Weatherfreak000 wrote:I think I can with safety say the "Major Cat 4" predictions given earlier just aren't going to happen.
SSTs don't really support a storm that strong:
SST map
Maximum Potential Intensity
Tropical Cyclone Heat Potential
As you can see, the TCHP is much less over that part of the Pacific than it is over the GoM and Caribbean (and western Pacific, for that matter). Any storm really needs to be south of 15N if it's west of 120W to have much of an opportunity to become a major hurricane. That's partly the reason why it's difficult to get a hurricane or even a strong tropical storm into Hawaii, and it's probably easiest if the cyclone comes at Hawaii from the south or southwest.