Hawaii Declares Emergency as 125-mph Hurricane Lowell Nears as Category 2

3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Sep 6

First impacts from Hurricane Lowell could reach Hawaii on Monday after the state declared an emergency, with the storm forecast to pass about 130 miles west of Ni'ihau or 170 miles west of Kauai.
Lowell was still a Category 3 storm early Sunday with 125 mph winds, but forecasters expect it to weaken to Category 2 before nearing the islands.
Kauai and Ni'ihau are under a tropical storm warning, and officials expect heavy rain, high surf and dangerous coastal conditions even if the storm's core stays offshore.
Lowell is the third storm to threaten Hawaii in just over three weeks, after Tropical Storm Moke and Hurricane Lala, which Governor Josh Green said caused $43 million in infrastructure damage and $4.6 million to homes.
The approach comes during an unusually active Pacific season: Karina, Lowell and Marie were all hurricanes at once Saturday—the region's first triple-hurricane stretch in a decade—as a powerful El Niño persists.