Hawaii Residents Told to Prepare for Tropical Storm Conditions as Hurricane Lowell Passes West

Hawaii officials urged residents and visitors to prepare for heavy rain, flooding and possible mudslides as Hurricane Lowell passed west of the islands.

The National Hurricane Center issued a tropical storm warning for Kauai and Niihau. Lowell, a major Category 3 hurricane, was expected to travel north west of the islands late Monday and Tuesday. Forecasters said Kauai and Niihau could receive 6 to 10 inches of rain, with isolated totals of 14 inches. Hawaii’s Big Island was expected to get 4 to 8 inches, with some areas reaching 12 inches.

Lowell had maximum sustained winds of 120 mph and was about 545 miles south-southwest of Lihue, or 565 miles southwest of Honolulu. It was moving north at 6 mph. Hurricane-force winds extended up to 50 miles from the center, while tropical-storm-force winds reached as far as 175 miles.

The hurricane center warned that rainfall could trigger significant flash flooding and mudslides. Storm surge combined with tides could also flood normally dry coastal areas on Kauai with water rising as much as 3 feet.

“

We’ll lose some power, probably have some trees, a bunch of tree limbs coming down.

The Kauai Emergency Management Agency told residents to fill their gas tanks, charge devices, refill prescriptions and store enough food and water. It advised them to prepare to stay home for several days. In Lihue, where Kauai’s primary airport is located, residents stocked up as supermarket shelves emptied. Real estate agent Lori Benkert bought an extra 10-pound container of propane in case a power outage forced her to cook on a barbecue. She boarded up two houses on the island’s western side.

“We’ll lose some power, probably have some trees, a bunch of tree limbs coming down,” Benkert said. “Everybody is probably going just to hunker down.”

Hurricane Marie, meanwhile, produced dangerous surf conditions along the coasts of Mexico’s Baja California and Southern California. The Category 1 storm had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph and was moving northwest, with swells expected to create life-threatening surf and rip-current conditions over the following days.

“

Everybody is probably going just to hunker down.