HONOLULU (AP) — Tropical Storm Hone increased to a Category 1 hurricane while continuing its steady approach toward Hawaii late Saturday, forecasters said.
Hone (pronounced hoe-NEH) had top winds of 75 mph (120 kph), according to an 11 p.m. advisory by the Central Pacific Hurricane Center in Honolulu. The minimum threshold for a hurricane is 74 mph (119 kph).
A tropical storm warning remained in effect for the Big Island as the storm moved west at 12 mph (19 kph) about 105 miles (170 kilometers) south of Hilo, Hawaii, and about 275 miles (440 kilometers) southeast of Honolulu, the center said.
The hurricane center, part of the National Weather Service, previously said Hone was expected to remain just below hurricane strength at its peak Sunday through Monday.
Hurricane Gilma, still about 1,480 miles (2,380 kilometers) east of Hilo, increased to a Category 4 hurricane Saturday night.
Hone, whose name is Hawaiian for “sweet and soft,” drew near the islands Saturday with breezes that were expected to intensify and increase the wildfire risk for drier parts of the state even as memories are still fresh from last year's deadly blazes on Maui.
A red flag fire warning was in effect for the leeward sides of all islands through 6 p.m. on Saturday. The National Weather Service issues the alert when warm temperatures, very low humidity and stronger winds combine to raise fire dangers.
“They gotta take this thing serious,” said Calvin Endo, a Waianae Coast neighborhood board member who lives in Makaha, a leeward Oahu neighborhood prone to wildfires.
Most of the archipelago is already abnormally dry or in drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. The winds are expected to be strongest where they blow downslope from higher terrain, over headlands and through passes, the hurricane center advised.
The situation recalls last year's deadly wildfires on Maui, which were fueled by hurricane-force winds. But while Hone presents high fire dangers, “it’s not on the magnitude of that,” weather service meteorologist Derek Wroe in Honolulu said Saturday.
The Aug. 8, 2023, blaze that torched the historic town of Lahaina was the deadliest U.S. wildfire in more than a century, with 102 dead. Dry, overgrown grasses and drought helped spread the fire.
For years, Endo has worried about dry brush on private property behind his home. He's taken matters into his own hands by clearing the brush himself, but he's concerned about nearby homes abutting overgrown vegetation.
“All you need is fire and wind and we’ll have another Lahaina,” Endo said in the morning. “I notice the wind started to kick up already."
The cause of the Lahaina blaze is still under investigation, but it’s possible it was ignited by bare electrical wire and leaning power poles toppled by the strong winds.
The state’s two power companies, Hawaiian Electric and the Kauai Island Utility Cooperative, said they would be monitoring conditions this weekend and ready to shut off power if necessary to reduce the chance that live, damaged power lines could start fires.
Firefighters remained on the scene of a small blaze that started Friday night in Waikoloa, on the dry side of the Big Island, according to Big Island Mayor Mitch Roth. It was under control and did not cause any injuries or damage.
“We’re expecting to have bands of rain come through the day,” Roth said from Hilo, on the island's east side, where it was raining.
The island was getting enough rain later Saturday to cancel its red flag warning, though a warning remained in effect for the other islands, said Ian Morrison, a weather service meteorologist in Honolulu.
Officials were closing some Big Island beach parks in anticipation of dangerously high surf and preparing to open shelters if needed, Roth said.
The Hawaii Tourism Authority told travelers it’s still safe to come to the islands but recommended postponing outdoor activities.
The eastern and southeastern parts of the Big Island could get 5 to 10 inches (11 to 25 centimeters) of rain. The island could get sustained winds of 20 to 40 mph (32 to 64 kph) and gusts near 60 mph (97 kph), weather officials said.
Moving westward across the Pacific behind Hone was Hurricane Gilma. A separate 11 p.m. Saturday advisory said Gilma's “intensification rate has leveled off" and placed the storm 1,500 miles (2,410 kilometers) west of Baja California. The maximum sustained winds of 130 mph (215 kph) elevated the storm into the bottom of Category 4 hurricane status.
Forecasters had called for additional strengthening before gradually weakening as Gilma moves over cooler sea-surface temperatures and into a drier, more stable airmass.
