Hurricane Iona was expected to move westward and does not pose any land threat to the Hawaiian Islands, forecasters said.

Andrew Austin-Adler, a student meteorologist specializing in tropical cyclones, said on X: "Strongest CPAC hurricane since WALAKA is inbound. Iona is on the fast track to reaching major hurricane strength - official forecast is 120mph which could be conservative."

A major hurricane was churning across the Pacific Ocean but was several hundred miles south-southeast of Hawaii and posed no threat to the islands, forecasters said Tuesday. Hurricane Iona is one of two major weather systems in the central Pacific Ocean.