Hurricane Kiko remains a powerful Category 4 hurricane far out in the East Pacific as it moves west toward the Hawaii islands on Wednesday evening.

As of 5 p.m., the hurricane had maximum sustained winds of 145 mph about 1,560 miles east-southeast of Hilo and moving west at 9 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

“This general motion is expected to continue through Thursday night,” according to the center’s 5 p.m. update. “A turn toward the west-northwest is expected on Friday, with a gradual increase in forward speed expected over the weekend as Kiko approaches the Hawaiian islands from the east.”

Kiko is a compact storm, with hurricane-force winds extending up to 25 miles from the center and tropical storm-force winds extending 80 miles.

On Monday, at the end of t

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