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Category 3 Hurricane Fernanda to weaken to tropical storm in Central Pacific

Hurricane Fernanda in the Eastern Pacific was downgraded to a Category 3 storm today, and while it may strengthen on Sunday, it still forecast to weaken to a tropical storm later in the week as it enters the Central Pacific.

At 5 p.m., Fernanda was 2,046 miles southeast of Hilo with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph and moving west-northwest at 14 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

While the wind speed weakened throughout the day, forecasters said it could regain some strength tonight or Sunday.

But after the weekend, Fernanda is expected to weaken steadily as it moves over cooler waters and encounters wind shear.

By Thursday, when Fernanda is forecast to be in the Central Pacific, it is expected to be a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph.

The storm is still too far away from Hawaii to know what effect it will have on the state’s weather.

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