Hurricane Lowell passing just west of Hawaii, bringing heavy rain, strong winds, punishing waves
Hurricane Lowell weakened Tuesday while skirting western Hawaii, bringing damaging winds, heavy rain, punishing waves and flash flooding, the National Hurricane Center said. The storm has also left tens of thousands of homes and businesses in the dark.
The hurricane, now a Category 1, had maximum sustained winds of 90 mph early Tuesday, after initially approaching the islands as a major Category 3 storm. It was expected to become a tropical storm later in the day.
Map shows Hurricane Lowell's path
As of the latest advisory at 5 a.m. Tuesday morning local time, Lowell was 145 miles northwest of Lihue, the county seat of Kauai County, which includes the islands of Kauai and Niihau, and 245 miles northwest of Honolulu. It was moving northward at 18 mph.
Hurricane-force winds extended outward as much as 70 miles from Lowell's center.
Lowell had the potential of pouring up to 2 feet of rain on parts of the chain as well as producing "life-threatening surf and rip current conditions" and even some tornadoes, the hurricane center said. It issued a hurricane warning for Kauai County and a tropical storm warning for the island of Oahu.
The warning extends to a large swath of the vast Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, which covers almost 583,000 square miles of ocean and includes 10 of Hawaii's islands.
A rare tornado watch was in effect overnight for Niihau and Kauai and their surrounding waters for tornadoes and waterspouts associated with Lowell, CBS Honolulu affiliate KGMB-TV reported.
Conditions were "very hazardous" late Monday night in both Kauai County and on Oahu, the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency said, adding that people in both places should shelter in place overnight.
Heavy rainfall
The hurricane center noted that Lowell was expected to produce additional rainfall totals of 4 to 8 inches for Kauai, with maximum storm totals of 24 inches possible. More than a foot of rain has already hit some areas.
Sundey Allan, a longtime resident of Kauai, told CBS news hat she had rented a beachfront house for her daughter's birthday just as Lowell began to stir up high waves and dump heavy rain on the island. She said they had been pulling outdoor furniture, trash cans and other items inside.
"Anything that could fly, we're going to try to protect," she said.
Allan was among the Kauai locals for whom Lowell has brought back memories of Hurricane Iniki, which devastated the area in 1992.
Other parts of Hawaii were bracing for ongoing heavy rain, too, as well as waves that could reach 20 or 30 feet high.
For the Big Island, an additional 3 to 8 inches of rain was expected, with as much as 12 inches possible in some areas. Oahu and Maui County could see an additional 2 to 5 inches of rain, with up to 10 inches in some areas.
"This rainfall may produce significant flash flooding and mudslides, especially across Kauai County and portions of the Big Island," the hurricane center said.
