Hurricane Fausto strengthens to Category 2, threatens Hawaii next week

Hurricane Fausto strengthened into a Category 2 storm over the Pacific Ocean, and forecasters expected it to approach the Hawaiian Islands next week. The National Hurricane Center and Central Pacific Hurricane Center had been issuing advisories and wind-speed probability products as the storm tracked west, putting Hawaii under watch for dangerous winds, heavy rain, high surf and flash flooding.

The forecast still carried real uncertainty. A Hawaii weather report on July 23 said Fausto was still more than 2,000 miles east of the islands, even as a July 24 update said the risk of some wind and rainfall impacts was increasing. Big Island Video News said forecasters were watching the storm with an eye toward the middle of next week, and the Central Pacific Hurricane Center identified Fausto as the first hurricane of the 2026 season in the basin.

Surf hazards were already building ahead of any direct approach. Hawaii weather coverage on July 22 said the islands were tracking a large south swell first, then a hurricane swell from Fausto, and a July 24 update put waves at 8 to 12 feet overnight along south-facing shores. That same update said a reinforcement swell could keep waves at 10 feet or more through the next day, while a Fausto-generated swell was expected along east shores.

Officials were also focusing on basic preparedness, not just storm track maps. The County of Hawai‘i Department of Water Supply warned on July 23 that customers should prepare for an approaching storm because electrical outages could interrupt water service equipment, a practical risk for households and businesses on the Big Island if power went down. Hawaii’s hurricane season runs from June 1 through November 30, and the storm’s approach came with the familiar mix of flight concerns, rough seas, possible supply disruptions and the chance that evacuation plans could have to move quickly if the forecast tightened.

Fausto’s rapid strengthening also matched the central Pacific’s pattern of fast-changing storms over warm water, where a few days can make the difference between a distant disturbance and a serious threat. For Hawaii, the next several days were set to determine whether Fausto passed offshore with rough surf or brought a more disruptive close approach.