Hawaii Braces for Hurricane Lowell as Third Storm in Weeks Tests State Resources
Hawaii declared a state of emergency on September 3, 2026, as Hurricane Lowell barreled toward the western Hawaiian Islands, with first impacts expected as early as Monday, September 7. The Guardian
As of early Sunday morning, September 6, Lowell was a Category 3 hurricane with sustained winds of 125 mph, moving northwest at six mph. Forecasters expected it to reach Hawaii as a Category 2, with its center potentially passing about 130 miles west of Ni'ihau or 170 miles west of Kauai between Monday evening and Tuesday morning. A tropical storm warning — meaning sustained winds of at least 39 mph are expected — was in effect for Kauai and Ni'ihau.
Governor Josh Green signed the emergency proclamation to free up state resources and activate Hawaii National Guard units. CNN The proclamation, formally titled the 'Proclamation Relating to September 2026 Tropical Cyclones' and posted on September 2, covers the entire state and is intended to let government prepare for, respond to, and recover from hurricanes. State of Hawaii The emergency relief period began immediately and runs through November 1, 2026, unless terminated or superseded. Office of the Governor
The National Hurricane Center's Advisory 34, issued early on September 4, indicated Lowell could be near major hurricane strength when it moves close to the western Hawaiian Islands late Monday. NHC By 4:35 p.m. on Saturday, September 5, the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency reported the storm was slowly turning north and expected to complete that turn on Sunday. HIEMA
Lowell arrives on the heels of back-to-back strikes on the Hawaiian Islands in August. Hurricane Lala hit the region in mid-August, prompting Green to sign an emergency proclamation on August 14 as state agencies mobilized ahead of that storm. Office of the Governor Days later, around August 22, Tropical Storm Moke struck the southern part of the islands, bringing heavy rainfall and strong winds. Green said Lala alone caused at least $43 million in infrastructure damage on the Big Island, along with another $4.6 million in damage to homes.
The broader Pacific picture compounds the strain. As of Saturday, September 5, Hurricanes Karina, Lowell, and Marie were all churning simultaneously, marking the region's first triple-hurricane stretch in a decade. The Pacific averages only eight hurricanes per year according to the NHC, making three concurrent storms highly unusual. Separately, the NHC was monitoring a fourth potential system off the coast of Mexico as of early September. Fox40 As of September 6, there were no tropical cyclones in the Atlantic, Caribbean Sea, or Gulf of America. NHC
The climatological backdrop matters here. El Niño — a periodic warming of Pacific Ocean surface temperatures that tends to ramp up hurricane activity — is a key factor. A WMO statement released on September 3 described the current El Niño as 'supersized before our eyes' and said the world is in 'the danger zone of extreme weather.' WMO The UN warned that the current El Niño is forecast to become the strongest on record in four decades. The latest data showed a near 100% likelihood that the current El Niño will continue through February 2027. NOAA previously placed the probability of the current El Niño becoming the strongest in 70 years at 69%. NOAA CPC
Green's operational posture reflects lessons from a compressed and destructive storm season. The governor pre-positioned resources ahead of the approaching cyclones. For state agencies and the Hawaii National Guard, the challenge is compounded by the back-to-back nature of the August storms: Lala's $43 million infrastructure toll on the Big Island, followed by Moke's heavy rainfall, and now Lowell tracking toward Kauai and Ni'ihau. Saturated infrastructure and depleted response capacity are the operative concerns for local emergency managers.
At the county level, the Kauaʻi Emergency Management Agency urged residents to keep preparing steadily in a September 4 update as Lowell tracked toward the state. Kauai.gov The Central Pacific Hurricane Center's forecast cone — the projected path showing the range of likely tracks — places the strongest winds offshore, but the tropical storm warning for Kauai and Ni'ihau signals that impacts will extend well beyond the storm's center. Wind gusts above 39 mph, coastal flooding, and heavy rainfall remain the primary threats for the westernmost inhabited islands.
For forecasters and climatologists, the simultaneous presence of Karina, Lowell, and Marie in the Pacific basin is the signal event. The basin averages eight hurricanes per year; three at once is a decadal anomaly. Combined with a strengthening El Niño that the WMO and NOAA both flag as potentially historic, the 2026 Pacific hurricane season is testing the assumptions built into regional preparedness models. Whether the fourth system off Mexico develops further will shape the basin's trajectory in the coming weeks.
