Hurricane Iona rapidly strengthened overnight into a Category 3 hurricane well south of the Hawaiian Islands and is expected to reach Category 4 intensity later today, forecasters said.

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.

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