Politics
Blue State Loses Power As Hurricane Pounds US Shores; Weather Service Issues Urgent Warning
Hurricane Lowell battered Hawaii on Tuesday after roaring toward the islands as a Category 2 storm, knocking out power to most of Kauai and unleashing dangerous winds, torrential rain and flooding across the state.
Lowell was packing sustained winds of roughly 110 mph as its powerful core passed near the western Hawaiian Islands overnight, triggering hurricane, tropical storm, flood and tornado alerts for residents and tourists.
Kauai and neighboring Niihau were placed under hurricane warnings, while Oahu, home to Honolulu and nearly 1 million people, was under a tropical storm warning.
The Hurricane’s center remained offshore, but its sprawling reach was enough to hammer the islands with damaging winds and heavy rain.
Kauai took some of the worst punishment. Roughly 90% of the island’s power customers were left without electricity Tuesday morning as fierce winds ripped through the area.
Another 26,000 customers lost power on Oahu, where the vast majority of Hawaii’s population lives.
Lowell also brought an unusually serious tornado threat to the state, with forecasters warning that several tornadoes were possible around Kauai and Niihau and that isolated twisters could develop elsewhere.
Wind gusts reached roughly 80 mph in parts of Kauai, while downed trees, flooding and debris made travel dangerous in storm-battered areas.
Storm surge from Hurricane Lowell has flooded the lobby of a hotel in Poipu, where CBS News’ Carter Evans and his crew are staying.
Though the hotel is a protected spot from the worst of the storm’s powerful winds, Carter shows just how brutal the storm has become. pic.twitter.com/YovLU1JblR
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) September 8, 2026
By early Tuesday morning, Lowell had weakened to a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of about 90 mph as it began pulling farther away from the islands.
But the danger was far from over.
Several inches of rain were expected across much of Hawaii, with dramatically higher totals possible in some areas. Forecasters warned that parts of Kauai could receive as much as 24 inches of rain, raising fears of severe flash flooding and mudslides.
The Big Island, Maui and Oahu were also threatened by heavy downpours, with isolated storm totals of up to 8 inches possible.
The deluge comes just weeks after Hurricane Lala pounded Hawaii in August, washing away roughly 100 homes and triggering destructive flooding and landslides.
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green urged residents in the Hurricane’s path to stay indoors and avoid driving, particularly in areas threatened by severe flooding.
Government offices and schools on Oahu, Kauai and Niihau were closed ahead of the storm as officials attempted to keep residents off the roads and emergency crews prepared to respond to damage.
Dangerous surf added another threat along Hawaii’s coastline, with massive waves and powerful rip currents expected as Lowell moved through the region.
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Forecasters warned that the storm could unleash “life-threatening surf and rip current conditions” through Tuesday and potentially into Wednesday.
Rip currents are strong, narrow channels of water that rapidly flow away from shore and can drag swimmers into deeper water. The currents can be deadly, particularly when swimmers exhaust themselves trying to fight their way directly back toward shore.
Lowell arrived just after Hawaii moved out of the peak of its busy summer tourism season, when hundreds of thousands of vacationers typically flock to the state’s beaches, resorts and other attractions.
The Hurricane is the latest in a chaotic stretch of tropical weather around Hawaii, which has faced repeated threats from powerful storms this summer.
Lowell approached the islands from the south before curving north, with its core passing just west of Niihau. Although the eye remained offshore, tropical storm-force winds extended up to 200 miles from the center, allowing the system to threaten a wide swath of the state.
AccuWeather lead hurricane expert Alex DaSilva said: “The hurricane is passing close enough for rain and wind impacts to occur across the islands of Kauai, Ni’ihau and O’ahu on Tuesday. Heavy downpours can also occur across the rest of the islands, which will bring flash flooding and mudslides.”
“Wind gusts of 40 to 60mph will continue across Oahu, with higher gusts of 60-80 mph across Kauai. Stronger winds of 80 to 90mph will continue to occur across Ni’ihau and the higher elevations of Kauai.”
Officials warned that Lowell’s departure would not immediately end the threat, with flooding, mudslides, downed trees, power outages, and dangerous coastal conditions capable of lingering after the Hurricane moved away.
