HONOLULU (Island News) — Lowell has strengthened to a Category 4 hurricane with 130 mph winds. It is possible that it will become a Category 5 hurricane with winds of 150 mph by tomorrow.
Hurricane Lowell continues to strengthen quickly and is now a Category 4 hurricane with 130 mph winds, located about 500 miles southeast of Hilo and moving west at 10 mph.
Lowell is expected to become a stronger Category 4 near Category 5 hurricane on Wednesday, and conditions remain favorable for additional strengthening. Warm ocean temperatures and weak wind shear are expected to remain along its path for the next week.
A general westward track is clearly depicted in the models through at least Friday as high pressure guides the storm south of the islands. This weekend, a trough north of the islands could weaken that ridge and allow Lowell to begin turning more toward the northwest or north. This could bring Lowell much closer to Kauai than many of the forecasts initially predicted. Most models still favor a passage west of Kauai but a few including the European model bring it close enough to be concerning…