“It's Pretty Scary”: Meteorologist Christina Loren on Hurricanes to Hit Hawaii on Her Honeymoon
By Lisa Fernandez ••
NBC Bay Area Meteorologist Christina Loren headed to Hawaii for her honeymoon. “It’s pretty scary,” she told the “Today in the Bay” crew on the impending Hurricane Iselle
You can't take the thirst for weather out of a meteorologist. Even if she's on her honeymoon.
NBC Bay Area Meteorologist Christina Loren flew to Hawaii to get married on Wednesday, but because of the two hurricanes set to hit the Big Island, she hasn't stopped working.
She's been tweeting photos of Fiji water bottles flying off the shelves and of clouds hanging low in the skies, and on Friday morning, she appeared on the Weather Channel twice. She also gave her home station an early morning Skype interview to talk about Hurricane Iselle.
"It's pretty scary," she said from her hotel in Maui, with her new husband, Juan Bella, acting as her cameraman.
The rain and wind started to drench parts of the Big Island on Friday. The tropical storm took down trees and caused store signs to blow with the torrential gusts.
But she was more worried about NBC Bay Area Traffic Reporter Mike Inouye, who is also vacationing with his family in Hilo – where both Iselle and Hurricane Julio are expected to hit between Friday and Sunday.
Iselle was downgraded to a tropical storm, but in Loren's expert opinion, that could mean less wind but lots more rain for the island. "That's a big concern," she said.
Loren knows all about crazy weather. She moved to Miami for three years to track the tropics and got her chance to cover a tropical depression, otherwise known as a cyclone.
Courtesy of Christina Loren family
Juan Bella and Christina Loren get married on Aug. 6, 2014 in Maui.
AP
Homeless people take shelter in their camp near Kakaako Waterfront Park in Honolulu on Friday, Aug, 8, 2014. Iselle came ashore early Friday as a weakened tropical storm, while Hurricane Julio, close behind it, strengthened and is forecasted to pass north of the islands.
AP
In preparation for heavy winds, workers at the Hale Koa Hotel remove an awning from an outdoor stage in Honolulu on Friday, Aug, 8, 2014. Iselle came ashore early Friday as a weakened tropical storm, while Hurricane Julio, close behind it, strengthened and is forecasted to pass north of the islands. Iselle is the first tropical storm to hit the state in 22 years.
AP
With a rainbow in the background, a surfer paddles to shore in Honolulu on Friday, Aug, 8, 2014.
AP
Visitors Sharon Zappa, left, of Florida, and Vicki Stearns, of Chicago, walk along the beach in Waikiki in Honolulu on Friday, Aug, 8, 2014.
AP
Two surfers head for the waves in Honolulu on Friday, Aug, 8, 2014. High surf is expected in some spots on Oahu due to Tropical Storm Iselle.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Crowds line up inside the departures terminal at the Honolulu International Airport in Honolulu on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014. With Iselle, Hawaii is expected to take its first direct hurricane hit in 22 years.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
While surrounded by state and local officials, Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie speaks at a news conference at the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency in Diamond Head, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014, in Honolulu.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
A sign inside the Walmart McDonalds restaurant alerts customers that it sent its employees home early in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014, as the area prepares for Hurricane Iselle.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
A man pushes a shopping cart outside of a Walmart store that boarded its entrance and closed early in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014, as the area prepares for Hurricane Iselle.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
This image provided by NOAA taken at 2 a.m. EDT Friday Aug. 8, 2014 shows Hurricane Iselle approaching the Island of Hawaii, left as Hurricane Julio with a well defined eye follows.
AP
Anne Kllingshirn of Kailua, Hawaii walks with her daughter Emma, 1, as storm clouds are are seen during the sunrise hours on Kailua Beach, in Kailua, Hawaii, Thursday morning August 7, 2014.
AP
People walk past a pallet of bottled water being delivered to a shop in Waikiki in Honolulu on Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014.
Christina Loren
Rainbow in Maui as winds blow before Hurricane Iselle expected to hit by Aug. 8, 2014. Aug. 7, 2014
Getty Images
PACIFIC OCEAN - AUGUST, 2014: In this composite image provided by NASA, Hurricane Iselle (L) is followed by Hurricane Julio as they approach Hawaii from the east in early August, 2014. Hurricane Iselle is exppected to make landfall on August 7th, making it Hawaii's first hurricane in 22 years. This image is a composite of three satellite passes over the tropical Pacific Ocean of August 5th. (Photo by NASA/Jeff Schmaltz/LANCE/EOSDIS Rapid Response via Getty Images)
Christina Loren
Bare shelves in Lahaina, Hawaii, where customers are grabbing Fiji water bottles before Hurricanes Iselle and Julio are supposed to hit. Aug. 7, 2014
Christina Loren
Resorts in Maui asked guests to pull in their patio furniture before Hurricanes Iselle and Julio hit. Aug. 7, 2014
Christina Loren
Rainbow in Maui as winds blow before Hurricanes Iselle and Julio are expected to hit. Aug. 7, 2014
Christina Loren
Clouds increasing over Lahaina as Hurricanes Iselle approaches the Hawaiian Islands. Aug. 7, 2014
AP
This image provided by NOAA taken Thursday Aug. 7, 2014 at 2 a.m. EDT shows Hurricane Iselle, left and Hurricane Julio. Iselle was supposed to weaken as it slowly trudged west across the Pacific.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Shoppers lift cases of bottled water in preparation for a hurricane and tropical storm heading toward Hawaii at the Iwilei Costco in Honolulu on Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2014.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Shoppers stock up on cases of bottled water and other supplies in preparation for a hurricane and tropical storm heading toward Hawaii at the Iwilei Costco in Honolulu on Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2014.
Courtesy of Christina Loren family
Juan Bella nad NBC Bay Area Meteorologist Christina Loren get married on Aug. 6, 2014 in Maui.
Christina Loren
Rainbow in Maui as winds blow before Hurricane Iselle expected to hit by Aug. 8, 2014. Aug. 7, 2014
"Now I come to Hawaii to get married, and there are two whopper storms on the way," she wrote on her Facebook page. "Oh, the irony."
In a phone interview, she added that being in the center of an impending hurricane is "way better" than a cyclone, and being there now with such a big weather event happening is a "blessing."
"Every meteorologist wants to ride out a storm like this one, so we can know what it's like and better inform the public," she said.
Knowing exactly what havoc Mother Nature could wreak, Loren has already stocked up on batteries and water.
Now she's holed up in the hotel with her beloved. Her extended family is there too, and because they're all confined to the indoors, she said, "it's bringing us really close."
Still, she's worried more about other brides whose wedding dates were set for this weekend. "You know their weddings are going to get canceled," she said.
As for her and her new husband?
"We don't mind being hunkered down in the hotel," she said.
