Hurricane Hilda continued to move steadily westward on Saturday and when it moved west of longitude 140°W, Hilda officially crossed into the Central Pacific.  At that time the responsibility for issuing advisories on Hilda shifted from the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center in Honolulu, Hawaii.  At 5:00 p.m. EDT on Saturday the center of Hurricane Hilda was located at latitude 13.7°N and longitude 143.5°W which put it about 870 miles (1400 km) east-southeast of Hilo, Hawaii.  Hilda was moving toward the west at 15 m.p.h. (24 km/h).  The maximum sustained wind speed was 140 m.p.h. (220 km/h) which made Hilda a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale and qualified it as a Major Hurricane.  There were wind gusts to 165 m.p.h. (270 km/h) and the minimum surface pressure was 946 mb.

Hilda is moving over water where the Sea Surface Temperature (SST) is near 28°C.  The upper level winds are light and there is not much vertical wind shear.  Although Hilda is a small hurricane, it is generating upper level divergence in all directions for the center.  Hilda will remain in a favorable environment for another day or so and it could intensify further during that time.  When it moves farther west, it will move into an area where upper level winds are blowing from the west.  Those winds will cause vertical wind shear and weaken Hilda.  Because of the small size of the circulation Hilda could weaken faster than a larger hurricane would.

A subtropical ridge is steering Hilda toward the west and that general steering pattern is expected to continue for another 24 to 48 hours.  When Hilda encounters the upper level westerly winds, those winds will deflect it onto a more northwesterly track.  When Hilda weakens and the thunderstorms do not extend as high, then winds in the lower levels will push it more toward the west again.