As expected, Hurricane Norman broke to the west-northwest on Wednesday, putting it on a path to pass the islands to the
northeast by hundreds of miles by Friday.
As of Wednesday at 5 p.m., Norman remained a Category 3 major hurricane
carrying maximum sustained winds of 120 miles per
hour as it churned roughly 385 miles to the east of Hilo. It was moving west-northwest at 9 mph with hurricane-force winds extending out 30 miles from the center and tropical storm-force winds extending out to
115 miles.
The storm had been moving west toward the islands over the past few days. Forecasters at the Central Pacific Hurricane Center predicted that Norman would shift to a more northwestern motion today and Friday.
“On the forecast track, the center of Norman will pass 200 to 300 miles to the northeast of the main Hawaiian Islands on Thursday and Friday,” forecasters said.
While some weakening is forecast over the next two days, Norman is expected
to remain a hurricane through Friday, they added.
Norman is already generating large swells that forecasters say will spread
from east to west across the islands over the next couple of days.
The National Weather Service issued a high-surf warning for east shores of Hawaii island, Maui, Molokai, Oahu and Kauai effective until 6 a.m. on Friday. Surf is
expected to reach 12 to
18 feet along east shore of Hawaii island and Maui today. Molokai, Oahu and Kaui could see surf of up to 10 to 15 feet.
The weather service warns that large breaking surf, significant shorebreak and dangerous currents can make entering the ocean very hazardous.
A small-craft advisory is also in effect until 6 a.m.
Friday for all islands due
to a large east swell produced by Norman.
Hawaii island officials announced that county beach parks on the north and east side of the island, from South Point to Upolu Point, will be closed today. All permits and reservations for these parks have been canceled.
Meanwhile, Hurricane Olivia continued its westward approach across the Central Pacific on Wednesday.
At 5 p.m., the Category 2 hurricane was 1,990 miles east of Hilo, bearing maximum sustained winds of
100 mph and moving west-northwest at 14 mph.
The storm is expected
to pick up speed over the next couple of days, gradually turning to the west over the weekend.
