After reaching hurricane intensity the following day, the tropical cyclone underwent rapid intensification, and late on July 19, Emilia reached its record peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 160 mph (260 km/h) and a minimum barometric pressure of 926 mbar (926 hPa; 27.3 inHg), rating it as a Category 5 hurricane.

After slight oscillations in strength, an upper-level trough forced the intense hurricane northwest on July 21, and Emilia began to weaken thereafter.

The tropical cyclone encountered an area of vertical wind shear and cool sea surface temperatures, which further weakened the system.

The following day, Emilia made its closest approach to the Big Island of Hawaii but subsequently weakened to below hurricane intensity.

Though the hurricane did not make landfall, Emilia brought strong surf to the Hawaiian Islands and caused gusty winds, which resulted in some property damage.

On June 29, a weak tropical wave exited the west African coast and traversed the Atlantic, showing no signs of organization or convective activity.

Moving within the Intertropical Convergence Zone, the tropical disturbance remained inactive until July 14, when it developed into an area of low pressure roughly 2,110 mi (3,400 km) east-southeast of the Hawaiian Islands.

[2][3] Initially, forecasts significantly underestimated the intensification of Emilia,[1] which was one of three tropical cyclones to attain Category 5 status in the central Pacific during the season.

[1] Tropical cyclone forecast models consistently predicted Emilia to remain south of the Hawaiian Islands because of the upper troughs' climatologically weak nature during the summer.

[3] International observatories and the Keck Telescope on the top of Mauna Kea were forced to close their domes due to the high winds.