A monster hurricane barreling across the Pacific has taken a sharp turn toward Hawaii, putting more than 1 million residents and tourists on alert ahead of Labor Day weekend.
Hurricane Lowell intensified into a powerful Category 4 storm with winds reaching 145 mph as it moved south of the Hawaiian Islands.
The National Hurricane Center now projects Lowell will turn north, raising the possibility of significant impacts to Kauai and O’ahu, home to Honolulu and the bulk of Hawaii’s population.
NHC said in a statement: ‘Lowell is expected to remain a major hurricane for the next several days.’
‘Swells generated by Lowell are spreading northward and will affect portions of the Hawaiian Islands during the next several days. These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.’
Forecast models currently show Kauai facing some of the greatest risk, though several potential tracks also bring Lowell dangerously close to O’ahu, Maui and the Big Island.
The sudden shift has rattled residents who thought Lowell would remain farther from the state, sending some scrambling for supplies as Hawaii faces its third tropical cyclone threat in roughly three weeks.
Category 4 winds are capable of inflicting catastrophic damage, including ripping roofs and exterior walls from well-built homes, snapping trees and bringing down power lines.
‘Most trees will be snapped or uprooted and power poles downed. Power outages will last weeks to possibly months,’ the weather agency wrote.
AccuWeather forecasters expect Lowell to weaken somewhat as it approaches Hawaii around Monday night, but the storm could still remain a major Category 3 hurricane with winds between 111 and 129 mph.
HURRICANE HQ ⛈️: As major Hurricane Lowell churns in the Pacific and threatens a direct strike on Hawaii, flood threats loom across the Southwestern U.S. this holiday weekend as moisture from Category 1 Hurricane Marie moves into the region. FOX Weather Meteorologist Craig… pic.twitter.com/VRjYqzJjqW
— FOX Weather (@foxweather) September 3, 2026
Waikiki resident David Gerson admitted the turn caught him off guard.
‘I’m totally not prepared. Because I didn’t think it would be much. The last I heard it was, I don’t even know if it was a Category 1.’
Lowell rapidly intensified after beginning Sept. 1 as a Category 1 hurricane and becoming a major hurricane by Wednesday.
AccuWeather reported that the cyclone briefly reached Category 5 strength, with winds approaching 160 mph.
Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi urged residents not to underestimate the threat, pointing to the destruction left behind when Hurricane Lala struck the islands three weeks earlier.
‘We lost 500 trees. We had 50 to 60 houses lose their roofs. We had over 100,000 homes without power. None of this stuff is minimized. This is all real stuff to deal with,’ Blangiardi told Hawaii News Now.
Two major forecasting systems, the American GFS model and the European EPS ensemble, show multiple possible paths that could bring Lowell into the Hawaiian Islands.
The European guidance currently favors tracks just west of Hawaii or potential landfall on Kauai or O’ahu.
The American model shows a wider range of possibilities, including potential impacts across all four major Hawaiian islands.
Forecasters cautioned that those tracks can change considerably as Lowell moves closer to the state, meaning the exact location and severity of any landfall remain uncertain.
Lowell’s eventual path may also be influenced by Hurricane Karina, another Pacific system that previously veered away from the U.S. West Coast.
AccuWeather lead hurricane expert Alex DaSilva said the interaction between the storms and an upper-level low-pressure system could determine whether Lowell bends toward Hawaii or stays farther offshore.
DaSilva said in a statement: ‘Should Lowell track close enough, there could be more significant impacts to the western portion of the islands in the form of heavy rain, strong winds and power outages.’
Even if the center of Lowell ultimately misses Hawaii, forecasters are already warning that dangerous surf and rip currents will reach the islands as the massive hurricane churns through the Pacific.
With the storm still several days away and forecast confidence narrowing, residents across Hawaii are being forced to prepare for the possibility that Lowell’s sudden turn could place the islands directly in its path.
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