Updated
Updated · The Associated Press · Aug 31
Hurricane Karina Reaches Category 4 With 145 Mph Winds as Lowell Nears Hurricane Strength
Updated
Updated · The Associated Press · Aug 31

Hurricane Karina Reaches Category 4 With 145 Mph Winds as Lowell Nears Hurricane Strength

3 articles · Updated · The Associated Press · Aug 31

Summary

  • Karina rapidly intensified into a Category 4 hurricane Monday, packing 145 mph winds about 1,020 miles west-southwest of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula.
  • Warm offshore Pacific waters fueled the strengthening after Karina became a hurricane Sunday, and forecasters said additional strengthening was possible before intensity fluctuates.
  • No coastal watches or warnings were in effect because the storm was moving west far from land, though waves were expected to affect Mexico and likely Southern California.
  • Lowell, elsewhere in the Pacific, was a 60 mph tropical storm about 855 miles east-southeast of Hilo and could become a hurricane by Monday night or Tuesday.
  • That system also posed no immediate land threat, but forecasters said it could be near the Hawaiian Islands later this week.

Insights

Could a sudden track shift turn this distant Pacific storm into an unexpected nightmare for Hawaii?
What hidden ocean forces are fueling these Pacific monster storms before they unleash deadly coastal swells?