Hurricane Ignacio is now a cat 4 hurricane with winds of 140+mph and heading towards the Hawaiian Islands. It will weaken before arriving to a cat 1 hurricane with winds around 80mph. Hopefully, it will continue on its path North & East of us and we will get only high surf, mild winds, and some rain; but any change in the path can change the weather conditions tremendously. Hurricane Jimena is also a cat 4 hurricane but still very far from us. Currently, it is expected to have a smaller impact on our Islands, but again, that can change. Stay tuned to KNKR, 96.1fm for updates as well as right here at knkr.org. SUMMARY OF 500 PM HST...0300 UTC...INFORMATION ---------------------------------------------- LOCATION...17.0N 147.6W ABOUT 525 MI...845 KM ESE OF HILO HAWAII ABOUT 735 MI...1180 KM ESE OF HONOLULU HAWAII MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...140 MPH...220 KM/H PRESENT MOVEMENT...NW OR 315 DEGREES AT 9 MPH...15 KM/H MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...952 MB...28.12 INCHES A TROPICAL STORM WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR MAUI COUNTY. A TROPICAL STORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR... * MAUI COUNTY...INCLUDING THE ISLANDS OF MAUI...MOLOKAI...LANAI AND KAHOOLAWE. * HAWAII COUNTY A TROPICAL STORM WATCH MEANS THAT TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE WITHIN THE WATCH AREA...GENERALLY WITHIN 48 HOURS OF THE INITIAL ISSUANCE. INTERESTS ELSEWHERE IN THE MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS SHOULD CONTINUE TO CLOSELY MONITOR THE PROGRESS OF IGNACIO. FOR STORM INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA...PLEASE MONITOR PRODUCTS ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN HONOLULU HAWAII. DISCUSSION AND 48-HOUR OUTLOOK ------------------------------ AT 500 PM HST...THE EYE OF HURRICANE IGNACIO WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 17.0 NORTH...LONGITUDE 147.6 WEST. IGNACIO IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHWEST NEAR 9 MPH...15 KM/H...AND THIS MOTION IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. ON THE FORECAST TRACK...THE CENTER OF IGNACIO IS EXPECTED TO PASS TO THE NORTHEAST OF THE BIG ISLAND ON MONDAY. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 140 MPH...220 KM/H...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. IGNACIO IS A CATEGORY FOUR HURRICANE ON THE SAFFIR-SIMPSON HURRICANE WIND SCALE. LITTLE CHANGE IN INTENSITY IS EXPECTED TONIGHT AND A WEAKENING TREND IS EXPECTED TO BEGIN ON SUNDAY. HURRICANE FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 30 MILES...45 KM...FROM THE CENTER...AND TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 140 MILES...220 KM. THE ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS 952 MB...28.12 INCHES. SURF...LARGE SWELLS GENERATED BY IGNACIO WILL ARRIVE ALONG EAST AND SOUTHEAST FACING SHORES OF THE MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS. RESULTANT SURF WILL BE LARGE AND POTENTIALLY LIFE-THREATENING...ESPECIALLY ON THE BIG ISLAND LATER THIS WEEKEND AND EARLY NEXT WEEK.