The upgrade landed before dawn.
The Central Pacific Hurricane Center at 2 a.m. HST put Kauai County โ Kauai and Niihau โ under a hurricane warning. That is the same product already up for Papahanaumokuakea from Nihoa to French Frigate Shoals. Hurricane conditions are expected this afternoon or evening. Last nightโs board was a tropical-storm warning and a watch. This is the next word.
Hurricane Lowell is still a Category 3: 115 mph sustained, down from 120 Sunday, 415 miles southwest of Lihue, 445 southwest of Honolulu, moving north-northeast at 10 mph. Pressure 950 mb. Hurricane-force winds reach 60 miles. Tropical-storm-force winds reach 175. The center is still forecast west of the main islands tonight. Gradual weakening is on the table. A hurricane is still on the table when it passes.
Rainbands are already spreading over Kauai and Oahu. That is not the Monday night graphic. That is now.
What the county opened
Five last-resort refuge sites, with the Red Cross, from 5 p.m. Sunday: Kilauea Neighborhood Center, Kapaa Middle School, Kauai High School Gym, Kalaheo Neighborhood Center, Waimea Canyon Middle School. Bring your own bedding, meds, food, water. Pets in crates. Hotels are supposed to keep guests. About 25,000โ30,000 visitors may be on-island. Do not check out, miss a flight, and land on a gym floor.
Mayor Derek Kawakami: โno shortness of aloha at its best.โ For people who lived Iniki, he said, this feels familiar โ and the way through it is still each other. KIUC still wants you planning for outages Monday into Tuesday. Text KAUAIEMA to 888777. Call 911 only for a real emergency.
Rain: Kauai 6โ10 inches, isolated 14. Oahu 4โ6, isolated 8. Big Island 4โ8, isolated 12. Maui 2โ4, isolated 8. Surge: Kauai County 1โ3 feet, Oahu up to 1. Several tornadoes possible near Kauai and Niihau this afternoon through tonight. South and west shores: life-threatening surf.
What this means for you
If you are on Kauai or Niihau, the warning is the last boring hour. Stay in a sturdy building. Stay off the roads. Stay out of the water. If you have a western-islands flight today, treat it as cancelled until the airline says otherwise. If you are watching from the mainland, a 415-mile headline is not a landfall headline. The county text is.
Bottom line: hurricane warning. Rainbands on the islands. Wind this afternoon. The picnic on the mainland does not change that.
GLHR NEWS explains the news. Not investment, tax, or trading advice. Do your own work before you act.
