The Saffir-Simpson number is a wind bin. It is not a light switch.
Category 2 is 96โ110 mph. Category 1 is 74โ95. Tropical storm is 39โ73. Advisory 50 put Lowell at 90. NHC says it should become a tropical storm later today. โShouldโ is a forecast verb. Are occurring is the land verb โ hurricane conditions on Kauai, tropical-storm gusts on Oahu. Those two sentences can be true in the same hour.
Warnings stay until NWS takes them down. Not when a cousin sends a cone. Not when Lihue gusts fall from 75 to 47. A hurricane warning on Kauai County means hurricane conditions are still the official expectation in the warning area. A tropical storm later today, if it happens, still carries flood, surf, and outage.
Power is a third clock. Monday night Civil Beat had about 1 in 6 Kauai households dark. Tuesday morning KIUC had about 9 in 10. That is not a contradiction. That is the night. Beth Amaro: unlikely anyone is restored today. Inspect, then repair, then restore. Days or weeks is the question she did not answer yet.
Rain got a haircut, not a pardon. Additional Kauai 2โ4 inches now, down from 4โ8 at 2 a.m. Maximum storm totals still 24. Mountains do not care that the core is 145 miles northwest. Hanalei Bridge and Kekaha already have closed pavement.
What this means for you
If you are on Kauai, stay in a sturdy building and off flooded roads. If you are watching from the mainland, โit weakenedโ is a map fact. โThe island is fineโ is a guess. Check KIUC and Hawaiian Electric maps, not a group chat.
Bottom line: 90 is still a hurricane. Nine in ten is still dark. Later today as a tropical storm is a forecast. None of that opens the airport.
GLHR NEWS explains the news. Not investment, tax, or trading advice. Do your own work before you act.
