Forecasters say Iona rapidly strengthened into a hurricane in the central Pacific Ocean and is expected to continue trekking toward the west over warm, open waters well south of Hawaii.

A major hurricane is churning in the Pacific Ocean several hundred miles away from Hawaii. The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Tuesday that Hurricane Iona is one of two major

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