TROPICAL STORM LANA EXPECTED TO PASS WELL SOUTH OF HAWAII

Tropical Storm Lana continues moving far southeast of the Hawaiian Islands.  At 11 a.m., the National Weather Service reported the center of the storm at about 640 miles southeast of Hilo Hawaii.

Image courtesy NOAA/National Weather Service.

The system was moving toward the west at about 16 mph and was expected to continue at that strength for the next 48 hours.

The area of the strongest winds should pass well to the south of the Hawaiian Islands in about 36 to 48 hours.

Maximum sustained winds were at near 65 mph with higher gusts and tropical storm force winds extending outward up to 100 miles.  Lana is expected to weaken from Saturday into Sunday.

The next update will be issued by the Central Pacific Hurricane Center at 5 p.m. HST.

(Posted by Wendy Osher @ 11:15 a.m., Friday, July 31, 2009. Information provided by the National Weather Service and the Central Pacific Hurricane Center)