Jimena Stays Clear of Hawai’i, Brings Continous Large Surf

By: Jamilia Epping

Tropical Storm Jimena began to turn to the west-northwest Monday morning and remains clear of Hawai’i as it remains far off to the northeast. However, Jimena is impacting Hawaiian waters, especially on east and northeast facing shores. Large and powerful long-period swells continue to hold on, creating hazardous and potentially damaging surf across the state. The high surf is expected to begin to taper off Monday night and into Tuesday.

As of the Central Pacific Hurricane Center’s 5 a.m. update, Tropical Storm Jimena was about 545 miles north-northeast of Hilo, moving at about 7 miles per hour to the west-northwest. The general shift in movement should continue throughout the day Monday before taking a turn towards the west on Monday night and lasting through Tuesday.

Tropical Storm Jimena is holding on to tropical storm force winds at 50 miles per hour, however, weakening is expected to continue gradually before Jimena becomes a tropical depression on Tuesday and a remnant low by Thursday.