Hilda weakened to a Category 1 hurricane Monday and is forecast to take a more southerly path toward the islands than originally predicted.
The storm’s maximum sustained winds dropped to 90 mph Monday morning due to increased wind shear.
Hilda peaked as a Category 4 hurricane Saturday with sustained winds of 140 mph.
The hurricane was about 345 miles southeast of Hilo at 8 p.m. Monday. The storm has been slowed by westerly winds.
On Monday evening the storm was moving west-northwest at just 6 mph, down from 12 mph the previous day.
As the storm weakens, tradewinds from the east and northeast are steering it on a more southerly track. Current forecasts have Hilda passing near or over Hawaii island on Thursday, though not as a hurricane.
According to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center in Honolulu, the storm will weaken into a tropical storm Tuesday and could be a tropical depression by the time it reaches the Big Island.
Despite the southerly turn, the storm is still a threat to the rest of the island chain, which remains in the so-called “cone of uncertainty.”
“There still could be a significant rain threat as it (Hilda) gets closer a few days from now,” said Derek Wroe, a meteorologist with the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. “People should be prepared if we do have a heavy-rain situation.”
Hilda will bring rough seas, high humidity and rain to the islands before the storm actually hits.
“Although Hilda is a compact tropical cyclone, the low-level moisture field surrounding it is rather broad, which means that the eastern islands could see an increase in shower activity even when Hilda is several hundred miles away,” according to the National Weather Service.
Hilda’s hurricane-force winds of 74 mph or more extend 25 miles from the center, and its tropical storm-force winds of 39 mph or more extend 90 miles out.
A high-surf advisory for the eastern shores of Hawaii island and Maui is in effect until 6 a.m. Wednesday. Surf is expect to rise to 8 to 12 feet Monday night into Tuesday.
A hurricane warning is in effect for waters southeast of the islands, including a portion of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument east of French Frigate Shoals. Seas of 12 feet or higher and winds of 40 mph or higher are expected as the hurricane continues to approach the islands.
