Tropical Storm Hone formed in the central Pacific on Thursday on a forecast track that could cross near Hawaii’s Big Island, while Major Hurricane Gilma remained a Category 3 storm at sea.
Hone had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph and was centered about 1,090 miles east-southeast of Honolulu and 885 miles east-southeast of Hilo, Hawaii, the Central Pacific Hurricane Center said in an advisory at 5 p.m. EDT Thursday. It was moving west-northwest at 14 mph.
Forecasters said Hone’s center could pass near or south of the Big Island this weekend.
NOAA
The storm was expected to strengthen over the next few days. Up to 8 inches of rain is expected to hit Hawaii’s Big Island between Saturday and Monday, according to the hurricane center, along with up to 4 inches of rain for windward areas of the smaller islands.
Swells generated by Hone were “likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip currents.”
The central Pacific hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30. NOAA this year forecast one to four tropical cyclones for the central Pacific region, which is below the average of four or five. A tropical cyclone includes tropical depressions, tropical storms, and hurricanes. A tropical cyclone becomes a tropical storm when its maximum sustained winds reach 39 mph, and a hurricane when they reach 74 mph, according to the National Weather Service.
Meanwhile, Hurricane Gilma in the eastern Pacific remained a major hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph. That makes it a Category 3 storm.
Gilma trailed Hone, which is about 1,980 miles east of Hilo and was moving west-northwest at 7 mph. It was expected to remain a powerful hurricane in the coming days, but could begin to weaken over the weekend, forecasters said.
No coast watches or warnings were in effect with Gilma. The system strengthened to tropical storm status on Sunday and has been strengthening since then.
Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 35 miles from Gilma’s center, and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 115 miles, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.