The Saffir-Simpson number finally let go.
Tropical Storm Lowell, Advisory 53, 11 p.m. HST Tuesday: 65 mph, 390 miles north-northwest of Lihue, moving north at 14 mph. Pressure 981 mb. Tropical-storm-force winds still reach 255 miles. No coastal watches or warnings. Gradual weakening. A slow turn northwest, then west, Wednesday into Thursday.
Yesterday at 11 a.m. HST this was still a hurricane at 75. 70 at 5 p.m. 65 at 11 p.m. That is the pass turning into a remnant on the map. NHCโs land hazard in this package is almost only surf: life-threatening swells and rip currents for the next day or so on exposed Hawaiian coasts. Next complete advisory: 5 a.m. HST.
A tropical storm is 39โ73 mph. A hurricane is 74 and up. 65 is not a souvenir. It is also not an excuse to paddle out. Brown water and closed roads are county facts. The cone is a marine fact.
What this means for you
If you are on Kauai, the wind warning was already down. The water is still a no. If you are on Oahu, the swell does not care that school is back. If you needed the category to drop, it dropped overnight.
Bottom line: tropical storm. 390 miles out. Surf still lethal. The hurricane name is history. The island is not.
GLHR NEWS explains the news. Not investment, tax, or trading advice. Do your own work before you act.
