Tropical Storm Nora forms far southeast of Big Island

Tropical Storm Nora, the 14th named storm of the 2015 Eastern Pacific hurricane season, formed Friday afternoon far southeast of the Big Island.

Located 1,470 miles east-southeast of the Big Island, Nora was circulating 40 mph winds and tracking west at 16 mph as of 5 p.m. Friday, National Hurricane Center forecasters said. Tropical storm-force winds extended outward up to 45 miles from its center.

Steady strengthening is expected this weekend as Nora moves over very warm waters and encounters little wind shear. Forecasters expect to upgrade Nora to a hurricane as early as Sunday evening after it enters the Central Pacific on Saturday. Current forecast models have Nora peaking as a Category 1 hurricane packing 90 mph winds on Monday evening about 800 miles east-southeast of the Big Island.

Thereafter, the storm will likely make a turn toward the west-northwest Monday evening and begin to weaken.

“It’s expected to turn toward the north. The models are doing pretty good with having it turn there,” said Matt Foster, a meteorologist with the Central Pacific Hurricane Center. Nora is then expected to continue heading north toward British Columbia, Washington and Oregon.

“Right now, we can say there is no threat to the islands, but we should keep an eye on it and see if it changes,” Foster added.

Elsewhere in the Eastern Pacific, shower and thunderstorm activity about 500 miles south-southeast of the Gulf of Tehuantepec picked up Friday. Development of the low pressure system is expected during the coming days, and the area of low pressure has a 60 percent chance of becoming a tropical depression within five days.

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