Hurricane Iona Intensifies to Category 3 South of Hawaii

Honolulu (US), Jul 29 (AP): Hurricane Iona has intensified to a Category 3 storm, currently situated several hundred miles south-southeast of Hawaii. However, the US National Hurricane Center has reported that it does not pose a threat to the islands.

Iona represents one of two major weather systems in the central Pacific Ocean. According to the latest advisory from the Miami-based center, the hurricane is approximately 1,271 kilometers from Honolulu, with maximum sustained winds reaching near 185 km/h. Additional strengthening is anticipated later on Tuesday, with a projected steady weakening expected to commence by Wednesday.

Hurricane Iona is the first named storm of the hurricane season in the central Pacific, having developed from a tropical depression on Sunday. It continues its westward journey over warm, open waters. At this time, no coastal watches or warnings have been issued.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Keli is located further south, with maximum sustained winds recorded at 65 km/h. It is positioned approximately 1,550 kilometers southeast of Honolulu, moving westward at about 9 km/h.

On Monday, the administrator of the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency organized a statewide conference call with all counties. During this call, the National Weather Service provided an assessment and status update on the storms. "All counties are monitoring," stated agency spokesperson Kiele Amundson in an email.

An indirect impact from these weather systems could be the arrival of swells, although they are relatively minor and moving westward, unlikely to cause significant effects, according to Derek Wroe from the National Weather Service in Honolulu. However, a more substantial swell generated several hundred miles east of New Zealand is anticipated to reach Hawaii by Thursday, coinciding with the passage of the storms near the state. "People might mistakenly attribute the swell energy to these tropical systems, but it's not related," Wroe explained.

(Only the headline of this report may have been reworked by Editorji; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)