Hawaii declares state of emergency as Hurricane Lowell approaches islands

Read the original at The Guardian ↗
Cite

Dunbar, M. (2026, September 6). Hawaii declares state of emergency as Hurricane Lowell approaches islands. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/06/hawaii-hurricane-lowell-state-of-emergency

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

The Guardian · collected 2026-09-06 · by Marina Dunbar

Quick Summary

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 locally by qwen2.5:14b 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).

AI analysis runs on qwen2.5:14b, locally

Story summary

Hurricane Lowell threatened Hawaii's major islands, including Kauai and Ni'ihau, with life-threatening conditions, heavy rainfall, and strong winds. The Category 4 hurricane was forecast to pass just west of the islands on Monday night, but its center could have brought tropical storm conditions to parts of the island chain. The National Hurricane Center issued a tropical storm warning for Kauai County, including the islands of Kauai and Ni'ihau, as Lowell was expected to bring rainfall totals of 6-10 inches, with maximum totals of 14 inches possible.

Lowell's path shifted slightly to the east, increasing the likelihood of significant impacts for Kauai County. The hurricane had already weakened from a Category 3 to a Category 2 storm by Monday evening, but its strong winds and heavy rain still posed a threat to the islands. Tens of thousands of homes and businesses lost power as Lowell passed by Hawaii on Tuesday morning.

The storm's center moved within 110 miles northwest of Lihue, the county seat of Kauai County, and 215 miles west-northwest of Honolulu. Hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 70 miles from the storm's center, and the hurricane had the potential to pour up to 2 feet of rain on parts of the island chain.

As a result of Lowell's expected impacts, public schools, county offices, and state offices on Kauai were closed on Tuesday. The National Hurricane Center warned of life-threatening surf and rip current conditions, as well as possible tornadoes, in areas affected by the storm.

Lowell was one of three storms to threaten Hawaii within a few weeks, marking an unusually active hurricane season in the central Pacific.

Written for “Hurricane Lowell in Hawaii” on 2026-10-22, grounded in this article and the 8 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Hurricane Lowell in Hawaii
World · 9 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans left and hedges 15% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Emergency issued as Hurricane Lowell barrels toward Western Hawaii same event · 100%
ABC News (US) · 0.89 cosine similarity
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 10% hedged 2 of 21 📰 publisher trust 59
“Both articles describe the same hurricane, Lowell, approaching Hawaii with similar forecasts and expected impacts.”
Hurricane Lowell menaces Hawaiian Islands with life-threatening surf same event · 100%
NBC News
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 31% hedged 8 of 26 📰 publisher trust 95
“Both articles cover Hurricane Lowell's approach to Hawaii, with similar details about its category and wind speed.”
What to know about Hurricane Lowell and Hurricane Marie same event · 100%
ABC News (US)
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 18% hedged 5 of 28 📰 publisher trust 59
“Both articles are reporting on Hurricane Lowell's approach to Hawaii, with similar forecasts and impacts expected.”
Hawaii residents told to expect tropical storm conditions as Hurricane Lowell passes to the west same event · 100%
Toronto Star
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 33% hedged 1 of 3 📰 publisher trust 63
“Both articles report on the same hurricane, Hurricane Lowell, approaching Hawaii and issuing a tropical storm warning for certain islands.”
Hurricane warning issued for western Hawaii as Lowell approaches same event · 100%
CBS News
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 15% hedged 2 of 13 📰 publisher trust 66
“Both articles report on the approach of Hurricane Lowell to Hawaii, citing the same storm and location.”
Hurricane Lowell delivers heavy rain, strong winds as it passes by Hawaii same event · 100%
CBS News
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 0% hedged 0 of 2 📰 publisher trust 66
“Both articles describe the passage of Hurricane Lowell by Hawaii with similar details on its impact, including heavy rain and strong winds.”
Dangerous Hurricane Lowell passing just west of Hawaii same event · 100%
CBS News
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 18% hedged 4 of 22 📰 publisher trust 66
“Both articles describe Hurricane Lowell's passage near Hawaii on September 8th, with similar details about wind speed and location.”
Hurricane Lowell Pounds Hawaii as Storms Fuel Travel Delays same event · 100%
NBC News
⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 no claims extracted 📰 publisher trust 95
“Both articles report on Hurricane Lowell's impact on Hawaii, with Article A mentioning its approach and expected impacts as early as Monday, and Article B describing it as pounding Hawaii, suggesting the storm has already arrived.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
20
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
15%
3 of 20 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
69/100
The Guardian's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
9
World
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-07 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Guardian · 1555 article(s) · 4 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 4 correction(s)
2026-10-13
Threat of AI share crash puts world financial stability at risk, says IMF
2026-10-03
Prison chief in Christa Pike case oversaw five ‘botched’ executions, lawyers say
2026-09-20
Judge orders Kennedy Center to give 30 days’ notice before major physical changes
2026-09-07
Former Louisiana mayor completes 90-day jail term for raping 16-year-old boy

