Hawaii braces for Hurricane Lowell

Threats of cyclones and deadly surf as the Category 3 storm path approaches Hawaiian islands on Monday night.

A surfer walks through thick mist as large waves from Hurricane Marie break on the shore in Huntington Beach, southern California, September 7 [Ethan Swope/AP Photo]

Hurricane Lowell, a major Category 3 storm in the Pacific Ocean, has crept closer to the Hawaiian islands with forecasters warning the weather systems could unleash tornadoes on the islands of Kauai and Niihau.

On Sunday, the United States National Hurricane Center issued emergency hurricane and tropical storm warnings for the island chain, advising residents and visitors to brace for severe windstorms and possible mudslides as early as Monday night local time. Lowell is predicted to skirt just west of Hawaii’s most northwest main islands, Niihau and Kauai, as well as portions of the vast Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, tracking from south to north.

Mayor Derek Kawakami of Kauai issued an emergency proclamation in anticipation of the hurricane.

Kauai faces potential coastal flooding of up to 1 metre (3 feet) caused by rolling storm surges and unusually high tides.

The storm has been gradually pivoting toward the more rural islands in the Aloha state, moving north at 9 km/h (6 mph), according to the hurricane center. Lowell started as a tropical depression that formed over the Pacific Ocean on August 27. It was driven by a combination of warm ocean temperatures and an active El Nino pattern.

Lowell has seesawed between Category 3 and Category 5 intensity as its trajectory mushroomed. It first reached Category 5 intensity at 257 km/h (160 mph) on Wednesday morning local time, becoming the second Category 5 hurricane of the season. Only two other Pacific hurricanes in recorded history have regrouped to a Category 5 after losing strength mid-path: Emilia (1994) and Ioke (2006).

Ioke was the strongest ever recorded in the central Pacific, while the island of Kauai sustained billions in damage during Hurricane Inike, a 1992 Category 4 storm and the largest recorded in Hawaii’s history. Six people were killed.

Forecasters said Lowell could bring rainfall of 150mm to 250mm (6 to 10 inches), with maximum totals of 360mm (14 inches).

Lowell had maximum sustained winds of 195km/h (120 mph) and was pinpointed about 895km (about 555 miles) southwest of the state capital, Honolulu.

Local officials have been urging residents and visitors to prepare for a downpour of rain and fierce winds which could cause major flash flooding and hazardous mudslides.

According to the National Weather Service, tornadoes could accompany tropical cyclones. They typically occur in rain bands well away from the center of the storm.

Hawaii’s Big Island can expect as much as 100mm to 200mm (4 inches to 8 inches) of rain, with localized peaks reaching up to 305mm (12 inches).

Hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 85km (50 miles) from the centre while tropical storm-force winds extended outward up to 280km (175 miles).

Residents prepare for the worst

Kauai’s Emergency Management Agency urged residents to fill gas tanks, charge devices, refill prescriptions and store water and food ahead of the storm. The agency also said residents should be prepared to stay home for several days.

Swells generated from Lowell are expected to produce “life-threatening surf and rip current conditions”, according to a statement by the Kauai County government on Sunday evening. It urged visitors to stay out of the ocean and steer clear of the shoreline as coastal conditions rapidly worsen.

“Residents should not assume conditions will be limited to areas near the storm’s center,” the government said.

As panic-buying emptied supermarket shelves in Lihue on Kauai, residents of the 8,000-person airport town scrambled to stock up on food and water.

Real estate agent Lori Benkert bought an extra 4.5kg (10 pound) container of propane so that she could cook on the barbecue if power shut off. Benkert manages dozens of properties on Kauai and has boarded up two houses on the western side of the island.

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

Meanwhile, Category 1 Hurricane Marie churned 1,120km (695 miles) south-southwest of San Diego in southern California, bringing dangerous surf to the area and Mexico’s Baja coast. Packing 120km/h (75mph) sustained winds, the storm tracked northwest at 11km/h (7mph).

Even without coastal watches or warnings, updrafts from Marie will hit southwest Mexico, Baja California and Southern California over the next few days, creating pounding surf and dangerous rip currents.

The islands of Hawaii rarely experience tornadoes, averaging about one per year. Just 42 tornadoes were reported in the state between 1950 to 2018, according to Stephen Parker, a meteorologist with the weather service office in Honolulu.

