Olaf continues to strengthen in Eastern Pacific

Tropical Storm Olaf is expected to become a major hurricane by Monday morning, the National Hurricane Center said Saturday evening.

Located less than 1,800 miles southeast of the Big Island, Olaf was circulating 65 mph winds and heading west at 9 mph as of 5 p.m. Tropical storm-force winds extended outward from the storm’s center up to 60 miles. Forecasters added that a 17-mile wide eye appeared to be developing.

Continued strengthening was forecast for Olaf as the storm moves over warm waters and wind shear tapers off. Forecasters expected to upgrade Olaf to a hurricane late Saturday or Sunday, and to a major hurricane by Monday evening when the storm is located about about 1,300 miles southeast of the Big Island. A major hurricane has minimum sustained winds of 111 mph, which is the minimum threshold for a Category 3 storm.

Currently, forecast models indicate Olaf will peak as a Category 3 storm packing 115 mph winds Monday into Tuesday before southwesterly shear and dry air start to weaken the storm. However, there is a chance that the storm could intensify quicker than expected.

“Should this occur, Olaf could get significantly stronger than currently forecast,” the Miami-based forecasters said.

Forecasters Saturday were also monitoring a disturbance located several hundred miles off the coast of southern Mexico. The area of disorganized showers and thunderstorms is forecast to continue organizing, and a tropical depression is expected to form by the middle of the week.

In the Central Pacific, which is where Hawaii is located, no tropical cyclones are expected to develop through Monday evening.

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