Hurricane Lowell barrels toward Hawaii — issued to Category 3 as heavy rain, flash floods pound islands

Powerful Hurricane Lowell is barreling toward Hawaii and is expected to make a dangerously close pass by the state’s western islands as heavy rain associated with the Category 3 hurricane has already triggered flash flooding on Oahu and damaging surf is pounding Hawaii’s southern shores.

A Hurricane Warning was issued for Kauaʻi County late Sunday, Hawaii time. 

The Hurricane Warning also covers parts of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, a chain of smaller islands and atolls northwest of Hawaii’s populated islands.

Lowell remains a powerful Category 3 storm, with maximum sustained winds of 115 mph. It’s 455 miles southwest of Lihue and is moving north-northeast at 10 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).

Lowell is expected to produce more heavy rain, flash flooding, gusty winds and damaging surf across the entire state, forecast to make its closest approach late Monday into early Tuesday.

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green declared a state of emergency last Thursday in preparation for the storm.

Rain from Lowell’s outer bands is lashing Kauaʻi and Oahu overnight Sunday.

Rain associated with Lowell had already triggered flash flooding along the Kamehameha Highway north of Waikane in Oahu on Sunday afternoon.

Hurricane Lowell peaked as a Category 5 storm last Wednesday with winds up to 160 mph, before weakening to a Category 3, then a Category 4, storm by Thursday and Friday, respectively.

Looking ahead as forecasters track the path of Lowell, the consensus amongst computer models predicts the hurricane will pass to the west of Hawaii and avoid a direct hit to the state.

“Lowell is currently steered by an upper-level trough/low north of the Hawaiian Chain, which is pulling Lowell sharply northward,” the FOX Forecast Center said. “Current tracks place the center around 100 to 150 miles West/Southwest of Kauaʻi during its closest pass.”

Despite predictions that the storm will pass offshore, Lowell’s large tropical-storm wind field means the Western Hawaiian Islands will still experience significant impacts.

The timing and early impacts for Oahu will kick off Monday afternoon, when tropical-force wind gusts of up to 30 to 40 mph will lash Oahu, along with heavy rainfall.

As the storm tracks closer to the state, rough surf and waves as high as 20 feet will be possible along the south and west-facing coastal areas of Kauai and Oahu, helping fuel a coastal flood threat.

By Tuesday, Lowell will begin to accelerate north before weakening, as tropical-storm-force winds will also decrease by the evening.

As these powerful winds continue to decrease, the rough surf crashing along the Hawaiian Islands will also lessen.

Despite this, a flood threat will still exist as around 5 to 8 inches of rain will have fallen across portions of the state, with some localized amounts closer to a foot.