Monster Category 5 Storm Targeting Hawaii

Hawaii residents rushed to stores to stock up on bottled water, Ramen, toilet paper and other supplies as they faced the threat of heavy rain, flash flooding and high surf as a powerful hurricane continued to churn toward the state.

CBS Honolulu affiliate KGMB-TV describes Hurricane Lane as a "massive and rare Category 5 Central Pacific cyclone."

The National Weather Service announced Tuesday night that Lane crossed the Category 5 line, meaning it's likely to cause catastrophic damage with winds 157 mph or above. At 11 p.m. in Hawaii, forecasters said the hurricane was about 505 miles south-southeast of Honolulu and 350 miles south-southeast of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, moving west-northwest at 9 mph and packing 160 mph winds.

"It's one of only two recorded Category 5 hurricanes to pass within 350 miles of the Big Island's South Point," says KGMB. "The last: Hurricane John in 1994."

Earlier Tuesday, the weather service issued a hurricane warning for Hawaii island (known as the Big Island) and a hurricane watch for Oahu, Maui and other smaller islands, meaning tropical storm-force winds, excessive rain and large swells could arrive starting Wednesday.

"On its forecast track, the center of Lane will move very close to or over the main Hawaiian Islands from Thursday Saturday. ... Slow weakening is forecast ... but Lane is forecast to remain a dangerous hurricane as it draws closer to the Hawaiian Islands," the weather service's Central Pacific Hurricane Center, in Honolulu, warned late Tuesday.