Hurricane Lowell scrapes Niihau as Kauai schools shut and surf hits 20 feet

Hurricane Lowell’s core passed near Niihau and just west of Kauai overnight into Tuesday, 8 September, after a track that kept sliding east. Barking Sands and Lihue Airport recorded hurricane-force gusts. Tropical-storm gusts reached several sites on Oahu. The National Hurricane Center placed the centre near 21.9 north, 160.8 west at 11:00 p.m. Hawaii time on Monday, moving north-northeast at 18 mph.

All 15 public schools on Kauai, plus Niihau High and Elementary, closed on Tuesday. Honolulu Ocean Safety put extra lifeguards and jet skis on Oahu’s south and west shores after south-shore surf built to 12 to 20 feet. South shores of Kauai and Niihau were warned of 20 to 30 foot waves. A flood watch covered the main islands through 8 September. Flash flooding and mudslides were the stated risk for Kauai County and parts of the Big Island.

Warnings stacked in sequence

Governor Josh Green declared a state of emergency on 3 September for Lowell and a possible follow-on from Karina. The state activated 129 National Guard members and sent six high-water vehicles to Kauai. Two state parks were cleared of campers on 4 September. The hurricane watch for Papahanaumokuakea and the tropical storm watch for Kauai County were upgraded to warnings as the cone moved east. Kauai later received a hurricane warning. Oahu received a tropical storm warning.

Early on 8 September UTC, the Weather Service issued a tornado watch for Kauai County and adjacent waters. Local records treat that as the first tornado watch ever issued for Hawaii. Wind gusts on Kauai were reported up to 80 mph in some accounts as the closest pass arrived. Lowell had already weakened below major hurricane strength on 7 September as shear rose and water temperatures fell, but the western islands still sat inside the damaging-wind and surf field.

What the pass leaves behind

The storm was expected to turn more north later on Tuesday, taking the core away from the populated chain while leaving large swell and rain. Periods of heavy rain were forecast through Wednesday. For a state that rarely sees hurricane warnings on the main islands, the operational list is short and specific: school closures on Kauai and Niihau, extra ocean patrols on Oahu, a first-ever tornado watch, and a Guard deployment that began five days before the closest approach.

Lowell did not have to make landfall on Oahu to matter. It had to pass west of Niihau with a large wave field and a wet, sheared core. That is what Tuesday morning recorded.