Who wrote this

Marina Dunbar
36 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 The family of a man who was ejected from a rollercoaster at a Six Flags amusement park in Georgia and died has publicly questioned whether the death could have been prevented.
2026-10-16 · mixed framing · Family of US man who died on Six Flags ride question if death was preventable
🔮 Prosecutors had pushed for a minimum of 28 years, choosing that number to represent the age Jean would have reached at the time.
2026-10-16 · assertive framing · Amber Guyger, police officer who murdered black neighbor in his home, released from prison
🔮 While the incident “may have directly involved only a few student team members”, the university’s recreation and wellness department moved to suspend the entire club indefinitely “pending an administrative investigation by the office of student conduct”, the statement said.
2026-10-14 · assertive framing · University of Maryland club tennis team suspended over racist imagery sent to other schools
🔮 Two others were reported to be in critical condition, while the fourth was expected to survive, according to the Post’s sources.
2026-10-09 · speculative framing · One person killed and nine injured in chain-reaction crash in New York City
🔮 So when the news broke in early 2026 that a real estate developer, Treetop Companies, was exploring plans for what could become one of the largest artificial intelligence (AI) datacenters in the country, a roughly 1-gigawatt campus spanning more than 1m sq ft across about 143 acres, it seemed the town would welcome a new phase in its technological evolution.
2026-10-09 · assertive framing · ‘This is not an anti-tech town’: backlash to datacenter in city once home to IBM
🔮 A former lawyer for Christa Pike says he was not surprised that Tennessee botched its attempt to execute her because attorneys had warned that problems accessing her veins could make the procedure dangerous and potentially cruel.
2026-10-05 · assertive framing · Christa Pike’s lawyers had warned execution would be ‘difficult and perhaps cruel’ due to her veins
🔮 Frank Strada, the department of correction commissioner, will leave his position later in October as the state launches an independent investigation into what went wrong during Wednesday’s botched execution of Pike, according to Lee.
2026-10-03 · assertive framing · Tennessee’s top prison official resigning after botched execution of Christa Pike
🔮 Duran, who is Hispanic, was an Okaloosa county sheriff’s deputy in May 2024 when he was sent to Fortson’s apartment in Fort Walton Beach where Fortson – originally from Atlanta – was stationed.
2026-10-03 · assertive framing · Florida jury finds ex-sheriff’s deputy not guilty in shooting death of Black air force airman
🔮 However, the legislature could pass new legislation that would place the affected offenders back in the database.
2026-10-02 · assertive framing · Disgraced gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar removed from Michigan sex offender registry
🔮 The Kennedy Center Honors will take place away from its traditional home this year for the first time in its history as the iconic John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts remains in jeopardy amid Donald Trump’s ongoing battle to have it named after himself.
2026-10-02 · assertive framing · Kennedy Center Honors awards moved to new venue amid Trump’s onslaught
Also by Marina Dunbar
Family of US man who died on Six Flags ride question if death was preventable
2026-10-16 · The Guardian
Amber Guyger, police officer who murdered black neighbor in his home, released from prison
2026-10-16 · The Guardian
University of Maryland club tennis team suspended over racist imagery sent to other schools
2026-10-14 · The Guardian
One person killed and nine injured in chain-reaction crash in New York City
2026-10-09 · The Guardian
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 36 articles by Marina Dunbar →

Topics

El Niño Hawaii Hurricane Lowell Lowell NHC

Subjects

Hawaii GPE · 7× NHC ORG · 2× Josh Green PERSON · 1× Kauai GPE · 1× Mexico GPE · 1× NOAA ORG · 1× Ni’ihau GPE · 1× The National Hurricane Center ORG · 1× The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ORG · 1×

Narrative

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.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-07
🔮 According to the forecast, Lowell will reach Hawaii as a category 2 hurricane.
2026-09-07 · The Guardian
Hawaii declares state of emergency as Hurricane Lowell approaches islands · assertive framing

Claims (20 extracted, 3 hedged)

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. asserted
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. asserted
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. asserted
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. asserted
Karina → churn → decade
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) was also monitoring a fourth potential system off the coast of Mexico. asserted
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. asserted
path → project → islands
But heavy rain, high surf and dangerous coastal conditions are still expected. asserted
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. asserted
crisis → hit → storms
Tropical Storm Moke struck the southern part of Hawaii’s islands two weeks ago, bringing heavy rainfall and strong winds. asserted
Moke → strike → rainfall
That came just days after Hurricane Lala hit the region. asserted
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. asserted
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. asserted
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”. asserted
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. asserted
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. asserted
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. asserted
Niño → warn → years
💬Give feedback
🕘History 🎫Support
Terms · Privacy · beta v2.0.0
Articles to 22 Oct 2026