Hurricane Lane expected to pass south of Hawaii

Hurricane Lane was expected to increase in strength to a major hurricane Friday evening. Image courtesy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

By Danielle Haynes, UPI

The National Hurricane Center on Friday predicted Hurricane Lane could follow roughly the same path as its predecessor earlier this month, Hurricane Hector, and pass just south of the Hawaiian islands.

[post_ads]The eye of the Category 2 storm was about 1,775 miles west-southwest of the southern tip of the Baja Peninsula and 1,505 miles east-southeast of Hilo, Hawaii, as of the NHC's 2 p.m. PDT forecast update.

The storm was moving west at 16 mph and packing 110 mph maximum sustained winds. The agency expects the storm to strengthen into a major hurricane -- Category 3 or higher -- later Friday.

"A motion between west and west-northwest is expected during the entire forecast period, and Lane is forecast to cross into the central Pacific basin on Saturday," the NHC said.

There were no coastal advisories in effect, but the NHC's cone of probability showed the storm could come close enough to Hawaii to cause tropical storm-force winds next week.