Depending on the track, the storm system could effect the state as early as Saturday.
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If the storm then drifts easterly at midweek, as some forecasts suggest, Kilo could threaten Kauai and Niihau, a smaller, less populated island at the westernmost end of Hawaii’s inhabited island chain.
At 5 a.m., the center of Tropical Storm Kilo was located about 535 miles south-southeast of Hilo.
Secure loose outdoor objects that might be blown away by high winds, and become flying debris.
Kilo, whose storm-force winds extended out more than 100 miles (160 km) from its centre yesterday, ranks as the fourth named storm to form in the central Pacific basin this season, Chevalier said. The agency says that as the system turns, it will slow down in speed but will build in strength and intensity as it sits over warm ocean waters. “We have very weak wind shear”, said Evans.
The projected path of Kilo is very different from Hilda and Guillermo.
It is forecast to take an Iniki-like track to the west of Kauai.
It’s all going to depend on its curve to the north. If the curve is exactly down the middle of the cone or to the east of it, we could see some wicked weather. Although it is best to prepare for hurricane season before it starts, this would be a good time to review your plans and gather supplies you may need to ride out several days of damaging wind and surf, and very heavy rain. We don’t have that wind shear right now.
“There is considerable uncertainty as to where this system will make its turn toward the north, so people in Hawaii should continue to pay attention to the forecast and be ready for any changes over the next few days”, Robert Ballard of the National Weather Service and the hurricane center told Hawaii News Now. There’s a possibility the storm’s track may shift. Over the next two or three days, this high pressure is expected to erode, giving Kilo the opportunity to turn north and get picked up by upper-level winds that are blowing toward the east. This turn will bring the storm precariously close to at least the western islands – Ni’ihau and Kauai, and possibly Oahu, which includes the capital of Honolulu.
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Tropical Storm Kilo is forecast to intensify into a Category 2 hurricane by Wednesday. This will provide valuable data to help better determine the location of the system center and the distribution of the wind field.
