Two tropical depressions are entering the Central Pacific, one of which is projected to briefly become a hurricane by the end of the week. The National Weather Service predicts that Tropical Depression Douglas will reach hurricane status between Wednesday and Thursday this week while continuing west-northwest toward the Big Island.
However, it also predicts Douglas will quickly weaken in strength to become a tropical storm between Friday and Saturday, when it is expected to still be well east of Hawaii.
As of Monday afternoon, the depression was approximately 2,260 east-southeast of Hilo with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph.
At the same time, Tropical Depression Seven-E was 1,500 miles east of Hilo, but is expected to fizzle out before the end of the week.