Weather tracker: Hurricane Lowell pounds Hawaii’s western islands

Widespread damage across Ni‘ihau, Kauaʻi and O‘ahu, while in Japan further heavy rainfall causes widespread flooding

Hurricane Lowell caused significant damage to Hawaii’s western islands this week. On Tuesday night the centre of Lowell tracked 50 miles (80km) from the island of Ni‘ihau in Kauai county as a category 2 storm with winds of up to 110mph. The strong winds resulted in widespread power outages across Ni’ihau, and the islands of Kauaʻi and O‘ahu.

The event was particularly notable because a tornado watch had been issued for Kauaʻi on Monday night and into Tuesday morning. According to research maps from Iowa State University, it was likely to be the first tornado watch in Hawaii’s history. In the event, a tornado was not documented, however hurricanes can produce tornadoes and most often occur in thunderstorms within rain bands away from the centre of the hurricane. Currently, five named stormed have occurred in the central Pacific with the strong El Niño this year being a key driver in the above normal hurricane season, as noted by the National Weather Service.