Saturday, August 8, 2009

Felicia Continues to Weaken in Central Pacific, On Track for Hawaii


Images (click to enlarge): Hurricane Felicia visible satellite image from Weather Underground; Track forecast from National Hurricane Center

11 am HST Update: The Central Pacific Hurricane Center in Honolulu reports that aircraft reconnaissance data indicate a slight weakening of maximum winds to 85 mph. Movement is still westward at 15 mph from a position 845 miles east of Hilo or 1025 miles east of Honolulu. A Tropical Storm Watch could be required for portions of Hawaii later today or tonight.
...SUMMARY OF 1100 AM HST INFORMATION...
LOCATION...19.8N 142.1W
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...85 MPH
PRESENT MOVEMENT...WEST OR 280 DEGREES AT 15 MPH
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...981 MB
Original post:
After weakening to Category 2 on Friday, Hurricane Felicia has continued weakening to Category 1 by Saturday morning. At 8 am PDT, the storm had maximum winds of 90 mph as it moved westward at 15 mph from a position 930 miles east of Hilo, Hawaii. The current track is expected to continue for the next several days along with gradual weakening.

Interests in Hawaii are advised to monitor the progress of the storm. The National Weather Service in Honolulu has issued a flood potential outlook for the state:
THE LATEST FORECAST FROM THE NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER INDICATES
THAT HURRICANE FELICIA WILL WEAKEN TO A TROPICAL STORM OR
DEPRESSION NEAR THE HAWAIIAN ISLANDS. REGARDLESS OF ITS
INTENSITY...FELICIA COULD PRODUCE VERY HEAVY RAINFALL WITH
POSSIBLE FLASH FLOODING. RAIN BANDS MAY REACH THE BIG ISLAND
EARLY ON MONDAY WITH HEAVY RAINFALL POTENTIALLY SPREADING WESTWARD
ACROSS THE STATE THROUGH TUESDAY.
The Honolulu Advertiser and Star-Bulletin report that sales of emergency supplies have been brisk across the state, and government officials are preparing plans to deal with possible storm impacts.

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