Hurricane Lane intensifies to a Category 4 storm

CBS News August 18, 2018, 6:12 PM Hurricane Lane intensifies to a Category 4 storm

Hurricane Lane grew to a Category 4 storm on Saturday as it moved closer to the Central Pacific basin, the National Hurricane Center said. As of 2 p.m. ET on Saturday, Lane was located 1,135 miles east-southeast of Hilo, Hawaii.

The maximum sustained winds are 140 mph and hurricane-force winds can be felt 25 miles from the center of the storm, the National Hurricane Center said. Lane is moving west-northwest at about 15 mph, and it is expected to lose power as it continues west-northwest over the next few days.

The current forecast track has it passing south of Hawaii's Big Island, CBS Honolulu affilite KGMB reports.

There have already been strong storms in the Pacific Ocean in 2018, and the Pacific Ocean off San Diego hit a record high this month, CBS News' Jamie Yuccas reports. While hurricanes are virtually unheard of in California, there's now the potential this rare event could strike the San Diego area again.

"It could happen, especially if the ocean temperatures continue to stay in this anomalously warm state," said Art Miller, an oceanographer.

Scientists at the Scripps Pier have been recording historic temperatures in the Pacific Ocean as high as 79.5 degrees. That's about 10 degrees above normal.

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