UPI
Hurricane Hector moved south of Hawaii's Big Island Thursday, the Central Pacific Hurricane Center said, but its progress on Johnston Island is being watched.
The center of Hector was projected to pass a few hundred miles south of Oahu and Kauai through early Thursday, the CPHC said.
Meteorologists canceled a tropical storm warning in Hawaii as Hector moved south of the Big Island late Wednesday. No coastal watches are warnings were issued, but forecasters said a tropical storm watch may be issued for Johnston Island.
[post_ads]The center of the Category 3 storm was about 325 miles south of Honolulu and 730 miles east of Johnston Island. It was moving west at 16 mph with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph.
Forecasters expect little significant change in Hector's strength in the coming days.
An uptick in squalls, locally heavy rain, brief gusty winds, heavy seas and surf may occur on the islands through the latter part of the week, AccuWeather reported.
Meteorologists said the Big Island could have taken part of Hector's intensity in a near-miss, but the storm's shift to the south lessened the impact.
#Hector is still a powerful Category 3 #hurricane barreling through the Central Pacific. Latest infrared view from #GOES15 shows the storm skirting south of #Hawaii's Big Island today. More hurricane imagery: https://t.co/HsvWAWBNbO pic.twitter.com/U40t6kP0JF— NOAA Satellites (@NOAASatellites) August 8, 2018
"Hector is expected to pass far enough to the south so that no important wind issues are expected to impact the Big Island," AccuWeather Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski said. "However, very rough surf is expected to impact mostly south- and east-facing coastal areas of the Big Island.
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"There will also be an increase in surf over the rest of the Hawaiian Islands through Friday."
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