First Alert Forecast: Lowell is south of the islands as a powerful hurricane; when will it turn

News admin September 3, 2026 0 Comments

First Alert Forecast: Lowell is south of the islands as a powerful hurricane; when will it turn

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The trade winds are picking up today, with strong and gusty winds expected across the windier spots of Maui County and the Big Island. Kauai and Oahu will also see winds increase, as Lowell churns closer to the west.

Hurricane Lowell is now about 440 miles south of Hilo and continues to track west. The pressure gradient between Lowell and strong high pressure to our north is tightening, which will crank up our trades through Friday. Gusts of 50 mph or more will be possible in the usual windier areas.

The bigger concern is what happens next. Lowell is expected to make a hard turn to the north as it encounters an upper-level low dropping south toward the islands. Confidence is increasing that this turn will happen, but the exact timing and location are still important pieces of the forecast.

Right now, the forecast has Lowell making that turn and potentially coming very close to Kauai Monday or Tuesday.

That does NOT mean we know exactly where the center will go yet, and even small changes in the track could make a big difference in impacts.

For today, showers will favor windward and mauka areas, with the wetter weather moving away from Kauai and Oahu as the morning progresses. After that, we’ll return to more typical trade wind showers.

And we’re not just watching Lowell. Hurricane Karina is farther east and could also influence our wind pattern as we head into the holiday weekend and early next week.

The hard turn north is becoming a higher-confidence part of the forecast, and Lowell potentially getting very close to Kauai Monday or Tuesday is something we need to watch closely.

The exact track will determine just how much wind, rain and surf we see. It is all in the timing of when Karina starts turning, followed by Lowell as the upper-level low digs into that high pressure ridge.

View the latest weather conditions here.

Download the HNN Weather app from the Apple App Store or Google Play for the latest updates from your First Alert Weather Team: chief meteorologist Jennifer Robbins and weather anchors Guy Hagi, Dan Cooke, Ben Gutierrez, and Billy V.