{"id":72159,"date":"2026-09-08T23:59:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T23:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/satellite-blog\/?p=72159"},"modified":"2026-09-11T18:18:56","modified_gmt":"2026-09-11T18:18:56","slug":"hurricane-lowell-passes-over-the-western-hawaiian-islands","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/satellite-blog\/archives\/72159","title":{"rendered":"Hurricane Lowell passes over the far western Hawaiian Islands"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video aligncenter\"><video autoplay controls loop muted src=\"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/satellite-blog\/images\/2026\/09\/260908_g18_ir_Lowell_HI.mov\" playsinline><\/video><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>1-minute GOES-18 Infrared Window images, with an overlay of 1-minute GLM Flash Points, hourly wind barbs and 30-minute peak wind gusts, from 2200 UTC on 07 September to 1000 UTC on 08 September <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">1-minute Mesoscale Domain Sector GOES-18 <em>(GOES-West)<\/em> Infrared Window images <strong>(<em>above)<\/em><\/strong> showed Category 2 <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nhc.noaa.gov\/archive\/2026\/LOWELL.shtml?\">Hurricane Lowell<\/a><\/strong> as its center moved northeastward (<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/satellite-blog\/images\/2026\/09\/260908_Lowell_track.gif\">track<\/a><\/strong>) and passed about 40 miles west of the Hawaiian island of Ni&#8217;ihau on 08 September 2026. While sparse, 1-minute GOES-18 <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.goes-r.gov\/spacesegment\/glm.html\">GLM<\/a><\/strong> Flash Points did indicate that some intermittent lightning activity was present. A well-defined eye was no longer discernible in GOES-18 Infrared Window imagery during the time period shown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Tendrils of transverse banding were very apparent within the southwestern and western quadrants of Lowell <strong><em>(below)<\/em><\/strong>, embedded in the anticyclonic outflow at high altitudes. (Transverse banding is a satellite signature often associated with aircraft turbulence, as discussed in <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/satellite-blog\/?s=transverse+banding+turbulence\">these blog posts<\/a><\/strong>.)<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/satellite-blog\/images\/2026\/09\/260908_0753utc_g18_Lowell_transverse_banding.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/satellite-blog\/images\/2026\/09\/260908_0753utc_g18_Lowell_transverse_banding.png\" alt=\"\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>GOES-18 Infrared Window image at 0757 UTC on 08 September [lick to enlarge]<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A closer view of 1-minute GOES-18 Infrared Window images <strong><em>(below)<\/em><\/strong> allowed for a better depiction of the peak wind gusts that occurred on the island of Kaua&#8217;i &#8212; which included <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/satellite-blog\/images\/2026\/09\/260908_0935utc_g18_ir_rawsG92_HI.png\">92 mph<\/a><\/strong> at RAWS site Puu Lua, and 73 knots (84 mph) at METAR sites Lihue (PHLI) and Kekaha (PHBK). A list of <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/satellite-blog\/images\/2026\/09\/260908_phnl_pns_wind_Lowell.text\">wind gusts<\/a><\/strong> across the other Hawaiian islands included 80 mph in Maui County and 75 mph in Honolulu County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video aligncenter\"><video autoplay controls loop muted src=\"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/satellite-blog\/images\/2026\/09\/260908_g18_ir_raws_Lowell_HI.mov\" playsinline><\/video><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>1-minute GOES-18 Infrared Window images, with plots of METAR site wind barbs \/ peak wind gusts and RAWS observations, from 0459-1000 UTC on 08 September<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The coldest cloud-top infrared brightness temperature associated with one of Lowell&#8217;s convective bursts was -85.02 C at 0639 UTC <strong><em>(below)<\/em><\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/satellite-blog\/images\/2026\/09\/260908_0639utc_g18_ir_m85C_Lowell.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/satellite-blog\/images\/2026\/09\/260908_0639utc_g18_ir_m85C_Lowell.png\" alt=\"\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>GOES-18 Infrared Window image at 0639 UTC on 08 September, with a cursor sample of the coldest cloud-top infrared brightness temperature [click to enlarge]<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">According to a plot of rawinsonde data from Lihue at 0600 UTC on 08 September <strong><em>(below)<\/em><\/strong>, the -85 C cloud-top infrared brightness temperature roughly corresponded to the the Most Unstable (MU) air parcel&#8217;s Maximum Parcel Level (MPL), located around 110 hPa or 16.3 km.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/satellite-blog\/images\/2026\/09\/260908_0600utc_phli_raob.