Hurricane Lowell brings Hawaii's first-ever tornado watch

Hurricane Lowell made a close approach to Hawaii's westernmost islands late Monday, coming within 50 miles of land as a Category 2 hurricane and leaving widespread damage in its wake. The storm knocked out power for nearly 90% of Kauai County, with residents dealing with downed power lines, scattered debris and flooded highways. Satellite imagery from the past 24 hours showed the storm wobbling eastward toward the westernmost islands overnight while slightly weakening. As it weakened, its wind field expanded, bringing hurricane-force wind gusts near Kauai and tropical storm-force gusts as far east as Honolulu. The highest wind gust reports were found on the west islands and ranged between 75 and 85 mph.

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