Hurricane Erick intensifies as it enters the Central Pacific

UPDATE: 11 p.m.

Hurricane Erick intensified this evening as it moved into the Central Pacific.

The Category 1 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds near 80 mph, is located 1,015 miles east-southeast of Hilo and 1,225 miles east-southeast of Honolulu. Additional strengthening is forecast through Wednesday, according to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. Weakening is expected starting late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning.

Erick is moving toward the west near 17 mph. A west-northwest course at a slower forward speed is expected to begin on Tuesday and continue through Thursday.

Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 15 miles from the center

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Flossie is expected to strengthen into a hurricane on Tuesday and a major hurricane on Wednesday. Flossie, with winds at 65 mph, is located 965 miles southwest of the southern tip of Baja California.

Flossie is moving toward the west near 16 mph and a turn to the west-northwest is expected on Tuesday.

5 p.m.

Erick has strengthened into a hurricane as it moves into the Central Pacific.

Erick, a Category 1 hurricane, was 1,110 miles east-southeast of Hilo with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph as of about 5 p.m.

Some strengthening is forecast during the next 48 hours before weakening is predicted to start late Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Erick is moving toward the west near 18 mph. A west-northwest course at a slower speed is expected to begin on Tuesday and continue through Thursday.

The five-day forecast has Erick moving south of the islands this weekend as a weakening tropical storm.

Tropical Storm Flossie, located 895 miles southwest of Baja California, is moving toward the west near 17 mph and expected to strengthen into a hurricane on Tuesday.

Flossie, with winds increasing to 65 mph, is expected to turn toward the west-northwest and maintain that motion through the end of the week. “Flossie is forecast to gradually intensify into a Category 3 hurricane by 72 hours,” with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph as it approaches the Central Pacific later this week, forecasters said.

11 a.m.

Although not yet a hurricane, Tropical Storm Erick is continuing its steady march toward the islands.

With its center about 1,205 miles east-southeast of Hilo at 11 a.m., Erick clocked in with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph and was heading west-northwest at 16 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.

A west-northwest track with a slower forward speed is expected to start Tuesday as the storm enters the Central Pacific and continue through Wednesday, forecasters said.

Erick is still expected to become a hurricane soon and potentially a major hurricane on Tuesday.

Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 70 miles from the center.

Farther east, Tropical Storm Flossie maintained its strength and is still expected to reach hurricane strength Tuesday night.

Flossie was centered about 2,621 miles east-southeast of Hilo at 11 a.m.

Flossie is projected to continue on its current track through Tuesday night with some decrease in forward speed. Afterward, Flossie is expected to turn toward the west-northwest and maintain that motion through Saturday when forecasters expect it to be a hurricane hundreds of miles southeast of Hilo.

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Tropical Storm Erick continues to head toward the islands and is expected to become a hurricane soon.

With its center located 1,310 miles east-southeast of Hilo at 5 a.m. today, Erick is packing winds of 70 mph and heading west at 17 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Erick is expected to become a hurricane “any time soon” and then potentially a major hurricane on Tuesday, also turning to the west-northwest Tuesday while slowing in forward speed, the NHC said in an advisory. However, it’s expected to start weakening later in the week.

Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 70 miles from the center.

Meanwhile, further east, Tropical Storm Flossie strengthened overnight as it also continues on a westward track.

Packing winds near 50 mph and heading west at 18 mph, Flossie’s center was located 2,722 miles east-southeast of Hilo at 5 a.m., according to the NHC.

Flossie is expected to strengthen to a hurricane Tuesday and turn to the west-northwest Wednesday.

Flossie’s tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 80 miles from the center.