Hurricane Lowell surged near the Hawaiian Islands this week, leaving a trail of damage on Kauai. This included downed trees, power lines, crumbled roads, sunken boats, and destroyed piers.
This marks the second named storm to affect the islands this year. In August, Hurricane Lala brought damaging winds to the Big Island and Oahu, the first instance of hurricane-force gusts recorded there in 155 years. Michael Brennan, director of the National Hurricane Center, noted that Hawaii has not had a direct hurricane landfall since Iniki in 1992.
Typically, Hawaii avoids the worst effects of hurricanes due to its location and cooler water temperatures to the east. However, sea-surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific are unusually warm this year due to El Niño, which is expected to strengthen in the coming months. This climate phenomenon enhances the development and strength of storms in the Pacific.
Matthew Rosencrans, Noaa’s lead forecaster, explained that El Niño has caused hurricanes to form further south and west, placing them in a position to approach the Hawaiian islands. The climate crisis is also contributing to the strengthening of these storms, with sea surface temperatures along Lowell's path made up to 60 times more likely by human-caused climate change, according to Climate Central.