Hurricane Calvin to set a course toward Hawaii
Calvin, the third named storm of the 2023 East Pacific hurricane season, strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane southwest of Mexico Thursday morning. The storm experienced a rapid increase in wind intensity since Thursday and became a Category 3 hurricane on Friday.
AccuWeather forecasters say Calvin is located in an environment that could allow the storm to maintain strength this weekend prior to nearing Hawaii next week.
The system initially formed Tuesday well offshore of the southwestern coast of Mexico as a tropical depression. As the storm tracked westward into Tuesday, it encountered atmospheric conditions that were conducive for further development including warmer waters and low amounts of wind shear. Once the storm's maximum sustained winds reached 39 mph or higher, it was named Calvin by the NHC.
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This image of Hurricane Calvin over the eastern Pacific was captured on Friday, July 14, 2023. |
As of early Saturday morning, local time, Calvin was churning to the west-northwest at a speed of 16 mph. The storm had maximum sustained winds of 105 mph and was located about 1,285 miles from the southern tip of the Mexican state of Baja California. This made Calvin a Category 2 hurricane (sustained wind speeds of 96-110 mph) on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
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While some increase in intensity is still possible through Friday night, as the storm gets closer to Hawaii later on, Calvin is likely to enter an environment that will cause it to gradually lose wind intensity.
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"While cooler waters east of Hawaii will cause Calvin to lose wind intensity, Calvin can still threaten the Hawaiian Islands as a tropical rainstorm during the middle of next week.," AccuWeather Tropical Meteorologist Alex DaSilva explained, noting that this cooler water often prevents hurricanes from reaching the islands from the east.
"As Calvin approaches Hawaii, rough surf and rip currents can occur along east-facing beaches along with the potential for downpours and localized flooding," DaSilva added.
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Calvin has the potential to be the third hurricane of the season overall across both the Atlantic and East Pacific basins. So far, the only storms that have become hurricanes were Adrian and Beatriz. Both of those storms developed over the East Pacific.
The storm is not expected to track near any landmasses while at full strength. In fact, forecasters say Calvin is not expected to directly impact land at either hurricane or tropical storm force, as the cyclone will lose wind intensity as it journeys across the East Pacific.
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Some of the most recent named storms to impact the Hawaiian Islands were Darby in 2022; Linda in 2021; and Hurricane Douglas in 2020. |
Some of the most recent named storms to impact the Hawaiian Islands were Darby in 2022; Linda in 2021; and Hurricane Douglas in 2020.
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