Lane becomes sixth hurricane of of 2018 Pacific season

It’s now Hurricane Lane.

As of 5 p.m. today, the center of Lane was about 1,780 miles east southeast of Hilo. The Category 1 hurricane was packing maximum sustained winds of 75 mph with higher gusts. Hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 15 miles from the center with tropical-storm-force winds extending outward up to 60 miles from the center.

The storm was moving west at 15 mph.

The sixth hurricane of the 2018 season, Lane is expected to become a major hurricane, with maximum sustained winds higher than 110 mph, at about 5 p.m. Friday and cross into the Central Pacific at about 5 p.m. Saturday.

The storm is currently forecast to pass south of Big Island either late Tuesday or early Wednesday.