Hawaii prepares for Hurricane Lowell as Category 3 storm nears islands
Hurricane Lowell is expected to pass west of Niihau and Kauai from Monday night, with officials warning of dangerous winds, flooding, mudslides, surf and possible tornadoes.
Hawaii is preparing for Hurricane Lowell, a Category 3 storm expected to track just west of Niihau and Kauai from Monday night. The United States National Hurricane Center has issued hurricane and tropical storm warnings for the island chain.
Lowell had maximum sustained winds of 195km/h and was about 895km south-west of Honolulu when reported. The storm was moving north at 9km/h, although forecasters cautioned that its track and intensity could change.
Forecast hazards include hurricane-force winds, heavy rain, flash flooding, mudslides, coastal flooding of up to 1 metre, dangerous surf and possible tornadoes. The National Weather Service said tornadoes can accompany tropical cyclones, typically forming in rain bands away from the storm’s centre.
Kauai Mayor Derek Kawakami has issued an emergency proclamation, while the island’s Emergency Management Agency urged residents to fill fuel tanks, charge devices, collect prescriptions and store food and water. Residents and visitors have been advised to prepare to remain sheltered for several days and to avoid the ocean and shoreline as conditions worsen.
The storm formed as a tropical depression on 27 August and has fluctuated between Category 3 and Category 5 strength. It reached 257km/h at Category 5 intensity before weakening. Kauai suffered billions of dollars in damage and six deaths during Hurricane Iniki, a Category 4 storm, in 1992.
A separate Category 1 storm, Hurricane Marie, was producing dangerous surf near southern California, Mexico and Baja California. The two systems are separate weather events.
