Within the last few weeks, Hawaii has dealt with two catastrophic hurricane impacts; the first was on the Big Island from Hurricane Lala, and then most recently was Hurricane Lowell which impacted Kauai. Now people in Hawaii are on edge as a new tropical cyclone named Norbert is developing in the eastern Pacific.

According to the latest advisory issued by the National Hurricane Center, Norbert was located about 1,935 miles east of Hilo, Hawaii at 16.8 N 125.7 W. With maximum sustained winds of 65 mph, the storm has a minimum central pressure of 996 mb or 29.42″.

Norbert is moving toward the west near 14 mph  and is expected to turn toward the west-northwest over the next couple of days. Some strengthening is forecast during the next 48 hours, and Norbert could become a hurricane this weekend.

Norbert is forecast to head in the general direction of Hawaii, but it is too soon to say with a high degree of confidence whether there will be any direct or indirect impacts to the Aloha State from this latest tropical cyclone.

The National Weather Service office in Honolulu on the island of Oahu, which is responsible for forecasts and advisories for the Aloha State, is monitoring the storm. In their latest Forecast Discussion, they write, “Eyes remain fixed on Tropical Storm Norbert…as it slowly advances westward at 14 mph. Any potential arrival in the vicinity of the Hawaiian Islands is at least 10 days away.” They add, “Forecast uncertainty is characteristically high at that lead time and it will be several days before confidence in impacts, or lack thereof, improves.”

For now, the official National Hurricane Center forecast brings it to hurricane status this weekend but weakens the system back to tropical storm status by Monday. By Wednesday it’ll be inching closer to the Big Island of Hawaii, but still hundreds of miles away.