Hurricane warning issued for western Hawaii as Lowell approaches

Hurricane Lowell, a major Category 3 storm, approached western Hawaii early Monday with powerful 115-mph winds, triggering a hurricane warning for the islands of Kauai and Niihau. The National Hurricane Center also issued a tropical storm watch for the island of Oahu as Lowell tracked closer to land.

The hurricane warning extends to parts of the vast Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, which covers almost 583,000 square miles of ocean and 10 of Hawaii’s islands. Lowell is expected to pass over portions of the national monument as it travels past the island chain.

The Miami-based hurricane center forecasts that Lowell’s center will move just west of the main Hawaiian Islands, near Niihau, on Monday night, then slow down by early Wednesday after passing them.

“Gradual weakening is expected through Tuesday. However, Lowell is forecast to remain a hurricane as it passes near the Hawaiian Islands,” the center said.  

Hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 60 miles from the storm’s center.

Lowell could bring huge amounts of rain to various islands, the hurricane center said, with forecasters estimating between 6 and 10 inches of rainfall for Kauai and, potentially, up to 16 inches in some areas. The Big Island could see 4 to 8 inches of rainfall, with up to 12 inches possible, while Oahu and Maui County could see 4 to 8 inches, with up to 10 inches possible depending on the location.

That rain could bring “significant” flash flooding and mudslides, especially in Kauai County and parts of Hawaii’s Big Island, the center stressed.

In addition, Lowell could hit Kauai County with a storm surge of up to 4 feet, according to the center, and bring “life-threatening surf and rip current conditions across many of the Hawaiian islands.” Up to a foot of storm surge could materialize on Oahu.

What’s more, several tornadoes could be spawned near Kauai and Niihau Monday afternoon through Monday night, the center said, and a few twisters are possible across the rest of Hawaii, the center pointed out.