Tropical Storm Hone formed in the central Pacific Ocean on Thursday on a forecast path that may cross near Hawaii's Big Island, while major Hurricane Gilma remained a Category 3 storm at sea.
Hone had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph and was centered about 1,090 miles east-southeast of Honolulu, and 885 miles east-southeast of Hilo, Hawaii, the Central Pacific Hurricane Center said in an advisory at 5 p.m. EDT Thursday. It was moving west-northwest at 14 mph.
Forecasters said the center of Hone could pass near or south of the Big Island this weekend.
The storm was expected to strengthen over the next couple of days. It is forecast to bring up to 8 inches of rain to Hawaii's Big Island between Saturday and Monday, according to the hurricane center, along with up to 4 inches of rain for the windward areas of the smaller islands.
Swells generated by Hone were \"likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip currents.\"
The central Pacific hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30. The NOAA this year forecast one to four tropical cyclones for the central Pacific region, which is below the average of four or five. A tropical cyclone includes tropical depressions, tropical storms and hurricanes. A tropical cyclone becomes a tropical storm when its maximum sustained winds reach 39 mph, and a hurricane when they reach 74 mph, according to the National Weather Service.
Meanwhile, Hurricane Gilma in the eastern Pacific remained a major hurricane with maximum sustained winds at 125 mph. That makes it a Category 3 storm.
Gilma was trailing behind Hone, located about 1,980 miles east of Hilo and moving west-northwest at 7 mph. It was forecast to remain a powerful hurricane for the next couple of days, but could start to weaken over the weekend, forecasters said.
No coastal watches or warnings were in effect with Gilma. The system strengthened to tropical storm status on Sunday and has grown more powerful since then.
Hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 35 miles from the center of Gilma and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 115 miles, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.
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