Hurricane Fausto Intensifies to Category 2, Heads Towards Hawaii; Tropical Storm Bertha Dissipates

A powerful Hurricane Fausto has intensified into a Category 2 storm in the Pacific Ocean, with forecasters predicting its approach towards the Hawaiian Islands next week.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami warned on Friday that while the risk of wind and rainfall impacts in the region is growing, it remains too early to pinpoint the precise location or potential severity of the storm's effects.

Fausto is currently situated far from any landmass, approximately 1,300 miles (2,090 kilometers) west of Mexico's Baja California peninsula and about 1,600 miles (2,575 kilometers) east of Hilo, Hawaii.

The hurricane is sustaining maximum winds of around 100 mph (161 kph).

Beyond Hawaii, the hurricane center also issued a warning that swells generated by Fausto could lead to dangerous surf and rip tides along parts of southern California's coastline.

Tropical Storm Bertha dissipates

This Pacific system develops as Tropical Storm Bertha, which recently brought significant surf and flooding to southern Louisiana and Texas after making a second landfall, has now dissipated.

It made two landfalls along the Gulf Coast, bringing heavy surf and some flooding to southern Louisiana and Texas. The system, which rapidly weakened on Thursday, left behind a lingering risk of flash flooding from its remnants across the region.

The National Hurricane Center confirmed Bertha's dissipation by late Thursday evening, though it noted that wind gusts of tropical storm force were still possible along the upper Texas coast. Water levels in the area were also expected to remain elevated due to storm surge. Its remnants are now projected to produce 1 to 3 inches of rainfall, with isolated totals reaching up to 4 inches, posing a flash flood threat for coastal and south Texas.

Bertha first impacted southern Louisiana on Wednesday, moving slowly westward. It made its second landfall on Thursday afternoon, approximately 75 miles northeast of Galveston, Texas, already having weakened considerably. The system remained a tropical storm for only a few hours before being downgraded to a depression, characterized by maximum sustained winds of 38 mph or less.

The storm's thick cloud cover also led to the postponement of SpaceX's planned Starship launch from the southern tip of Texas. The space-skimming test flight was subsequently rescheduled for Friday, anticipating clearer skies for the operation.

No deaths or significant damage have been reported since Bertha formed on Monday in the Gulf of Mexico south of the Florida Panhandle. While its center caused some coastal flooding during its initial strike in Louisiana southwest of New Orleans, the heaviest rains largely remained over Gulf waters before moving inland along Texas's southeastern coast on Thursday afternoon. Tropical storm force winds on Thursday extended as far as 140 miles from the storm’s center.

By evening, a tropical storm warning from Sargent, Texas, to the Vermilion and Cameron Parish line in Louisiana was officially discontinued, signaling the immediate threat had passed.