Hawaii faces new threats: Hurricane Hector, heavy rain

First a volcano, now a hurricane? Some residents on the Big Island of Hawaii have already endured a wild year due to the ongoing eruption of the Kilauea volcano. Now, Hurricane Hector is forecast to slide along the south coast of the island by midweek.

The center of the hurricane likely will miss Hawaii, but heavy rain is likely to pelt portions of the Big Island. “Very rough surf is expected to impact mostly south- and east-facing coastal areas of the Big Island,” AccuWeather meteorologist Dan Kottlowski said. “There will also be an increase in surf over the rest of the Hawaiian Islands” from Wednesday to Friday.

As of 11 a.m. EST, Hector had winds of 145 mph, according to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. It is a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Hector was located about 930 miles east-southeast of Hilo, Hawaii, and was moving west at 15 mph.

Two other tropical storms also are spinning in the Pacific: Ileana and John. The center of both storms are expected to stay away from Mexico’s west coast, although up to a half-foot of rain is possible from Ileana along the coast.

There’s a possibility the two could merge: Ileana should “begin weakening later on Tuesday and dissipate or become absorbed by John on Wednesday,” the National Hurricane Center said.