Hurricane Linda Weakens as it Moves Toward Hawai´i

At 11 am HST, the center of Hurricane Linda was located approximately 1,500 miles east of Hilo, moving toward the west-northwest near 14 mph. This motion is expected to continue through the weekend.

Maximum sustained winds for the Category 2 hurricane are near 100 mph with higher gusts, the National Hurricane Center reported. Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 30 miles from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 90 miles.

Steady weakening is forecast through Friday, and Linda is expected to become a gale-force, post-tropical cyclone on Saturday.

Still, forecasters are predicting heavy rains for the Hawaiian Islands into the weekend as a result of the nearing storm, as well as potentially increased surf to east-facing shores.