Hurricane Iselle Gains Strength in Pacific

Hurricane Iselle, tearing across the Pacific southeast of Hawaii, picked up strength overnight, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said Sunday.

Iselle was located some 1,615 miles (2,600 kilometers) east of Hilo, Hawaii moving west towards the islands at 10 miles (17 kilometers) per hour, the NHC said in its 0300 GMT bulletin.

"This motion is expected to continue for the next couple of days," the NHC said.

The storm has maximum sustained winds of 110 miles (175 kilometers) per hour, making it a Category Two hurricane on the five scale Saffir-Simpson scale.

The NHC's long-term forecasts has Iselle heading directly towards the Hawaii islands and reaching their Thursday or Friday, though it is unclear how strong it will be at that time.

Iselle "could strengthen a little bit more in the next day or so," the NHC said, "but weakening is forecast to begin by Monday."

Currently the Center has issued no coastal watches or warnings.