Look Out Hawaii, Here Comes Flossie!

[berni_mccoy]

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_ep4+shtml/144523.shtml?tswind120#contents

She was just upgraded to a 4 last night and continues to build strength.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070811/ap_on_re_us/tropical_weather

HONOLULU - Hurricane Flossie strengthened to a Category 4 storm Saturday as it spun more than 1,000 miles south of Hawaii.

The hurricane could pass by Hawaii late Tuesday or early Wednesday, forecasters said, but by then cooler waters should weaken Flossie considerably to a tropical storm.

At 5 p.m. EDT, Flossie had intensified with maximum sustained winds near 135 mph about 1,035 miles southeast of Hilo, Hawaii.

"Flossie continues to be an impressive system," the Central Pacific Hurricane Center said in a statement.

The storm, with gusts of 161 mph, was expected to weaken later in the day as it passed over cooler waters. It was traveling west at about 12 mph.

Jeff Powell, lead forecaster at the National Weather Service in Honolulu, said a "ramp up" of surf on the Big Island was expected late Monday.

[panader0]

1. Surf's up! Cowabunga!

[Solon]

2. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought hurricanes are only called that in the Atlantic...

In the Pacific and Indian oceans, I thought they were called typhoons.

[Jack Bone]

3. typhoons are southern hemisphere, I believe

hurricanes in the northern hemisphere...the difference is the spins of the storm, clockwise(northern) and counter-clockwise (southern)...I think thats the reason?

[Cha]

4. I was on Kauai when

Hurricane Iniki hit on 9/11/92 ..Cat 5!

It was a Hurricane!

Hope this passes by the Hawaiian Islands..they don't need no more stinking hurricanes.

[RL3AO]

5. Heres the list, no need to check it twice

Hurricanes in Atlantic, North East Pacific (East of 140W), North Central Pacific (140W to 180...where Flossie is)
Typhoons in North West Pacific (180 and to the west)
Cyclones in Indian Ocean and Southern Hemisphere.