Hurricane Iona was expected to move westward and does not pose any land threat to the Hawaiian Islands, forecasters said.

Andrew Austin-Adler, a student meteorologist specializing in tropical cyclones, said on X: "Strongest CPAC hurricane since WALAKA is inbound. Iona is on the fast track to reaching major hurricane strength - official forecast is 120mph which could be conservative."

Hurricane Iona is one of two major weather systems in the central Pacific Ocean. In its latest advisory, the Miami-based U.S. National Hurricane Center said Iona was about 735 miles (1,180 kilometers) away from Honolulu, with maximum sustained winds near 125 mph (205 kph).