Hawaii faces increasing risk as Fausto approaches next week
The National Hurricane Center said Friday that Fausto strengthened into a Category 2 hurricane in the Pacific Ocean and is expected to approach the Hawaiian Islands next week.
The storm was about 1,300 miles (2,090 kilometers) west of the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula and about 1,600 miles (2,575 kilometers) east of Hilo, Hawaii, with maximum sustained winds around 100 mph (161 kph), the Miami-based center said.
Forecasters said the risk of some impacts from wind and rainfall in the Hawaii area is increasing, but it is too soon to determine the exact location or potential magnitude.
The hurricane center also said swells generated by Fausto could cause life-threatening surf and rip tides in parts of southern California.
Fausto has been churning in the Pacific while Tropical Storm Bertha moved along the Gulf Coast. Bertha brought heavy surf and some flooding to southern Louisiana and Texas as it came ashore for a second time Thursday. By late Thursday evening, the hurricane center said Bertha had dissipated.