Unusual Pacific storm activity brings destructive hurricane impacts across Hawaii

The short version

• Hurricane Lowell battered Kauai with severe infrastructure and property damage after earlier briefly reaching Category 5 status.[The Guardian]
• The damage follows Hurricane Lala, which struck Oahu and the Big Island with the first recorded hurricane-force gusts there in 155 years.[The Guardian]
• Experts attribute the heightened storm activity to exceptionally warm ocean waters influenced by El Niño and human-driven climate change.[The Guardian]

Key facts

• Hurricane Lowell caused damage to piers, roads, boats, and power lines on Kauai after nearing Hawaii.[The Guardian]
• Hurricane Lowell briefly strengthened into a Category 5 storm on September 2.[The Guardian]
• Hurricane Lala caused damaging winds across Oahu and the Big Island in August, bringing the first recorded hurricane-force gusts there in 155 years.[The Guardian]
• Hawaii has not had a direct hurricane landfall since Hurricane Iniki struck in 1992, according to National Hurricane Center Director Michael Brennan.[The Guardian]
• Climate Central reported that warm sea surface temperatures along Lowell's track were made up to 60 times more likely by human-caused climate change.[The Guardian]

Sources

Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.

• Hawaii has often dodged the path of hurricanes. Why did it see so many storms this summer?The Guardian - US