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Hawaii is on a rare tornado watch as Hurricane Lowell passes just west of the islands. The Category 2 storm is expected to bring powerful waves, flash flooding and mudslides. NPR's Juliana Kim reports from the island of Oahu.
JULIANA KIM, BYLINE: For days, officials and residents in Hawaii have been bracing for Hurricane Lowell, which at one point was a Category 5 storm in the Pacific. The hurricane has now weakened. And the National Weather Service says it won't directly hit the Hawaiian Islands. Still, on Monday, Kauai Mayor Derek Kawakami said the storm was a threat.
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DEREK KAWAKAMI: As we have all seen over the last 24 hours, the weather has changed dramatically. And it will continue to change and be more of a challenge as the day goes on into the night, into tomorrow.
KIM: The National Hurricane Center expects over a foot of rain for Kauai. Meanwhile, Maui, Oahu and the Big Island could see nearly a foot of precipitation. Forecasters are also monitoring for the possibility of tornadoes, which are rare and tend to be weak in Hawaii. Lowell is expected to move past the Hawaiian Islands by Tuesday evening local time. The high winds and rains hit just weeks after the Big Island was battered by a major hurricane. Earlier this year, Oahu's north shore was wrecked by a series of storms. In both cases, hundreds of homes were damaged and recovery is ongoing. Juliana Kim, NPR News.
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