This image provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows Tropical Storm Hone as it continues to track to the west toward the Hawaiian Islands, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2024. (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration via AP)
This satellite image provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shows Tropical Storm Hone and Hurricane Gilma located southeast of Hawaii, Friday, Aug. 22, 2024. (NOAA via AP)
NEW YORK (AP) — Gerrit Cole stuck out four fingers on his pitching hand, then pointed toward first base as Rafael Devers looked on incredulously. Having held the first 10 Red Sox batters hitless, the New York Yankees ace handed Boston's slumping star an intentional walk with no one on base.
Boston then walked all over Cole and the Yankees.
Devers scored in a three-run fourth inning and hit a two-run single in a four-run fifth that rallied the Red Sox over New York 7-1 on Saturday.
“They grabbed the momentum. It inspired them,” Cole said. “I think, looking back, it’s the wrong move.”
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said he and Cole discussed in the leadup to the game being more aggressive in the use of international walks — Cole hadn't issued one in seven years. Cole said he talked out the possibility with pitching coach Matt Blake while in the tunnel before the fourth inning, viewing it as a way to get the starter deeper into the game on a day when the Yankees bullpen was thin.
Yankees catcher Austin Wells wasn't made aware of the plan.
“I was a bit caught off guard,” he said. “Thought he had some good momentum.”
Wells didn't think about trying to get Cole to reverse his decision.
“We’re just kidding. We don’t actually walk him," Wells proposed. “I don't know if that’s a thing.”
Cole and Boone both took an unusually long time before speaking with reporters after the game.
“Just a rough day," Cole said.
Cole (6-5) allowed seven runs, his most since June 9, 2022. He hit a career-high three batters and left after 4 1/3 innings.
“He caught me by surprise,” Devers said through a translator. "I didn’t expect that from a future Hall of Famer and I feel like he panicked a little bit.”
Cole retired nine of his first 10 batters, allowing his only batter to reach when he hit Devers with a cutter in the first.
“I felt like the first at-bat he hit him on purpose,” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “He doesn’t want to face him. That’s the bottom line. He told us with the intentional walk that the first at-bat he hit him.”
At the time of the intentional walk, the Yankees led 1-0 behind Gleyber Torres' third-inning RBI single.
“Once we scored the run my preference would have been let’s attack them. But, obviously, I didn’t communicate that well enough,” Boone said.
Starting with the intentional walk, 10 of 12 batters reached against the 2023 AL Cy Young Award winner.
"It was just odd," Boston's Triston Casas said of Cole's decision.
Devers entered 14 for 41 (.316) with eight homers and 15 strikeouts against Cole, including the postseason.
“Obviously, Raffy's had some success against him, something that he’s also got to get through, too, making sure he understands, hey, the next 40 or 50 at-bats in my career against him I might have massive success because I’m Gerrit Cole," Boone said. "But there is a psychological component to all that.”
Devers stole second and Masataka Yoshida hit an opposite-field RBI double into the left-field corner for Boston’s first hit, tying it at 1. Wilyer Abreu followed with a two-run single for a 3-1 lead, and Casas bounced into an inning-ending double play.
“If I make pitches after that and I continue to execute at a high level, then the plan works,” Cole said. “But evidently the plan didn’t work. So I need to make better pitches afterwards in order for it to work.”
New York's earliest bases-empty intentional walks had been in the sixth inning: to the Philadelphia Athletics’ Al Simmons by Roy Sherid leading off on Sept. 22, 1930, and to Washington’s Frank Howard by Fritz Peterson with two outs on April 22, 1970.
Trevor Story singled leading off the fifth on Saturday and stole second, Danny Jansen walked and Enmanuel Valdez flied out as Story took third. Jarren Duran was hit by a pitch, loading the bases, and Devers lined a knuckle-curve into right for a 5-1 lead. Tyler O’Neill was hit by a pitch and Yoshida chased Cole with a two-run single.
“Obviously, because it backfired a little bit I think we all wish we could go the other way on certain things,” Boone said. “But at the end of the day, we didn’t make pitches when we had opportunities and it burned us today.”
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Boston Red Sox's Rafael Devers runs to first base for a two-run single during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole reacts after Boston Red Sox's Masataka Yoshida, of Japan, hit a two-run single during the fifth inning of a baseball game Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Boston Red Sox's Rafael Devers smiles after hitting a two-run single during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
New York Yankees pitcher Gerrit Cole reacts after Boston Red Sox's Rafael Devers hit a two-run single during the fifth inning of a baseball game, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
New York Yankees' Gerrit Cole throws during the third inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
