Lowell, Karina and Marie have intensified across the Pacific in recent days, with Hawaii monitoring a powerful hurricane while dangerous surf reaches Southern California
Three powerful tropical systems moving across the Pacific Ocean are drawing the attention of forecasters as their effects begin to reach parts of the United States.
Lowell, Karina and Marie have all reached hurricane strength during their development, creating an unusual concentration of tropical activity across the eastern and central Pacific.
As of Saturday, September 5, Lowell remains the greatest concern for the United States because of its potential impacts on Hawaii. Marie is generating dangerous ocean conditions along Southern California, while Karina has weakened to a tropical storm as it continues moving across the central Pacific.
Lowell approaches Hawaii
Hurricane Lowell became an extremely powerful storm this week, briefly reaching Category 5 strength with winds of 160 mph before fluctuating in intensity.
Early Saturday, Lowell was a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of about 150 mph, located roughly 630 miles south-southwest of Lihue, Hawaii.
The National Hurricane Center said the storm was expected to turn northwest and then accelerate north and north-northeast Sunday and Monday. Its forecast track would take the center just west of Hawaii’s main islands.
Forecasters warned that watches would likely be needed for portions of the western Hawaiian Islands as Lowell moves closer.
The storm could produce 3 to 6 inches of rain on Kauai and the Big Island, with localized totals exceeding 10 inches. Maui could receive 2 to 4 inches, with isolated totals reaching 8 inches.
Heavy rainfall could trigger flash flooding and mudslides, particularly in mountainous areas. Large swells generated by Lowell are also expected to produce life-threatening surf and rip currents across several Hawaiian islands.
Karina weakens after becoming a major hurricane
Karina rapidly intensified earlier in the week, reaching major hurricane status and eventually becoming a powerful Category 4 storm over open water.
The storm has since weakened considerably.
By Saturday afternoon, the Central Pacific Hurricane Center had downgraded Karina to a tropical storm as it continued moving across the Pacific.
Unlike Lowell, Karina is not currently expected to bring direct hazards to land.
Marie sends dangerous surf toward California
Farther east, Hurricane Marie continues moving northwest over the Pacific, several hundred miles west of Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula.
Early Saturday, Marie had maximum sustained winds of about 90 mph and was expected to gradually weaken over the next several days.
The storm is not forecast to make landfall in California, but its effects are already reaching the U.S. coastline.
The National Hurricane Center says swells generated by Marie will continue affecting Southern California, as well as Baja California and parts of southwestern Mexico, producing potentially life-threatening surf and rip currents.
An unusually active Pacific
The three systems highlight a particularly active period in the Pacific hurricane season.
According to National Hurricane Center data, the eastern Pacific had already produced 13 named storms by early September, three more than the 1991-2020 average for this point in the season. The basin’s accumulated cyclone energy, a measurement used to evaluate the overall strength and duration of tropical systems, was running about 35% above normal.
The Weather Channel is currently tracking all three systems, with particular attention on Lowell’s potential threat to Hawaii and possible moisture from Marie reaching parts of the western United States.
For Hawaii, forecasters emphasize that Lowell’s exact track remains critical because relatively small changes in the storm’s path could change the severity of impacts across the islands.
Source: National Hurricane Center, Central Pacific Hurricane Center, Associated Press and The Weather Channel
