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Hurricane Lowell, currently a Category 2 storm, hit western Hawaii on Monday, prompting several warnings for the chain of islands, CBS reports.
The Miami-based National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane warning for the islands of Kauai and Niihau and tropical storm warnings for Oahu as Lowell gets closer to land. The hurricane is expected to pass over the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, a massive conservation area that covers almost 583,000 square miles of ocean and 10 Hawaiian islands. The National Hurricane Center says Lowell’s centre will move west of the main Hawaiian Islands on Monday night, then will slow down Wednesday as it passes them.
Storm weakening, but still strong
Early Monday, Hurricane Lowell was classified as a Category 3 storm, but is expected to weaken Tuesday, the centre said, adding, “However, Lowell is forecast to remain a hurricane as it passes near the Hawaiian Islands.”
Hurricane-force winds could gust up to 60 miles from the storm’s centre and bring major amounts of rainfall, between 6 to 10 inches for Kauai and up to 16 inches in other areas. The Big Island could see up to 12 inches of rain, with Oahu and Maui County seeing up to 10. “Significant” flash floods and mudslides are possible, the centre said, especially in Kauai County and parts of Big Island.
Lowell could bring a storm surge causing “life-threatening surf and rip current conditions across many of the Hawaiian Islands.” Worse yet, tornadoes could hit Kauai and Niihau through Monday night, with a few twisters across the rest of Hawaii, the centre said.
Lowell started as a tropical depression over the Pacific Ocean on Aug. 27 and was driven by warm ocean temperatures and an El Nino pattern. At one point, it reached Category 5 intensity, with winds reaching up to 257 km/h.