Two Major Hurricanes Are Now Tangled Up in the Pacific, and Hawaii Is Watching

Three active storms are now churning through the Pacific, including two hurricanes. What can the region expect in the coming days? Here is what you need to know.

Duo of Hurricanes Spinning in the Pacific

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is monitoring two hurricanes and a newly formed tropical storm in the Pacific basin. Hurricane Lowell transitioned from a tropical storm to a full-blown hurricane on Tuesday morning. This feature is now expected to go through the process of rapid intensification, strengthening into a major Category 3 storm by late Wednesday. As of late Tuesday, Lowell was packing maximum sustained winds of 125 mph as it moved to the west at 10 mph.

Lowell joins Category 4 Hurricane Karina in the eastern Pacific. A large zone of high pressure to the north is pushing Karina to the west at a speed of 12 mph. Should this northern ridge increase its influence, Karina could be nudged to the south and toward Hawaii in the coming days.

The big question at this point is how Karina and Lowell will interact with one another. This interaction will determine what type of impacts Hawaii should expect.  Specifically, Lowell could take a different path if it moves closer to Karina. Conversely, Lowell could grow and head toward Hawaii if it remains farther from Karina. Lowell is the smaller and weaker storm of the two, meaning Karina will largely dictate both of their futures.

The latest forecast models suggest that Lowell will remain to the south of Hawaii before making its move to the north. However, this could change in the coming days, making it important to stay abreast of these conditions if you are in Hawaii.

Tropical Storm Marie Comes to Life in the Eastern Pacific

Tropical Storm Marie joined the party in the Pacific on Tuesday morning off the southwestern coast of Mexico. Forecasters are predicting that Marie will spin through a part of the basin with favorable environmental conditions.

Although Marie poses no threat to Hawaii, there is a chance that the moisture associated with this tropical weather maker could head to California at the tail end of the Labor Day weekend. At the very least, Marie's track to the north will send an influx of moisture into the Desert Southwest, amplifying the already heavy monsoonal rain that has been impacting this corner of the country.

A large swath of Arizona has been put under a Level 2 out of 4 flash flood risk on Friday. The threat zone includes the cities of Phoenix and Tucson.

Lastly, another area in the Pacific off the coast of southwestern Mexico is also being monitored closely by the NHC. The agency said that this zone has a 20% chance of further development over the next week.

Stay tuned as we continue to watch all of these potential areas of concern in the Pacific, as well as what the pattern may mean for the U.S. mainland and Hawaii.

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