New tropical storm forms as Genevieve weakens
Tropical Storm Hernan formed in the Eastern Pacific near Mexico, as Genevieve weakened into a tropical depression and moved into the Central Pacific Saturday.
Both storms are too far away to give an accurate prediction on whether they will affect Hawaii’s weather, forecasters said.
If they do approach the islands, Hernan and Genevieve are expected to weaken, but could still bring muggy weather and an increased chance of showers by the end of next week into the weekend.
A band of tropical moisture from the south and another system from the northwest are moving over the islands this weekend, bringing muggy conditions and an increased chance of rain, especially over windward and mauka showers through Sunday.
“Expect passing showers to affect the islands through rest of the evening into early Sunday morning, especially for Oahu this evening, then Kauai overnight, ” forecasters said Saturday night.
The state forecast calls for mostly cloudy skies with numerous showers on Oahu.
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Sunday should be mostly sunny after morning showers with scattered showers in the afternoon.
Stronger tradewinds should return Monday.
The Central Pacific Hurricane Center in Honolulu is now monitoring Tropical Depression Genevieve, which was 1,113 miles east southeast of Hilo at 11 p.m. Saturday, moving west at 9 mph.
Forecaster say it’s still too far away to know yet if it will pass far south of Hawaii and have a minimal effect on the state’s weather, or if it will move closer to the islands and bring muggy conditions and rains toward the end of next week.
Tropical Storm Hernan was about 415 miles south of the southern tip of Baja, California in Mexico, moving northwest at 14 mph Saturday. Maximum sustained winds were about 65 mph with higher gusts.
Hernan could become a hurricane Sunday, but is still expected to move over cooler water and encounter wind shear, which should weaken it into a tropical depression and then a tropical remnant next week.