UPDATE: Noon

Holding steady, Tropical Storm Kiko is continuing on it course toward the Central Pacific.

With maximum sustained winds of 40 mph, Kiko was centered about 2,614 miles east-southeast of Hilo as of 11 a.m. today and heading west at 9 mph, the National Hurricane Center said.

Gradual strengthening is forecast during the next couple of days, and Kiko is expected to approach hurricane strength late this weekend, the NHC said. Kiko is forecast to continue on its current trajectory through Monday.

Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 90 miles from Kiko’s center.

5 a.m.

Although it didn’t strengthen overnight, Tropical Storm Kiko is still expected to become a hurricane this weekend.

With maximum sustained winds of 40 mph, Kiko was centered about 2,667 miles east-southeast of Hilo as of 5 a.m. today and heading west-northwest at 10 mph, the National Hurricane Center said.

Some strengthening is forecast during the next 48 hours, and Kiko is expected to approach hurricane strength later this weekend, the NHC said. Kiko is forecast to continue on its current trajectory through Monday.

Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 90 miles from Kiko’s center.

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Tropical Storm Kiko, formerly a tropical depression in the East Pacific, is expected to strengthen into a hurricane this weekend before weakening over cooler waters, according to the National Hurricane Center.

In its latest advisory, the center said Kiko was about 495 miles south, southwest of the southern tip of Baja, Calif., with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph.

Forecasters said Kiko is moving west-northwest at about 12 mph and is expected to continue moving in that direction at a slower speed over the next few days. Tropical-storm-force winds extend up to 90 miles from Kiko’s center.

Forecasters are also keeping an eye on several other disturbances in the East Pacific, including a tropical wave a few hundred miles southwest of Acapulco, Mexico. An area of low pressure is expected to form west of Central America over the weekend, with a possible tropical depression forming by early next week.