Hurricane Lane batters Hawaii with record rain

The storm named Lane was barreling toward the Hawaiian Islands as a powerful Category 5 hurricane in the middle of the week. But then it slowed down, moving as slow as 2 mph at times.

As it lingered, the storm’s outer bands were already over the Big Island, allowing Lane to drop 51.53 inches (131 centimeters) of rain as of early Sunday morning, according to preliminary figures from the National Weather Service.

That puts it in third place for the most rain from a storm in the United States since 1950. Hurricane Harvey, which stalled over Houston last year, dropped the most rain in that span with 60.58 inches (154 centimeters), Bingaman said. Hurricane Hiki dropped 52 inches (132 centimeters) in Hawaii in 1950, and Amelia produced a 48-inch (122 centimeter) rainfall in 1978. (AP)

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