Hector Category 2 Hurricane, 2000 Miles ESE of Hawai‘i

Hurricane Hector. PC: National Hurricane Center. Forecast cone Aug. 2, 2018 at 11 a.m. HST.

Hurricane Hector intensified to a Category 2 Hurricane today after reaching hurricane status overnight. A Category 2 system is defined as one carrying winds of 96-110 mph on the Saffir-Simpson Scale.

At 11 a.m. HST, the center of Hurricane Hector was located near latitude 14.1 North, longitude 125.8 West.

The National Hurricane Center reports that Hector is moving toward the west near 14 mph, a motion that is expected to continue for the next several days.

At 11 a.m. HST, the center of Hurricane Hector was located: 1970 miles ESE of Hilo; 2035 miles ESE of Kailua-Kona; 2000 miles ESE of South Point; 2035 miles ESE of Hāna, Maui; 2070 miles ESE of Kahului, Maui; 2105 miles ESE of Kaunakakai, Molokaʻi; 2095 miles ESE of Lānaʻi City; and 2165 miles ESE of Honolulu.

The current track takes the system to the south of the Hawaiian Islands sometime next week; however hurricanes tracks can change and are difficult to forecast.

*Below is a Severe Weather Video Update from Maui Now Meteorologist Malika Dudley. Stay tuned and check back for significant updates as they become available.

https://www.facebook.com/mauinow/videos/10157670314179867/

Hector. Satellite imagery 10:30 a.m. HST Aug. 2, 2018.

Maximum sustained winds have risen to near 110 mph with higher gusts.  Forecasters with the National Hurricane Center say Hector is likely to become a major hurricane tonight or tomorrow, with further intensification possible over the next few days.

Hurricane-force winds currently extend outward up to 15 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 60 miles.

The estimated minimum central pressure is 973 mb (28.74 inches).