Hurricane Lowell, a major Category 3 storm in the Pacific Ocean, has crept closer to the Hawaiian islands with forecasters warning the weather systems could unleash tornadoes on the islands of Kauai and Niihau.
On Sunday, the United States National Hurricane Center issued emergency hurricane and tropical storm warnings for the island chain, advising residents and visitors to brace for severe windstorms and possible mudslides as early as Monday night local time. Lowell is predicted to skirt just west of Hawaii’s most northwest main islands, Niihau and Kauai, as well as portions of the vast Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, tracking from south to north.
Mayor Derek Kawakami of Kauai issued an emergency proclamation in anticipation of the hurricane.
Kauai faces potential coastal flooding of up to 1 metre (3 feet) caused by rolling storm surges and unusually high tides.
The storm has been gradually pivoting toward the more rural islands in the Aloha state, moving north at 9 km/h (6 mph), according to the hurricane center. Lowell started as a tropical depression that formed over the Pacific Ocean on August 27. It was driven by a combination of warm ocean temperatures and an active El Nino pattern.
Lowell has seesawed between Category 3 and Category 5 intensity as its trajectory mushroomed. It first reached Category 5 intensity at 257 km/h (160 mph) on Wednesday morning local time, becoming the second Category 5 hurricane of the season. Only two other Pacific hurricanes in recorded history have regrouped to a Category 5 after losing strength mid-path: Emilia (1994) and Ioke (2006).
Ioke was the strongest ever recorded in the central Pacific, while the island of Kauai sustained billions in damage during Hurricane Inike, a 1992 Category 4 storm and the largest recorded in Hawaii’s history. Six people were killed.
Forecasters said Lowell could bring rainfall of 150mm to 250mm (6 to 10 inches), with maximum totals of 360mm (14 inches).
Lowell had maximum sustained winds of 195km/h (120 mph) and was pinpointed about 895km (about 555 miles) southwest of the state capital, Honolulu.
Local officials have been urging residents and visitors to prepare for a downpour of rain and fierce winds which could cause major flash flooding and hazardous mudslides.
According to the National Weather Service, tornadoes could accompany tropical cyclones. They typically occur in rain bands well away from the center of the storm.
Hawaii’s Big Island can expect as much as 100mm to 200mm (4 inches to 8 inches) of rain, with localized peaks reaching up to 305mm (12 inches).
Hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 85km (50 miles) from the centre while tropical storm-force winds extended outward up to 280km (175 miles).
Residents prepare for the worst
Kauai’s Emergency Management Agency urged residents to fill gas tanks, charge devices, refill prescriptions and store water and food ahead of the storm. The agency also said residents should be prepared to stay home for several days.
Swells generated from Lowell are expected to produce “life-threatening surf and rip current conditions”, according to a statement by the Kauai County government on Sunday evening. It urged visitors to stay out of the ocean and steer clear of the shoreline as coastal conditions rapidly worsen.
“Residents should not assume conditions will be limited to areas near the storm’s center,” the government said.
As panic-buying emptied supermarket shelves in Lihue on Kauai, residents of the 8,000-person airport town scrambled to stock up on food and water.
Real estate agent Lori Benkert bought an extra 4.5kg (10 pound) container of propane so that she could cook on the barbecue if power shut off. Benkert manages dozens of properties on Kauai and has boarded up two houses on the western side of the island.
“We’ll lose some power, probably have some trees, a bunch of tree limbs coming down,” Benkert told The Associated Press. “Everybody is probably going just to hunker down”.
Meanwhile, Category 1 Hurricane Marie churned 1,120km (695 miles) south-southwest of San Diego in southern California, bringing dangerous surf to the area and Mexico’s Baja coast. Packing 120km/h (75mph) sustained winds, the storm tracked northwest at 11km/h (7mph).
Even without coastal watches or warnings, updrafts from Marie will hit southwest Mexico, Baja California and Southern California over the next few days, creating pounding surf and dangerous rip currents.
The islands of Hawaii rarely experience tornadoes, averaging about one per year. Just 42 tornadoes were reported in the state between 1950 to 2018, according to Stephen Parker, a meteorologist with the weather service office in Honolulu.
