Hurricane Lowell Weakens to Tropical Storm After Cutting Power to 42,000 Across Hawaii

Since Hawaii Gov. Josh Green activated the National Guard and braced for Hurricane Lowell's turn toward the islands on September 4, the storm has passed, weakened, and moved on, leaving Kauai the hardest hit.

Lowell's center passed west of the Hawaiian islands overnight Monday into Tuesday, September 8, according to the National Hurricane Center. It never made a direct hit. Tropical storm-force winds extended far beyond the eye, and Kauai took the brunt of it.

The Kauai Island Utility Cooperative reported that nearly all of its roughly 35,000 members lost power early Tuesday, according to the Epoch Times, KSL News and The Independent. Statewide, about 42,000 customers were without power as of 1:30 p.m. local time Tuesday, according to utility tracker PowerOutage.us cited by CBS News.

The small Kauai community of Hanalei recorded 17.76 inches of rain, the highest total on the islands, per CBS News. Forecasters had warned rainfall could reach up to 24 inches in parts of Kauai, with heavy totals also possible on Oahu, Maui and the Big Island, according to the Associated Press.

From Category 3 Warning to a Weaker Landfall Pass

Lowell's forecast shifted significantly over 48 hours. Breitbart reported Monday that Lowell had been a Category 3 storm with a hurricane warning issued Sunday for Kauai County, citing sustained winds that could reach 111 to 129 mph under NOAA's damage scale.

When Lowell passed the islands, it had weakened. Fox News described it as a Category 2 storm as it lashed Kauai Tuesday morning, with Fox Weather correspondent Katie Byrne reporting winds exceeding 80 mph and rising storm surge from Kauai. The National Hurricane Center's Tuesday morning advisory, cited by CBS News, put maximum sustained winds at 75 mph, the threshold for a minimal hurricane, with the storm centered about 230 miles northwest of Lihue and moving north at 15 mph.

Sustained winds measured at Lihue Airport came in lower, just above 50 mph, with gusts to 80 mph, according to the hurricane center. By Tuesday, the storm had weakened enough that it was no longer classified as a hurricane, according to The Independent, and forecasters expect it to keep losing strength in the days ahead.

Hurricane warnings for Kauai and the tiny island of Niihau, home to fewer than 100 residents, were lifted by Tuesday morning local time. A tropical storm warning for Oahu, Hawaii's most populous island with close to 1 million residents, was also dropped.

Damage and Recovery on Kauai

Kauai Mayor Derek Kawakami said crews were using heavy equipment to clear trees and debris off roads, according to the Associated Press, KSL News and the Guardian. About 300 people were staying in emergency shelters on the island.

CBS News cameras captured a waterfront home in Kauai lifted off its foundation and moved across the street. Waves crashing onto Kauai's southern coast tore apart a coastal road and pushed sand and lava rocks into a beachside park, said Rochelle Ballard, a former professional surfer who runs a surf school nearby, according to The Independent and the Guardian. Ballard said her family's surf shop escaped damage but a friend's house was destroyed. "It's going to take a while. I think we'll be fine," she said. "We've been through this before."

Lori Benkert, a Kauai real estate agent living in Lihue, told the Associated Press her power went out Monday evening and downed trees closed her community's main road. "We're fine. My house did great with no boarded-up windows," she said. "But there are a lot of downed power lines."

Tourist Dave Reed, in Kauai for a wedding, told CBS News he regretted staying through the storm. "I always said I want to ride out a hurricane. I never want to do it again," he said. "I wish we would have left. We had an opportunity to leave and we didn't."

Andrew Davis Henry, a diabetic Kauai resident, told CBS News he was searching for ice to keep his insulin cold with no cell service or power. "I need that to live, so if I don't have that, it's going to be a bad day for me," he said.

Elton Ushio, administrator of Kauai's emergency management agency, urged residents to stay off roads as damage assessments continued. "As the light comes up and the extent of the damage from Hurricane Lowell comes into focus, we want to ensure that no additional emergency situations arise unnecessarily," Ushio said.

On Oahu, road crews cleared sand and rocks from a coastal highway north of Honolulu after floodwaters topped the road, according to the Associated Press. Lihue Airport, Kauai's only commercial airport, closed after the storm.

Eric Blake of the National Hurricane Center said flooding and mudslides would remain a risk on Kauai through Tuesday even as winds eased. Green had closed schools and government offices on three islands ahead of the storm's approach.

Meanwhile, along the Southern California coast, dangerous surf conditions stirred up by the remnants of Hurricane Marie were expected to persist for several more days, according to the Associated Press and Epoch Times. This hazard ran alongside Lowell's Hawaii impact.

No deaths or serious injuries had been reported as of Tuesday. Kauai County has not yet released a damage-cost estimate, and it remains unclear how long full power restoration across the island will take.