Photo: NASA/NRL
Tropical Storm Erick — making its way over the eastern Pacific Ocean — evolved into a hurricane Monday night, according to theNational Hurricane Center.
The storm is expected to travel westward, just south of Hawaii’s big island, though the hurricane is not expected to hit land.
NOAA
AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist, Alex Sosnowski, andCNN Meteorologist, Haley Brink,have both reported that the hurricane could potentially reach wind speeds of 110 to 111 mph — qualifying it as a Category 3 storm — a major hurricane. As of 11 p.m. HST (5 a.m. EST) Monday night, the storm reached wind speeds of 80 mph.
Sea waters may reach heights anywhere between 7 and 13 feet through Thursday night, according tothe National Weather Service Marine Forecast.
According toAccuWeather, Erick grew after hitting warm water and “weak wind shear” in the eastern Pacific, which are two factors that help strengthen tropical storms.
Tropical Storm Flossie closely follows Erick, though it is located further east in the Pacific.
The now-tropical storm is also expected to strengthen over the next few days and is said to become a hurricane on Tuesday and potentially a major hurricane later this week.The Weather Channelreports that it could pass near Hawaii as well but it is too early to tell.
source: people.com
