HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Hurricane Fausto is maintaining its intensity as a Category 2 hurricane as it moves toward the central North Pacific on a track that will take it close to Hawaii early next week.
The National Hurricane Center said in data valid at 5 p.m. Saturday, Fausto was 1,060 miles east of Hilo and was moving west at 13 miles per hour.
The hurricane had maximum sustained winds of 100 miles per hour. Hurricane force winds extend up to 50 miles from the center, with tropical storm force winds extending up to 185 miles.
The current forecast track has Fausto tracking just north of the islands sometime Tuesday into Wednesday. It is expected to be a tropical storm by that time.
The tropical cyclone is moving into an area of drier air and slightly cooler ocean waters, and it should gradually weaken over the next few days.
By Monday, Fausto will run into increasing wind shear from the southwest that will increase the rate of weakening. The system will also become less symmetrical, with the strongest winds and heaviest rain in its northern half. If the forecast holds, those winds and rain should remain north of Hawaii. However, a slight shift to the southward would increase the chances for those winds and rain to impact the state.
Large ocean swells generated by Fausto could also produce dangerous waves for east-facing shores by late Sunday.
Small changes in the forecast track and intensity can result in big differences in what areas will be impacted, or how strong those impacts will be, and this forecast will continue to evolve over time.
All that said, you should still be prepared for a higher risk of some impacts from wind and rainfall. This would also be a good time to make sure you and your family are prepared, not just for what’s possible from Fausto, but also for the rest of what’s predicted to be a busy hurricane season, which runs through November 30.
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