Iona strengthens into major hurricane south of Hawaii as Tropical Storm Keli follows

HONOLULU – Hurricane Iona strengthened into a Category 3 storm hundreds of miles southeast of Honolulu late Monday night local time, as Tropical Storm Keli follows on Iona’s heels several hundred miles to its east in the Central Pacific Ocean.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Iona’s maximum sustained winds reached 115 mph, above the 111-mph threshold for a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.

Hurricane Iona is currently located roughly 790 miles southeast of Honolulu. It is moving west at 13 mph and does not pose any threat to land. 

According to the NHC, it is expected to continue strengthening Tuesday before beginning to weaken Wednesday.

Iona is the first hurricane in the Central Pacific Basin this season and the first July hurricane in the basin since Darby in 2022.

The NHC said Hurricane Iona is expected to stay well south of the Hawaiian Islands.

Tropical Storm Keli moves west following Hurricane Iona’s trail

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Keli, which formed late Monday morning, is several hundred miles north and east of Hurricane Iona.

Keli’s maximum sustained winds are 40 mph, and it is situated roughly 960 miles southeast of Hawaii.

Keli is following a similar track to Iona and does not pose any threat to land.

Unlike Iona, the forecast calls for Keli to maintain tropical storm strength through midweek before weakening to a tropical depression.

Neither Iona nor Keli are expected to have any impacts on Hawaii outside of some enhanced wave heights.