Hurricane Howard emerges in East Pacific; Kahului sees record highs over weekend
NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER
The 5-day forecast track for Hurricane Howard.
Howard, formerly a tropical storm, has rapidly intensified into the seventh hurricane in the Eastern North Pacific this season, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
As of 11 a.m., Hurricane Howard was about 330 miles west-southwest of the southern tip of Baja, Calif., with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph and higher gusts.
Howard is moving toward the northwest near 13 mph, with the forward motion expected to continue through tonight, followed by a turn to the west-northwest on Tuesday, officials said.
Forecasters said some additional intensification is possible through tonight, but weakening is anticipated to begin tomorrow.
Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 15 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 60 miles.
No coastal watches or warnings or hazards affecting land are in effect.
The National Weather Service in Honolulu, meanwhile, expects moderate to locally breezy tradewinds to prevail into next weekend.
Those trades may become locally windy around the middle of the week, officials warned, as a tropical disturbance passes south of the area. There is also a chance that shower coverage will increase near Hawaii island Wednesday and Thursday as a result of the disturbance’s passage.
For surf, forecasters anticipate “little significant swell” through the week.
Surf is expected to remain flat to 2 feet for north and west shores, 1 to 3 feet for south shores, and 2 to 4 feet for east shores today through Tuesday.
A small craft advisory is in effect for Maalaea Bay, Pailolo and Alenuihaha channels, and leeward and southeast Hawaii island waters through 6 a.m. Thursday.
According to NWS, record highs were set in Kahului, Maui, over the weekend, including a high of 93 degrees on Friday that broke the previous record of 92 set for that day in 2020.
On Saturday, a record high of 96 degrees was set at Kahului, surpassing the previous record of 94 set for that day in 1972, and on Sunday, a high of 95 was set at Kahului, surpassing the previous record of 93 set for that day in 2019.
