Will Hurricane Fausto reach Category 2 strength (winds ≥ 96 mph) on or before July 27, 2026?

Why: - Premise (Watchers, citing NHC Advisory No. 27): At 05:00 HST (15:00 UTC) on July 25, 2026, Hurricane Fausto had maximum sustained winds of 100 mph. Source states this explicitly and references the NHC advisory. → 100 mph is at least 96 mph. - Corroboration (Kauai Now, attributing to NHC): A 5 p.m. July 25 update from National Weather Service/NHC reported Fausto as Category 2 with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph. → Independent confirmation of ≥96 mph prior to the cutoff. - Premise (NHC product convention): NHC products refer to sustained (1-minute average) wind speeds (explicit in the Wind Speed Probabilities product). → The reported “maximum sustained winds” are 1-minute averages, matching the question’s metric. - Timing inference: July 25, 2026 is before 12:00 PM EDT (1600 UTC) on July 27, 2026. → Therefore, Fausto recorded ≥96 mph at an advisory time on or before the cutoff. Conclusion: YES, according to NHC, Fausto reached at least Category 2 (≥96 mph) before the specified deadline.