It became one of the strongest hurricanes of 2026 on Wednesday. A sharp north turn ahead could put parts of Hawaii in danger. Here's what you need to know.

Category 4 Hurricane Lowell is expected to turn north and pass near Kauai late Monday, raising Hawaii's storm threat.

Gov. Josh Green signed a statewide emergency proclamation ahead of three hurricanes encroaching on the island chain this weekend. In an Instagram post today, Green cautioned that Lowell, currently a

Hurricane Lowell, a powerful Category 4 storm, is threatening Hawaii with life-threatening winds and surf, prompting urgent warnings and preparations across the islands.

More tropical swell for SoCal/Baja; waves and weather threaten the islands from multiple directions (Sept.3 | Director of Forecasting Kevin Wallis)

In this case, the message is that there is higher-than-normal uncertainty on exactly where Hurricane Lowell will track as it passes the islands. In other words, how far offshore of Kauai and the far western island,

Power companies in Hawaii are preparing for potential outages as Hurricane Lowell approaches the Central Pacific, prompting utilities like Hawaiian Electric and Kauai Island Utility Cooperative to warn residents of possible impacts.

Lowell's passage to the south is expected to boost trade wind speeds to wind advisory levels.