Hurricane Lowell has battered the Hawaiian Islands, prompting urgent tornado and flash flood watches for more than one million residents and visitors.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) issued a series of alerts early Tuesday, including a severe flash flood warning and hurricane warning for Kauai and O’ahu, the island that includes the densely populated city of Honolulu.
Lowell remains a Category 2 hurricane, packing sustained winds of more than 100 mph.
A tornado watch is in effect for Kauai, the fourth-largest of Hawaii’s main islands, where roughly 100,000 residents and tourists are present on an average day. By 9am ET Tuesday, nearly 90 percent of the island was without power.
On O’ahu, where most of Hawaii’s population lives, another 26,000 customers have already lost electricity.
Several inches of rain are expected to fall across the entire state, including Hawaii’s Big Island and Maui, which are farther away from Lowell’s center.
As much as ten inches could fall over portions of the Big Island, and mudslides are feared to be a possibility Tuesday, just three weeks after more than 100 homes were destroyed by similar conditions during Hurricane Lala.
Hawaii Governor Josh Green has urged everyone in the hurricane’s path to stay indoors and avoid driving, especially in areas affected by severe flooding.
Hurricane Lowell has triggered flood, high surf and tornado warnings across the Hawaiian Islands on Tuesday
Hurricane Lowell has impacted the island of Kauai as a Category 2 storm with winds over 100mph
NHC has also warned that large waves created by the passing hurricane will unleash ‘life-threatening surf and rip current conditions’ throughout Tuesday and possibly into Wednesday as well.
Rip currents are strong, narrow channels of water that flow quickly away from the shore, often pulling swimmers out to sea. They can be deadly as they sweep people into deeper water, exhausting them as they try to fight against the current.
Hawaii has just moved out of the peak of the state’s summer travel season, which typically sees 250,000 vacationers visiting beaches and other tourist attractions on any given day from June to mid-August.
Conditions in the Pacific have been particularly chaotic this summer, as Hawaii has been under threat from multiple tropical storms and hurricanes throughout most of the travel season.
Lowell is the second hurricane in a month to have a significant impact on the island. In mid-August, Hurricane Lala was blamed for at least two deaths and billions of dollars in property damage – mainly across Hawaii’s Big Island.
Lowell, which approached Hawaii from the south, is passing just east of Kauai. However, the massive storm’s reach is expected to cause more damage and potentially life-threatening conditions in O’ahu – the state’s main population center.
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AccuWeather lead hurricane expert Alex DaSilva said: ‘The hurricane is passing close enough for rain and wind impacts to occur across the islands of Kauai, Ni’ihau and O’ahu on Tuesday. Heavy downpours can also occur across the rest of the islands, which will bring flash flooding and mudslides.’
‘Wind gusts of 40 to 60mph will continue across Oahu, with higher gusts of 60-80 mph across Kauai. Stronger winds of 80 to 90mph will continue to occur across Ni’ihau and the higher elevations of Kauai.’
Over 26,000 customers on the island of O’ahu were without power as of Tuesday morning
More than ten inches of rain are expected to fall in locations across the Hawaiian islands, including Kauai and the Big Island
Government offices and schools were closed ahead of the hurricane’s arrival, as coastal areas prepare for severe flooding.
‘Closing offices, schools and courts will help keep people off the roads during dangerous conditions and allow emergency crews to focus on protecting our communities,’ Governor Green said in a statement.
‘I urge everyone in Kaua’i County to remain indoors, avoid unnecessary travel and follow all official emergency instructions.’
On Monday, residents across the state attempted to stockpile last-minute supplies ahead of the powerful storm.
Shoppers on Kauai have rushed to stock up, leaving empty shelves, dwindling supplies of plywood and no propane at one Home Depot, while long lines formed at Costco and gas pumps.
Forecasters have been warning that this year’s Pacific hurricane season, which runs from May 15 to November 30, could be unusually intense.
The skyrocketing sea-surface temperatures caused by the weather phenomenon known as El Nino are believed to be a major cause.
Tropical cyclones feed off of warmer ocean waters and calmer winds, allowing them to organize into giant swirling storms and maintain their strength longer.
Hurricane hunters with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) gathered high-altitude data at 45,000 feet as Lowell approached Hawaii
Forecasters with AccuWeather predicted there would be 17 to 22 named storms across the Pacific this year.
Between nine and 13 of those are projected to be hurricanes, and as many as eight are predicted to reach ‘major hurricane’ status at Category 3 or greater.
So far, there have been 15 named storms in the Pacific this year. Six of those have reached hurricane status, including Lowell, and there are still nearly three months left in the season.