Tropical Storm Watch Issued for Kauai as Hurricane Lowell Turns North-Northwest

NOAA issued a Tropical Storm Watch for Kauai County, including Kauai and Niihau, as Hurricane Lowell turned north-northwest early Sunday. At 12:00 UTC, the Category 3 storm had maximum sustained winds of 125 mph and was about 595 miles south-southwest of Lihue, moving at 6 mph. Its center is forecast to pass just west of the main Hawaiian Islands Monday night, with tropical-storm conditions possible on Kauai late Monday or Monday night. Forecasters expect 4 to 8 inches of rain on Kauai, locally above 12 inches, and storm surge of 1 to 3 feet above normally dry ground.