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Hurricane Lowell Threatens Kauai and Niihau With Hurricane Warning

A closer forecast track raises the chance of life‑threatening winds, flash floods, coastal surge, tornadic storms.

A child throws a rock toward the ocean at Makapu’u Beach Park in Honolulu, Hawaii, on September 6, 2026. Hawaii is preparing for the effects of Hurricane Lowell, which could brush by the state's westernmost islands from the evening of September 7, even as its exact path remains unclear. The storm was passing south of the island chain on September 4 but is set to swing north over the US Labor Day long weekend, possibly putting Kauai and Niihau islands near its center, according to the latest forecast from the National Hurricane Center (NHC). (Photo by Michelle Bir / AFP)
Hawaii braces for Hurricane Lowell
A view of the Northern Pacific GOES satellite image taken at 1510 UTC, Sept. 7, 2025, showing Tropical Storm Marie as the sun rises, and Hurricane Lowell barreling toward Hawaii, still in nighttime. (Image credit: NOAA/RAMMB/Colorado State University)
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Overview

  • Lowell is a Category 3 hurricane with roughly 115 mph sustained winds and a Hurricane Warning in effect for Kauai County, with forecasters saying the storm will pass just west of Kauai and Niihau late Monday into early Tuesday.
  • The National Hurricane Center expects 6 to 10 inches of rain on Kauai with isolated totals up to 14–16 inches, 4 to 8 inches on the Big Island, and 4 to 6 inches on Oahu, creating high risk of flash flooding and mudslides.
  • Officials accelerated preparations on Monday by opening shelters, urging residents to be off roadways by midday, suspending flights to Lihue, and reporting emptied store shelves and some scattered power outages.
  • Niihau and windward mountain slopes face heightened danger because the island may be closest to Lowell’s core and orographic lift can concentrate extreme rainfall and trigger landslides in steep terrain.
  • Forecasters warn that small shifts in Lowell’s track could materially change which islands get the worst effects, and they expect gradual weakening after the closest pass while urging residents to monitor NHC updates and local emergency instructions.