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Category 4 Hurricane Lowell drives dangerous surf
September 6, 2026
Hurricane Lowell, a Category 4 storm about 640 miles south-southwest of Honolulu with sustained winds of 145 mph, is pushing high surf toward the Hawaiian Islands.
Hawaii sits in a Pacific basin where late-summer systems regularly pass near the islands, and residents there still measure storms against Hurricane ʻIniki, with flooding from Hurricane Lala hitting the Big Island in mid-August.
Key facts
- According to NBC News, the hurricane center placed the system roughly 640 miles south-southwest of Honolulu, moving west-northwest at 7 mph, with sustained winds reaching 145 mph.
- The official forecast from the National Hurricane Center, cited by CNN, puts Lowell’s center roughly 150 miles west of Niihau, or about 190 miles west of Kauai, later Tuesday morning.
- CNN reports that Lowell is holding Category 4 strength while Hawaii prepares for what the system may bring.
- CNN carries a written statement from Derek S.K. Kawakami, who serves as mayor of Kauai County: “We know that the memory of Hurricane ʻIniki is close to the surface for many of our families right now, so let us stay vigilant and prepare with a steady hand.”
CNN reports that Lowell holds Category 4 strength while Hawaii prepares for possible impacts, and NBC News and ABC News carry the same reading of the system. NBC News gives the position and motion: about 640 miles south-southwest of Honolulu, moving west-northwest at 7 mph, with sustained winds of 145 mph, according to the hurricane center. ABC News carries the same figures. CNN reports the National Hurricane Center's official forecast carrying Lowell's center roughly 150 miles west of Niihau, or 190 miles west of Kauai, later Tuesday morning, and NBC News reports the same track.
The official response is corroborated across the coverage. NBC News reports Gov. Josh Green saying in a statement Friday, “We are taking Hurricane Lowell extremely seriously and preparing now, before conditions deteriorate,” and CNN carries the same statement. CNN reports Kauai County Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami invoking the memory of Hurricane ʻIniki and urging families to stay vigilant, with ABC News carrying the same remarks. CNN also reports that Hurricane Lala soaked the eastern Big Island with feet of rain in mid-August and set off severe flooding, an account ABC News shares.
Two points sit unresolved. One account frames both Lowell and Tropical Storm Karina as systems that stay offshore and deliver high surf over the holiday weekend rather than landfall; another account does not hold that framing. Karina's strength splits the same way, with one account putting the weakened system at maximum sustained winds of 65 mph and another declining to carry that figure. What is settled is Lowell's Category 4 intensity, its position and forecast track, the surf threat to the islands, and the preparations state and county officials describe.
Gov. Josh Green said in a statement Friday, “We are taking Hurricane Lowell extremely seriously and preparing now, before conditions deteriorate,” according to NBC News.
Still developing
Landfall, and Karina weakened to a tropical storm, are carried differently from one account to the next. Parts of the account had not been carried across the coverage as of the draft.
How settled the reporting is
Sources
- ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos — 2 hurricanes making their way through Pacific Ocean: What to know about potential impacts to Hawaii, West Coast
- CNN — Hurricane Lowell remains powerful Category 4 as Hawaii braces for possible impacts
- NBC News — Hurricane Lowell threatens Hawaiian Islands with life-threatening surf