{"id":240434,"date":"2026-09-11T11:22:08","date_gmt":"2026-09-11T21:22:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=240434"},"modified":"2026-09-11T11:25:07","modified_gmt":"2026-09-11T21:25:07","slug":"hurricane-lowell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2026\/09\/11\/hurricane-lowell\/","title":{"rendered":"Hurricane Lowell brought 100+ mph winds, heavy rainfall to Kauaʻi, Niʻihau"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"kauai
Damage on Kauaʻi<\/span> following Hurricane Lowell. (Photo credit: Office of the Governor)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hurricane Lowell\u2019s close passage west of Kauaʻi<\/span> and Niʻihau<\/span> brought damaging winds, heavy rainfall with more than 23 inches recorded on Mount Waiʻaleʻale,<\/span> and dangerous surf. To understand the storm’s full impact, a University of Hawaiʻi<\/span> team reconstructed Hurricane Lowell hour by hour across Kauaʻi<\/span> and the state using observations from the Hawaiʻi<\/span> Mesonet, a statewide network of weather stations, alongside experimental high-resolution mapping tools.<\/p>\n

Users can visit the newly launched Hurricane Lowell website<\/a> to explore interactive wind and rainfall maps, station observations and satellite storm replays.<\/p>\n

The most striking weather signal during the storm was the wind. At Līhuʻe<\/span> Airport, the highest measured hourly average wind speed reached 56 mph late on September 7. However, because Kauaʻi\u2019s<\/span> weather stations are concentrated primarily at lower elevations, experimental high-resolution modeling was used to estimate conditions across remote terrain. The models suggest that winds over exposed high-elevation ridges were much stronger, locally exceeding 100 mph as the island\u2019s steep topography accelerated airflow over ridges and through valleys.<\/p>\n

\"house
Gov. Josh Green visits a home damaged by Hurricane Lowell on Kauaʻi.<\/span> (Photo credit: Office of the Governor)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Rainfall on Windward Oahu, Mount Waiʻaleʻale,<\/span> Kauaʻi’s<\/span> north shore<\/h2>\n

Rainfall across the western islands was also substantial throughout the event. On September 6, rainfall amounts of 5 inches or more along the Koʻolau<\/span> Ridge sent flood waters down Waikāne<\/span> and Waiahole Valleys on Oʻahu,<\/span> forcing the closure of Kamehameha Highway.<\/p>\n

On September 7, nearly all of Kauaʻi<\/span> received more than 2 inches of rain, with many areas exceeding 5 inches. High-elevation and north shore sensors show Mount Waiʻaleʻale<\/span> recorded more than 23 inches of rain on September 7, accumulating nearly 36 inches over the full three-day storm period. Meanwhile, on Kauaʻi\u2019s<\/span> north shore, where rising river waters forced the closure of Hanalei Bridge, the Hawaiʻi<\/span> Mesonet stations at Waipā<\/span> and Lower Limahuli recorded more than 14 and 17 inches of rainfall, respectively, during the storm.<\/p>\n

Coastal impacts and interactive storm replay<\/h2>\n

The report also references information from Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System (PacIOOS<\/abbr>) on the significant coastal hazards brought by the storm. Large surf and storm surge impacted south- and west-facing shores of Kauaʻi<\/span> as the hurricane tracked to the west.<\/p>\n

To make these complex meteorological observations accessible to the public and emergency responders, the 糖心视频<\/abbr> team launched a dedicated Hurricane Lowell website<\/a>. The site features interactive graphics that allow users to follow Lowell\u2019s winds and rainfall through time, compare ground station observations with mapped estimates, and replay the storm using Hawaiʻi<\/span> Mesonet measurements integrated with Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-West satellite imagery.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hurricane Lowell brought 100+ mph wind estimates over Kauaʻi<\/span> ridges, 56 mph sustained wind at Līhuʻe<\/span> Airport, and nearly 36 inches of rain to Mount Waiʻaleʻale.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":240433,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[1727,577,1467,1363,238,1600,9],"class_list":["post-240434","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research","tag-flood","tag-hurricane","tag-manoa-excellence-in-research","tag-manoa-research","tag-pacific-islands-ocean-observing-system","tag-public-impact-research","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t