Hawaii National Park, Hawai‘i - Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park will be closed Friday, October 17 in anticipation of Tropical Storm Ana.
According to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center in Honolulu, Tropical Storm Ana was located about 625 miles southeast of Hilo as of 2 p.m. Wednesday. At that time, the storm had maximum sustained winds at 70 mph, was moving west at nine miles per hour. It is expected to become a hurricane later today and will bring heavy rain, high wind speeds, and dangerous surf conditions.
No backcountry permits will be issued after 6 p.m. Thursday. The park's Kahuku Unit will close the entire weekend, and International Archeology Day, previously scheduled for Saturday, is canceled and will be rescheduled at a later date.
If it is safe to do so, the park and its visitor centers will reopen at noon on Saturday, October 18.
"Our first priority is to keep our visitors, staff, and volunteers safe," said Park Superintendent Cindy Orlando. "We will reassess Saturday, and will reopen by noon as long as it is safe," she said.
Volcano House and Kīlauea Military Camp will remain open to registered guests.
For updates on Tropical Storm Ana, go to http://www.prh.noaa.gov/hnl/cphc/.
For Civil Defense updates for the County of Hawai'i, go to http://www.hawaiicounty.gov/active-alerts/.
-NPS-
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
