Hurricane Fausto may track toward Hawaii next week
Visitors to the tropical archipelago should closely monitor forecasts in the days ahead
A busy hurricane season fuelled by El Niño continues apace in the eastern Pacific Ocean, where Hurricane Fausto is currently churning west across steamy waters.
The large and picturesque system may track toward the Hawaiian Islands by early next week. It’s too soon to know what, if any, impacts it may have on the popular vacation destination.
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Forecasters are monitoring the progress of Hurricane Fausto as it tracks through the eastern Pacific Ocean.
The system looks downright impressive on satellite imagery despite its ongoing struggles. Fausto packed maximum sustained winds of 140 km/h on Thursday evening despite fighting against some intrustions of dry air into the heart of the storm.
Forecasters see more trouble on the hurricane’s horizon. Additional bouts of dry air and wind sear are expected through the weekend, with forecasters predicting the hurricane will weaken to tropical storm strenght by Sunday.
Based on its current projected path, Fausto is expected to track near or just north of the Hawaiian Islands by mid-week as a tropical storm.
Visitors in or heading to Hawaii should closely monitor the forecast in the days ahead. Even an offshore track could potentially bring rain, wind, rough surf, and rip currents to the region.
The National Hurricane Centre says the risk of impacts from wind and rainfall is increasing, though it's still too soon to determine their exact location or magnitude.
Forecasters expect a busy eastern Pacific hurricane season as a strengthening El Niño creates favourable conditions throughout the region.
Full-fledged hurricanes are rare in Hawaii. Tropical cyclones threaten the region every year or two, many of which are often weak and struggling on approach to the archipelago.
The most recent landfall occurred when Tropical Storm Linda crossed Molokai on Aug. 23, 2024. A hurricane hasn’t made a direct landfall in Hawaii since Hurricane Iniki struck Kauai as a Category 4 storm in Sept. 1992.