周一晚间，3级飓风路径逼近夏威夷群岛，带来飓风和致命巨浪的威胁。

9月7日，飓风玛丽带来的巨浪拍打着南加州亨廷顿海滩的海岸，一名冲浪者穿过浓雾。[Ethan Swope/AP Photo]

太平洋上的三级飓风“洛厄尔”已逼近夏威夷群岛，预报员警告称，该天气系统可能会在考艾岛和尼豪岛上引发龙卷风。

周日，美国国家飓风中心对夏威夷群岛发布了飓风和热带风暴紧急警报，建议居民和游客做好准备，应对最早于当地时间周一晚间出现的强风暴和可能发生的泥石流。预计洛厄尔飓风将从南向北掠过夏威夷最西北端的两个主要岛屿——尼豪岛和考艾岛的西侧，以及广袤的帕帕哈瑙莫夸基亚海洋国家纪念碑的部分区域。

考艾岛市长德里克·川上 (Derek Kawakami) 为应对飓风发布了紧急状态声明。

考艾岛可能面临高达 1 米（3 英尺）的沿海洪水，这是由翻滚的风暴潮和异常高的潮汐引起的。

据飓风中心称，这场风暴正逐渐转向夏威夷州较为偏远的岛屿，并以每小时9公里（6英里）​​的速度向北移动。洛厄尔飓风最初是8月27日在太平洋上形成的热带低气压，其形成受到温暖的海洋温度和活跃的厄尔尼诺现象的共同影响。

洛厄尔飓风的强度在三级和五级之间摇摆不定，其路径也随之急剧变化。当地时间周三上午，洛厄尔飓风首次达到五级强度，风速达257公里/小时（160英里/小时），成为本季第二个五级飓风。有记录以来，只有另外两个太平洋飓风在路径中途减弱后重新增强为五级飓风：分别是1994年的埃米莉亚飓风和2006年的伊奥克飓风。

伊奥克飓风是太平洋中部有记录以来最强的飓风，而考艾岛在1992年的伊尼克飓风中遭受了数十亿美元的损失。伊尼克飓风是四级飓风，也是夏威夷历史上有记录以来最大的飓风，造成六人死亡。

预报员称，洛厄尔可能会带来 150 毫米至 250 毫米（6 至 10 英寸）的降雨，最大降雨量可达 360 毫米（14 英寸）。

洛厄尔的最大持续风速为 195 公里/小时（120 英里/小时），其中心位于州首府檀香山西南约 895 公里（约 555 英里）处。

当地官员一直敦促居民和游客做好准备，应对可能引发严重山洪和危险泥石流的暴雨和强风。

据美国国家气象局称，热带气旋可能会伴有龙卷风。龙卷风通常出现在远离风暴中心的雨带中。

夏威夷大岛预计将有 100 毫米至 200 毫米（4 英寸至 8 英寸）的降雨，局部地区降雨量峰值可达 305 毫米（12 英寸）。

飓风级风力从中心向外延伸至 85 公里（50 英里），而热带风暴级风力从中心向外延伸至 280 公里（175 英里）。

居民们为最坏的情况做好准备。

考艾岛应急管理局敦促居民在风暴来临前加满油箱、给电子设备充电、补充处方药，并储备水和食物。该机构还表示，居民应做好在家​​待上几天的准备。

考艾县政府周日晚间发布声明称，洛厄尔火山产生的涌浪预计将造成“危及生命的大浪和离岸流”。声明敦促游客远离海洋，并远离海岸线，因为沿海情况正在迅速恶化。

政府表示：“居民不应认为受影响的地区仅限于风暴中心附近。”

在考艾岛利胡埃，恐慌性抢购导致超市货架空空如也，这座拥有 8000 人口的机场小镇的居民争相囤积食物和水。

房地产经纪人洛里·本克特额外购买了一罐4.5公斤（10磅）的丙烷，以便在停电时可以使用烧烤炉做饭。本克特在考艾岛管理着数十处房产，她已经用木板封住了岛西侧的两栋房子。

“我们会停电，可能会有一些树木倒塌，很多树枝都会掉下来，”本克特告诉美联社。“大家可能都会躲起来。”

与此同时，一级飓风玛丽在南加州圣地亚哥西南偏南1120公里（695英里）处肆虐，给该地区和墨西哥下加利福尼亚半岛沿岸带来了危险的巨浪。这场风暴持续风速达120公里/小时（75英里/小时），并以11公里/小时（7英里/小时）的速度向西北方向移动。

即使没有沿海地区的预警或警告，玛丽带来的上升气流将在未来几天袭击墨西哥西南部、下加利福尼亚州和南加利福尼亚州，造成巨浪和危险的离岸流。

夏威夷群岛很少发生龙卷风，平均每年大约只有一次。据檀香山气象局气象学家斯蒂芬·帕克称，从1950年到2018年，该州仅报告了42次龙卷风。