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September 9, 2026 - Hurricane Lowell
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Hurricane Lowell swept past Hawaii’s western islands on September 8, 2026, as a weakening but still powerful storm. Although the center of Lowell passed off Hawaii, tropical storm force winds battered the western islands, knocking down trees and taking out power. Multiple media reports that the island of Kauai took a beating, with loss of power to most residents across the island. High surf also brought flooding to many of the islands across Hawaii.
As the storm approached, schools and government offices closed on Niihau, Kauai, and Oahu. Niihau is the smallest, western-most, and least populated island in the state of Hawaii. Kauai lies just east of Niihau and then Oahu is the next island to the east.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this true-color image of Hurricane Lowell on September 7 as the storm was approaching Hawaii. Black lines have been overlayed on the coastlines to show the location of the eight largest islands of the state.
Near the time this image was captured, the National Hurricane Center reported that Lowell sported maximum sustained winds of 120 miles per hour (195 km/h), placing it as a Category 3 storm on the Saffir Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. It was located about 485 miles (780 kilometers) south southwest of Lihue, Hawaii and about 510 miles (820 km) southwest of Honolulu, Hawaii. Hurricane Lowell’s winds peaked on September 4 when maximum sustained winds were estimated at 160 miles per hour (258 km/h), or a Category 5 storm.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 9/7/2026
Resolutions:
1km (945.7 KB), 500m (2.5 MB), 250m (1.8 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
Hurricane Lowell swept past Hawaii’s western islands on September 8, 2026, as a weakening but still powerful storm. Although the center of Lowell passed off Hawaii, tropical storm force winds battered the western islands, knocking down trees and taking out power. Multiple media reports that the island of Kauai took a beating, with loss of power to most residents across the island. High surf also brought flooding to many of the islands across Hawaii.
As the storm approached, schools and government offices closed on Niihau, Kauai, and Oahu. Niihau is the smallest, western-most, and least populated island in the state of Hawaii. Kauai lies just east of Niihau and then Oahu is the next island to the east.
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this true-color image of Hurricane Lowell on September 7 as the storm was approaching Hawaii. Black lines have been overlayed on the coastlines to show the location of the eight largest islands of the state.
Near the time this image was captured, the National Hurricane Center reported that Lowell sported maximum sustained winds of 120 miles per hour (195 km/h), placing it as a Category 3 storm on the Saffir Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. It was located about 485 miles (780 kilometers) south southwest of Lihue, Hawaii and about 510 miles (820 km) southwest of Honolulu, Hawaii. Hurricane Lowell’s winds peaked on September 4 when maximum sustained winds were estimated at 160 miles per hour (258 km/h), or a Category 5 storm.
Image Facts
Satellite:
Terra
Date Acquired: 9/7/2026
Resolutions:
1km (945.7 KB), 500m (2.5 MB), 250m (1.8 MB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit:
MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