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/satellite-blog\/images\/2026\/09\/260908_0600utc_phli_raob.png\" alt=\"\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Plot of rawinsonde data from Lihue, Hawai&#8217;i at 0600 UTC on 08 September [click to enlarge]<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Also of note in the Lihue sounding shown above was the Precipitable Water (PW) value of 2.70 inches &#8212; which, according to a climatology of Lihue sounding PW <strong><em>(below)<\/em><\/strong> was a new record daily maximum PW for 08 September, and also may have been the highest PW on record for Lihue (eclipsing the previous record of 2.47 inches).<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/satellite-blog\/images\/2026\/09\/08sep_phli_tpw_climatology.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/satellite-blog\/images\/2026\/09\/08sep_phli_tpw_climatology.png\" alt=\"\"\/><\/a><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Climatology of Precipitable Water from all Lihue soundings, with red boxes highlighting the daily value for 08 September at 0300 UTC as well as the highest value on record [click to enlarge]<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/tropic.ssec.wisc.edu\/real-time\/mtpw2\/product.php?color_type=tpw_nrl_colors&amp;prod=global2&amp;timespan=48hrs&amp;anim=html5\">MIMIC Total Precipitable Water<\/a><\/strong> product <strong><em>(below)<\/em><\/strong> showed that Lowell was drawing rich tropical moisture northward into its circulation from the Intertropical Convergence Zone, as the hurricane eventually turned northeastward (<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/satellite-blog\/images\/2026\/09\/260909_Lowell_track_long.gif\">track<\/a><\/strong>) to pass over the far western part of the Hawaiian island chain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video aligncenter\"><video autoplay controls loop muted src=\"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/satellite-blog\/images\/2026\/09\/260905_260908_mimicTPW_EPAC_anim.mp4\" playsinline><\/video><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Hourly  MIMIC Total Precipitable Water images, from 0000 UTC on 05 September to 2300 UTC on 08 September<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A Metop-C AMSU Rain Rate derived product at 0804 UTC <strong><em>(below)<\/em><\/strong> did happen to show a ragged eye-like structure associated with Lowell at that time, just southwest of Ni&#8217;ihau. Rainfall across the Hawaiian Islands was as high as <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/satellite-blog\/images\/2026\/09\/260908_phnl_pns_rainfall_Lowell.text\">21.11 inches<\/a><\/strong> at Kilohana on Kaua&#8217;i.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/satellite-blog\/images\/2026\/09\/260908_0804utc_metopc_amsu-mhs_rain_rate_LOWELL.png\" alt=\"\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Metop-C AMSU Rain Rate derived product at 0804 UTC on 08 September<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\">___________________________________________<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As previously documented on this blog, Hurricane Lowell first reached Category 5 intensity on <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/satellite-blog\/archives\/72085\">02 September<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>1-minute Mesoscale Domain Sector GOES-18 (GOES-West) Infrared Window images (above) showed Category 2 Hurricane Lowell as its center moved northeastward (track) and passed about 40 miles west of the Hawaiian island of Ni&#8217;ihau on 08 September 2026. While sparse, 1-minute GOES-18 GLM Flash Points did indicate that some intermittent lightning activity was present. A well-defined [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":72164,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[76,114,30,58,79,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-72159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-glm","category-goes-18","category-lightning","category-metop","category-microwave","category-tropical-cyclones"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/satellite-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72159","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/satellite-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/satellite-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/satellite-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/satellite-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72159"}],"version-history":[{"count":35,"href":"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/satellite-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72159\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72199,"href":"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/satellite-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72159\/revisions\/72199"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/satellite-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/satellite-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/satellite-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/satellite-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}