Hurricane Kiko is currently a Category 4 storm, but is likely to weaken in the coming days. (Image courtesy of NOAA GOES Image Viewer)
Storm forecasts show a Category 4 hurricane in the eastern Pacific could hit Hawaii early next week, but it will weaken significantly before getting there.
Hurricane Kiko has rapidly intensified, going from a tropical storm on Monday (Sept. 1) to a Category 4 hurricane on Wednesday (Sept. 3), according to The Weather Channel. The storm is moving west and is currently moving through a region of warm water and low wind shear about 1,300 miles (2,100 kilometers) southeast of Hawaii. That means it could strengthen in the next few hours, forecasters say.
According to the latest forecast from the National Hurricane Center (NHC), Hurricane Kiko is heading toward Hawaii and could reach the islands by Tuesday or Wednesday of next week (September 9 or 10). According to a CNN video, Kiko is packing winds of up to 145 mph (230 km/h), but meteorologists are predicting that gusts will weaken to tropical storm or low-level hurricane levels by the weekend.
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Kiko is “another example of a hurricane rapidly strengthening in extremely warm water,” Brandon Miller, a senior meteorologist and lead meteorologist at CNN, said in the video. However, Miller said it’s highly unlikely the storm will remain as strong until Sept. 9 or 10, as it will first have to pass through a patch of relatively cold water and trade winds.
Hurricane Kiko will likely make landfall in the cool, windy region on Sunday (Sept. 7), which will reduce its intensity somewhat, according to The Weather Channel. Dry air clouds hanging east of Hawaii will slow the storm further, and Kiko will also be forced to overcome wind shear that will knock the rug out from under it.
Hurricane Kiko may miss Hawaii entirely, as it is expected to widen by early next week. The NHC's “cone of uncertainty,” which summarizes Kiko's various paths in the shape of an elongated, sideways teardrop, suggests that the center of Kiko's path could shift north of Hawaii, avoiding some of the storm's worst impacts on the archipelago.
Hurricane Kiko could hit Hawaii early next week, but it could also miss the islands.
But hurricanes don’t have to make landfall to bring bad weather. “Stay vigilant, Hawaiians,” Miller said. “Kiko could still bring impacts like heavy rains and gusty winds to the island.”
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The storm's swells could reach Hawaii by the end of the weekend, creating potentially life-threatening surf and rip currents, The Weather Channel warns. Many Hawaiian islands also remain under a National Weather Service (NHC) Zone of Uncertainty.
The distance between Kiko's central path and the individual Hawaiian islands will determine how severe the impact will be on those islands, according to The Weather Channel.
Therefore, forecasters recommend that residents regularly check for updates and stay up to date.
TOPICS Hawaii
Sasha PareSocial Link NavigationStaff Writer
Sasha is a staff writer for Live Science based in the UK. She holds a BA in biology from the University of Southampton in England and an MA in science communication from Imperial College London. Her work has appeared in The Guardian and on health site Zoe. Outside of writing, she enjoys playing tennis, baking bread, and browsing thrift stores.
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