The National Weather Service's Central Pacific Hurricane Center in Honolulu has issued a tropical storm warning and a hurricane watch for the Big Island as Hurricane Flossie continues on a path south of the island.
The latest report by the CPHC has Flossie, a Category 2 storm with sustained winds of 110 mph, located about 200 miles south-southeast of Hilo and 390 miles southeast of Honolulu. The center predicts some further weakening as the day goes on.
According to the report, strong winds, around 40 mph to 50 mph, with stronger gusts, are likely to reach the Big Island by mid-morning (Hawaiian Standard Time), as the storm passes the island. However, "any shift in the forecast track towards the north, closer to the Big Island, will result in higher winds," the CPHC said.
The storm's current projected path will keep it south of the Hawaiian Islands and it is expected to further decrease in strength to a tropical storm later in the week, after it passes Oahu and Kauai.
The center is project to pass about 80 miles south of the Big Island by mid-afternoon.
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