Hurricane Gilma is slowing down as it makes its way toward Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean and is reportedly expected to continue heading in a west-northwestward direction with ever-increasing strength until at least Tuesday evening, forecasts reveal.
Gilma is a slow-moving but powerful storm , with sustained wind speeds of about 105 mph as it barrels westward at just 10 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center .
The storm has already weakened significantly, but it's slated to remain a hurricane until it reaches the Pacific Basin, at the very least, the National Hurricane Center said in an old update on the storm.
Click here if you can't see the map.
The latest update reveals that "a slightly faster westward to west-northwestward motion is expected for the next several days," accompanied by "steady weakening" of the storm."
"Gilma is still expected to be a hurricane when it reaches the central Pacific basin on Tuesday," the center wrote. It added that hurricane-force winds could be felt up to 15 miles from the storm's center and that tropical-storm-force winds extended outward another 80 miles from the eye.
USA Today previously reported that the storm was about 1,260 miles from the coast of Hilo, Hawaii as of Monday evening. A map on the National Hurricane Center's website shows the path of the storm, with tropical storm-force winds expected to reach Hawaii by Thursday evening.
Click here to follow the Mirror US on Google News to stay up to date with all the latest news, sports and entertainment stories.
By the time the storm itself reaches Hawaii, however, it's slated to be only a tropical depression, meaning it'll still carry nasty storm conditions, but it won't be a hurricane. Gilma reached Category 3 at its peak, having originally formed hundreds of miles off the coast of Mexico.
As a tropical depression, Hurricane Gilma is likely to have sustained wind speeds of less than 39 mph, but it could still cause floods. Just a couple of weeks ago, severe weather flooded major roadways and resulted in power outages for thousands on Big Island as beaches were also closed, as were five public schools, due to the dangerous conditions, USA Today reported.
No reports of major damage were reported. Those conditions stemmed from Tropical Storm Hone, it was reported, which hit the island as a Category 1 hurricane.
If Gilma reaches the island, it'll be the first time two named storms come within 300 miles of Hawaii in over 30 years, according to AccuWeather.
To make matters more dire, another storm is forming in the Pacific — Hector. It reached tropical storm status on Sunday and is currently near where it formed about 1,000 miles off the coast of Baja California. Hector already has sustained winds of up to 65 mph and was heading west on Monday at 13 mph. Whether it will reach Hawaii remains to be seen.
Most Popular
Comments / 0