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After Passing Hawaii, Hurricane Hector Could Turn Into a Typhoon. Here's Why.

At a Glance

Hurricane Hector is a powerful storm tracking through the central Pacific.
After it tracks south of Hawaii, it will continue moving to the west and northwest.
If it crosses the International Date Line, it will become Typhoon Hector.

Hurricane Hector will likely become a typhoon as it continues its westward track across the Pacific.

This does not mean a change in the type or intensity of the storm but simply a change in what it is referred to. This switch occurs when a tropical cyclone moves from one basin to another.

This can happen when a storm develops in the eastern or central Pacific and continues moving westward into the western Pacific.

How tropical cyclones are named in different parts of the globe.

Across the Pacific in the Northern Hemisphere, tropical cyclones with maximum sustained winds 39 to 73 mph are called tropical storms.

In the eastern and central Pacific, tropical cyclones that have maximum sustained winds of at least 74 mph are called hurricanes. When this happens in the western Pacific, which includes areas from eastern Asia to 180 degrees longitude, the International Date Line in this part of the Pacific Ocean, the term typhoon is used.

This change in designation occurs at specific locations, which align with specific agencies that are responsible for tropical cyclones in different parts of the world.

Most countries in the eastern hemisphere have their own forecast centers. Some of the major centers have been listed for their respective regions.

The National Hurricane Center monitors tropical activity in the Atlantic Basin and the Eastern Pacific Basin. Tropical cyclones that develop between 140 degrees west longitude and 180 degrees west longitude fall under the Central Pacific Hurricane Center's responsibility.

In the western north Pacific in areas west of 180 degrees longitude, several agencies monitor tropical development, including the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, Japan Meteorological Agency and Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration.

In this case, Hurricane Hector developed in the eastern Pacific and is now cruising through the central Pacific. After Hector passes south of Hawaii it will continue tracking to the west and then northwest into next week.

This will put it on a path across the International Date Line into the Western Pacific Basin where it would then be called Typhoon Hector.

Hector will be referred to as a typhoon instead of a hurricane if it crosses 180 degrees W Longitude.

This has happened before. In 2014, Hurricane Genevieve formed in the eastern Pacific as a tropical storm and became a hurricane in the central Pacific. It continued to track westward and crossed the International Date Line, becoming Typhoon Genevieve. It continued to strengthen and became Super Typhoon Genevieve.

Genevieve was the first tropical cyclone since Hurricane Dora in 1999 to track across all three (eastern, central and western) Pacific Basins. However, Dora crossed the International Date Line as a tropical storm.

A recent example of a storm that formed in the central Pacific and crossed into the western Pacific is Hurricane Kilo in 2015. Kilo is one of the longest-lived tropical cyclones on record with a lifespan of just over three weeks.

Many tropical cyclones do not survive the trek across the International Date Line because typically they take a more northerly path and encounter strong wind shear and cooler water temperatures by that point.