Iselle becomes a category 2 hurricane

Hurricane Iselle became a category 2 system on Saturday. Located about 1,675 miles east of Hilo, the ‘cane had 100 mile-per-hour winds Saturday afternoon.

Iselle has strengthened despite continued north-northeasterly windshear and could intensify still more on Sunday before beginning to weaken Monday, National Weather Service forecasters say. Hurricane force winds extend 25 miles from the center and storm force winds are reaching a radius of 105 miles.

Iselle was tracking west at nine miles per hour and is expected to encounter cooler ocean temperatures.

Genevieve, meanwhile, redeveloped into a tropical storm Saturday as it passes well to the south of the islands. About 600 miles south of the Big Island, the system is continuing a rapid west-southwest track away from Hawaii with sustained winds to 40 miles per hour and is expected to intensify over the the next several days. Storm force winds extend 70 miles from the center.

Iselle and Genevieve are part of a train of unsettled weather systems stretching through the Central and Eastern Pacific. Behind Iselle, about 700 miles southwest of Manzillo, Mexico, showers and thunderstorms around an area of low pressure are becoming better organized and have an 80 percent chance of becoming a tropical cyclone by Monday. The system is on a westward track at 10 miles per hour.

And ahead of Iselle, about 1000 miles southeast of Hilo, disorganized showers and thunderstorms are part of another low pressure system. It’s development is expected to be hampered by upper level winds and any intensification is expected to be slow as the system moves west at 12 miles per hour.