HONOLULU (Aug. 11) - Felicia was downgraded to a tropical depression Tuesday morning as it approached Hawaii with maximum sustained winds of about 35 mph, but a flash flood watch and a high surf warning remained in effect, forecasters said.
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NOAA / AP
Felicia, now a tropical depression, churns off the coast of Hawaii on Tuesday.
The former hurricane was expected to weaken more in the next two days. A tropical storm watch that remained in place as a precaution for Oahu and Maui County was canceled. At 11 a.m. Tuesday, the center of the depression was located 120 miles east of Maui and 210 miles east-southeast of Honolulu.
The storm was moving west near 9 mph on a track that would pass over the Hawaiian Islands later Tuesday and Wednesday, the Central Pacific Hurricane Center said.
Oahu and Maui County residents could expect winds increasing to up to 35 mph with gusts to 45 mph, they said.
The weather service cautioned that Felicia could still bring packets of heavy rainfall, leaving the flash flood watch in effect for Oahu, Kauai and Maui County.
A high surf warning also remained in effect for the east-facing shores of the islands, with wave heights reaching or exceeding 15 feet, forecasters said.
Meanwhile, a new tropical depression has formed in the Atlantic.
The new tropical depression is only the second of the Atlantic hurricane season and has maximum sustained winds near 30 mph. The depression is centered about 280 miles west of the southernmost Cape Verde Islands off Africa's western coast.
