Hurricane Lowell knocked out power to roughly 90% of Kauai on Tuesday morning.
The Category 2 storm slammed into Hawaii with sustained winds near 110 mph, hammering the western islands overnight before its effects spread across the entire state. Kauai took the brunt of it. Fierce winds tore through the island, leaving the vast majority of power customers in the dark. Another 26,000 customers lost electricity on Oahu, where nearly 1 million people live.
Lowell’s center stayed offshore, but the storm’s reach was wide enough to cause serious damage across multiple islands. Wind gusts hit roughly 80 mph in parts of Kauai. Downed trees, flooding, and debris made roads dangerous for anyone trying to travel through affected areas.
Special offer for our readers:
Hands Down Some Of The Best Credit Cards For Balance Transfers
According to the original report, forecasters issued hurricane warnings for Kauai and neighboring Niihau, while Oahu fell under a tropical storm warning. Flood and tornado alerts were also in effect for residents and visitors across the state.
The tornado threat was especially notable. Forecasters warned that several twisters were possible around Kauai and Niihau, with isolated tornadoes potentially forming elsewhere across the islands. Tornadoes are not a common concern during Hawaiian storms, making this aspect of Lowell’s impact particularly unusual.
Torrential rain compounded the wind damage, triggering flooding in multiple areas. The combination of high winds, heavy precipitation, and flying debris created hazardous conditions throughout the storm’s path.
Oahu, home to Honolulu and the largest concentration of Hawaii’s population, was spared the worst of the direct impact. But with more than 26,000 homes and businesses losing power, residents there felt Lowell’s effects clearly.
Kauai and Niihau bore the most serious consequences. Sitting in the path of the storm’s powerful core as it swept past the western islands overnight, Kauai faced the full force of Lowell’s winds. The near-total power outage there left most of the island without electricity as Tuesday morning arrived.
Hawaii’s emergency officials had positioned hurricane, tropical storm, flood, and tornado warnings ahead of the storm’s arrival, alerting both residents and tourists to the serious threat the system posed.
Lowell moved through the region as one of the more significant storms to threaten the Hawaiian Islands in recent memory, delivering a broad mix of dangerous conditions across a chain of islands already vulnerable to the rare but serious threat of a direct hurricane impact.
