Schools Superintendent Kathryn Matayoshi announced today that all public schools on Oahu and Kauai will be closed Friday in anticipation of Hurricane Iselle, which is expected to impact the island as a tropical storm.

It was previously announced that all schools on the Big Island and Maui County will be closed both Thursday and Friday.

At 8 a.m. Thursday, the most recent storm update available, Hurricane Iselle was located about 255 miles east-southeast of Hilo and was moving west-northwest at 17 miles per hour. It had maximum sustained winds of 80 miles per hour, weakened slightly from the 2 a.m. forecast, with higher gusts of up to 98 miles per hour. Iselle remains a Category 1 hurricane.

On the forecast track, the center of Iselle is expected to pass near the center of the Big Island near Cape Kumukahi on Thursday night, then pass just south of the smaller islands Friday. Some weakening is forecast during the next 48 hours, and Iselle is expected to be at tropical storm strength as it passes near or over the Big Island.