At a Glance

Hurricane Barbara became a powerhouse Category 4 hurricane in the eastern Pacific in early July 2019.Fortunately, Barbara weakened quickly well east of Hawaii. Its remnant area of low pressure was expected to pass near Hawaii. No major impacts are expected, but increased swells, wind and rain showers were forecast.

Hurricane Barbara weakened quickly after peaking at intensity in the eastern Pacific in early July, encountering increasingly hostile conditions that should render it just a weak remnant low by the time it reaches Hawaii.

Barbara's maximum sustained winds peaked at 155 mph late on July 2 into July 3, just shy of Category 5 intensity. Colorado State University tropical scientist Phil Klotzbach said Barbara was the in the eastern Pacific in records dating to 1971.

Barbara then began deteriorating, tracking over cooler water and into an area of stronger west to southwest winds aloft that increased wind shear, acting to rip apart the storm's core.

(MORE: Four Lessons Learned From the Past Three Years of Destructive Hurricanes)

Because of these negative factors, Barbara was expected to weaken to a remnant area of low pressure well east of Hawaii.

Barbara's remnant low was expected to track near or over Hawaii in the second week of July, bringing some rain showers and gusty winds as it passes near the island chain.

Higher surf from Barbara was also expected to spread across mainly east-facing shores, according to the .

(MORE: Hurricane Season in July)

NOAA's Central Pacific Hurricane Center, which includes the area around Hawaii, expects an . An average year yields four or five tropical cyclones in the central Pacific Ocean Basin, with most of those systems coming from the eastern Pacific.

The reason for a more active hurricane season than usual is the expectation that El Niño will continue into the fall and ocean temperatures in the main hurricane formation region will likely remain warmer than average this season. Vertical wind shear is also predicted to be weaker than average.

In an El Niño year, warmer water can push farther north, increasing the chance of tropical cyclones passing near Hawaii, and vertical wind shear tends to decrease in the tropical Central Pacific.

Recent Hawaii Hurricanes

Hawaii has seen a number of impacts and close calls from tropical cyclones over the past five years.

Last year, four storms tracked near Hawaii. made landfall on Maui as a tropical storm on Sept. 13 and caused flooding and some tree damage.

rapidly fell apart as it approached Hawaii in August, but it brought several feet of rain in some higher elevations of Hawaii. This included one total of over 50 inches on the Big Island, setting a new tropical cyclone rainfall record for Hawaii.

Lane was the third-wettest tropical cyclone in U.S. history.

Hurricanes Hector and Norman also passed close to Hawaii and brought high surf and dangerous swells.

Tracks of hurricanes that have come within 200 nautical miles of the Big Island, Maui, Oahu and Kauai from 1950 through 2018.

In 2016, passed well north of the Hawaiian Islands as a hurricane but did bring some minor flooding, and made landfall on the Big Island as a tropical storm. made landfall on the Big Island as a tropical storm in 2014, which triggered flooding and more than $150 million in damage, along with one death.

Tropical cyclones typically weaken as they approach Hawaii due to cooler sea-surface temperatures, drier air and an increase in wind shear. However, as demonstrated in 1992, that is not always the case.