Lowell slams Hawaii with hurricane-force winds, leaving one island in a near-total blackout

Hurricane Lowell brought intense winds and rain to Hawaii that caused widespread power outages, road closures and flooding. Hurricane Lowell began pulling away from Hawaii on Tuesday after bringing heavy rain, winds that reached 80 mph and flooding that left one of the hardest hit islands almost entirely without power. The storm, whose huge wind field impacted the islands even though the center was well to the west, was moving away from the islands of Kauai and Niihau Tuesday morning, but forecasters warned that damaging winds, flooding and dangerous surf could continue across the Hawaiian Islands for much of the day. Kauai and Niihau were the hardest hit islands, with approximately 57,669 of Kauai’s electricity customers — about 90% — without power Tuesday morning, according to utility tracker PowerOutage.com . At the Sheraton Kauai Resort, reports said ocean water was flooding into the pool and encircling the building.

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