Environment & Climate
Record El Niño drives rare Hawaii hurricane impacts
Unusually warm Pacific waters fuel multiple storms, damaging homes and infrastructure across the islands.
The short version
- Three recent storms—Hurricanes Lala, Lowell, and Nolo—have struck or passed near Hawaii, damaging homes and infrastructure.[The Washington Post]
- Unusually high Pacific Ocean temperatures linked to a record El Niño are creating conditions that allow tropical storms to form and intensify near Hawaii.[Slashdot · The Washington Post]
- The eastern and central Pacific hurricane season runs through November, with elevated risks for additional late-season storms.[The Washington Post]
Key facts
- Hurricane Lala made landfall as a Category 1 storm on the Big Island in mid-August, destroying 100 homes.[The Washington Post]
- Hurricane Lowell disrupted power to roughly 90 percent of Kauai in early September and destroyed 10 homes.[The Washington Post]
- Pacific Ocean temperature anomalies reached 3.05°C above the 1991–2020 average, surpassing the previous record of 3.02°C set in 2015.[Slashdot]
What remains uncertain
- Climate model forecasts assessing whether the El Niño temperature anomaly will reach 4.0°C in November and December remain predictions.[Slashdot]
Sources
Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.
- See how a record El Niño has transformed Hawaii’s hurricane seasonThe Washington Post - National metered
- El Nino Bursts Through Temperature Record Months Before PeakSlashdot