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Category 5 Hurricane Lowell track shifts toward Hawaii
San Francisco Chronicle • • nation
Key Points:
- Hurricane Lowell rapidly intensified to a Category 5 storm with 160-mph winds, becoming only the seventh Category 5 hurricane on record in the central Pacific and the first since 2018.
- Lowell is currently about 445 miles south of Hilo, Hawaii, moving west at 10 mph, and is expected to continue strengthening due to favorable oceanic and atmospheric conditions.
- Forecasts indicate Lowell will turn north or north-northeast by Sunday, potentially threatening the western Hawaiian Islands as a major hurricane over Labor Day weekend.
- The presence of two major hurricanes, Lowell and Karina, simultaneously in the Pacific is linked to unusually warm ocean temperatures driven by a strengthening El Niño.
- Atmospheric dynamics involving remnants of Hurricane Etau and interactions with Hurricane Karina are expected to steer Lowell toward Hawaii, while Tropical Storm Marie intensifies but is projected to move westward away from land.
