing for the absolute worst: flooding, power outages, water being shut off and raging winds that could seriously damage the island's many older structures.
Throughout the state, drivers idle in line at gas stations. Rows of shelves at grocery stores and wholesale warehouses are empty. Bottled water and -- get this -- toilet paper, are hot commodities. Schools plan to shut down and emergency shelters are being set up. The state's many military bases are also gearing up. It seems as though an apocalypse is looming and everyone is stocking up for the worst-case-scenario.
Peter Hirai, deputy director for Hawaii's Department of Emergency, told Hawaii News Now that they're banking on the forecast that Iselle and Julio will not be hurricanes by the time they arrive, "but," he said, "we know that a tropical storm will also bring a lot of drastic effects such as flooding, high winds, heavy rains, so we're still definitely going to prepare."
Below, see how Hawaii is scrambling to get ready for the rare storms' arrival.
"In prep for #hurricaneiselle, this poor kid was so overwhelmed":
But, of course, there are the many locals and tourists who are just trying to enjoy the last few moments of that glorious island sunshine, before the storms wreak havoc:
So, what's up with these rare island storms? Here's everything we know about them so far.
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