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Hurricane Fernanda in the Eastern Pacific is forecast to reach major hurricane status today as it continues moving west.
Fernanda became a
hurricane Thursday and is expected to grow into a Category 4 storm with 140 mph sustained winds and higher gusts this weekend when it will still be more than 2,000 miles from the Big Island, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
However, Fernanda is
expected to slowly weaken over cooler waters as it nears the Central Pacific
by about midweek.
“This is all subject to change,” said National Weather Service forecaster Henry Lau in Honolulu. “It still can maintain that intensity.”
When the storm crosses into the Central Pacific, the forecasters at the Central Pacific Hurricane Center on Oahu will take the lead in monitoring the storm.
But Fernanda “is not
forecast to enter our area of responsibility until next Thursday,” Lau said.
At 5 p.m. Thursday, Fernanda had maximum sustained winds of 85 mph and was about 2,600 miles south-southwest of
Hilo, moving west at
12 mph. Hurricane-force winds extended 25 miles from the storm’s center.
“Rapid strengthening is forecast, and Fernanda is likely to become a major hurricane on Friday,” forecasters said.
It is still too far from Hawaii to know whether it will have a direct impact on the state’s weather later in the month.