Hurricanes Lowell, Karina and Marie churn the Pacific simultaneously as a historically strong El Niño warms ocean waters. Lowell may threaten Hawaii early next week.
September 4, 2026 — Three hurricanes are spinning across the Pacific Ocean at once, a rare occurrence meteorologists attribute to a historically strong El Niño that has warmed the region's waters.
Hurricanes Lowell, Karina and Marie were all active simultaneously as of Thursday, with forecasters at the National Hurricane Center and Central Pacific Hurricane Center issuing advisories on each system.
Lowell threatens Hawaii
The most closely watched of the three is Hurricane Lowell, a major Category 4 storm located several hundred miles south of the Hawaiian Islands. Though it has weakened from its 155 mph peak, it remains a powerful system with sustained winds near 140 mph.
Forecasters say Lowell is expected to turn northward over the weekend toward the main Hawaiian chain, and parts of the state — including Kauai — are within the storm's forecast cone. A direct landfall is possible early next week, though most forecast models currently keep the center west of the islands.
The scenario has drawn comparisons to Hurricane Iniki of September 1992, which struck Kauai as a Category 4 storm, killed six people and destroyed or damaged more than 70 percent of the island's homes and businesses. Iniki remains Hawaii's deadliest and costliest hurricane on record, with damage estimated at roughly $6 billion in today's dollars.
Iniki also formed during an El Niño year. NOAA has said the current El Niño has a 69 percent chance of becoming the strongest since record keeping began in 1950.
Kauai Mayor Derek Kawakami urged residents to prepare but stay calm. "I know this forecast is scary, especially for those of us who remember Iniki," he said Wednesday. "But stay calm, stay informed and be prepared." He advised households to stock 14 days' worth of supplies and keep a go bag and battery-powered radio on hand.
Even if Lowell passes west of the islands, it could bring dangerous surf, rip currents and gusty winds to south-facing beaches and Kauai. Hawaii is typically shielded from powerful storms by cooler surrounding waters and a high-pressure system that steers systems away, but warmer-than-normal water in the central Pacific is eroding those natural defenses. Only four major hurricanes have passed within 50 miles of the islands in recorded history.
Karina and Marie churn the eastern Pacific
Farther east, Hurricane Karina — once a major storm — has weakened to Category 3 strength but continues to track over open waters well east of the islands, posing no immediate threat to land.
Hurricane Marie, the newest of the three, strengthened into a hurricane off Baja California this week and is expected to strengthen a little further before gradually moving away from Mexico's western shores. It is trailed by a disturbance with only a modest chance of development over the coming week.
Record-setting season
Lowell is the sixth storm of the 2026 Pacific season to reach Category 5 intensity — an unusually high count — and the simultaneous presence of three hurricanes marks a notable bout of activity for early September.
Meteorologists point to exceptionally warm Pacific waters and the rapidly intensifying El Niño as the primary drivers of the rare triple event. The situation is being monitored closely as the region's most active stretch of the hurricane season approaches.