Hawaii's governor has declared a state of emergency due to Hurricane Lowell, which is expected to bring heavy rain, high surf, and coastal conditions to the islands as early as Monday. The storm is currently a category 3 hurricane with winds of 125 miles per hour, but is forecasted to reach Hawaii as a category 2. Three hurricanes are currently churning in the Pacific at the same time, marking an unusually active hurricane season. This comes amid warnings from the UN that this year's El Niño is expected to become the strongest on record and will likely fuel extreme weather events.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-07,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Hurricane Lowell, a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 145 mph, is threatening the Hawaiian Islands, prompting officials to declare a state of emergency and issue tropical storm warnings for several islands. The hurricane's center was located 640 miles south-southwest of Honolulu on Saturday, and it was moving west-northwest at 7 mph. According to forecasts, Lowell will pass just west of the major Hawaiian Islands by Monday night, bringing life-threatening conditions, including mudslides, heavy rains, and high surf impacts. The storm is expected to bring 6-10 inches of rain, with possible maximum totals of 14 inches, and may trigger storm watches and alerts for Kauai County and the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. Despite being a major hurricane, Lowell's projected offshore path is expected to keep its most dangerous effects at bay, but residents are still urged to prepare for heavy rains, flooding, and possibly mudslides.
Written for “Hurricane Lowell Approaches Hawaii” on 2026-09-07,
grounded in this article and the 3 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it +0.35, but every quote it verified points left, so the score is not published.
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Leaning score withheld for article 5938: score contradicts its own evidence · logged 2026-09-07
Hawaii has declared a state of emergency as powerful Hurricane Lowell makes its way toward the islands, with the first impacts expected as soon as Monday.
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impacts → declare → Monday
The storm is the third system in just over three weeks to threaten Hawaii during an active hurricane season in the central Pacific.
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storm → threaten → Pacific
Lowell remained a category 3 hurricane early on Sunday morning, packing winds of 125 miles per hour while moving north-west at six miles per hour.
asserted
Lowell → remain → hour
According to the forecast, Lowell will reach Hawaii as a category 2 hurricane.
uncertain
Lowell → accord → hurricane
Its center could pass roughly 130 miles west of Ni’ihau or 170 miles west of Kauai between Monday evening and Tuesday morning.
uncertain
center → pass → evening
The threat comes amid unusually intense hurricane activity across the Pacific.
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threat → come → Pacific
As of Saturday, Hurricanes Karina, Lowell and Marie were all churning in the Pacific at the same time, marking the region’s first triple-hurricane stretch in a decade.
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Karina → churn → decade
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) was also monitoring a fourth potential system off the coast of Mexico.
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Center → monitor → Mexico
The Pacific averages only eight hurricanes per year, according to the NHC, making three simultaneous hurricanes highly unusual.
uncertain
hurricanes → average → NHC
Lowell’s projected offshore path is expected to keep the storm’s most dangerous winds away from Hawaii’s islands.
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path → project → islands
But heavy rain, high surf and dangerous coastal conditions are still expected.
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rain → expect → ?
Lowell is the third storm in a matter of weeks to hit Hawaii as the climate crisis continues to increase the intensity and frequency of storms and other weather events.
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crisis → hit → storms
Tropical Storm Moke struck the southern part of Hawaii’s islands two weeks ago, bringing heavy rainfall and strong winds.
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Moke → strike → rainfall
That came just days after Hurricane Lala hit the region.
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Lala → come → region
The Hawaii governor Josh Green said Lala alone had caused at least $43m in infrastructure damage on the Big Island, along with another $4.6m in damage to homes.
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Lala → say → homes
The escalating storm activity comes as the UN warns that this year’s El Niño is forecast to become the strongest on record in four decades.
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Niño → escalate → decades
A statement released on Thursday described El Niño as being “supersized before our eyes”, adding that the world is in “the danger zone of extreme weather”.
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world → release → weather
The latest data on the natural climate phenomenon shows a near 100% likelihood that the latest El Niño will continue through February 2027, the statement said.
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statement → show → February
The stronger an El Niño becomes, the greater the chance it will significantly alter rainfall and temperature patterns around the world and help fuel extreme weather.
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it → become → weather
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has previously warned there is a 69% chance that this El Niño will be the strongest in 70 years.
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Niño → warn → years
