Wind tears up former Hurricane Gil

Gil has lost its punch.

What was once Hurricane Gil has encountered some very strong upper-level winds, and now is rapidly weakening and is just barely a tropical storm.

"It’s kind of decapitating the storm," lead forecaster Sam Houston said at the National Weather Service in Hono­lulu. "The top is being sheared apart. They like a very vertical motion, which is conducive for keeping them alive."

Gil is a minimal tropical storm and was 1,640 miles east-southeast of Hilo at 5 p.m. Friday, moving west at 12 mph.

The system is forecast to cross over into the Central Pacific on Monday night or early Tuesday morning, the Weather Service said.

Unlike Flossie, which had been on track to hit Hawaii, Gil is sliding farther south, Houston said.

An area of low pressure 900 miles southeast of Hilo has a 20 percent chance of developing into a tropical cyclone during the next 48 hours as of 8 p.m. Friday. It was moving westward at about 10 mph, the Weather Service said.

And a small low-pressure system 2,200 miles east-southeast of Hilo has a 40 percent chance of developing into a tropical cyclone during the next two days as of 8 p.m. Friday. The odds will increase to 50 percent during the next five days as it moves west at 10 to 15 mph, particularly if Gil continues to weaken, the Weather Service said.