Hurricane Lowell Tracker

How Lowell developed

1. 25 August — Forms as a tropical depression

   The first reading places Lowell over open eastern Pacific waters at 10.1°N, 136.7°W. Lowell had winds of 28 km/h, gusts of 32 km/h and no recorded pressure in that observation. Lowell was stationary at the first reading, marking the beginning of the recorded track.

2. 27 August — Strengthens into a tropical storm

   Lowell became a tropical storm at 18:00 UTC on 27 August, with winds of 65 km/h, gusts of 75 km/h and pressure of 1,006 mb. The centre was at 11.2°N, 134.0°W, moving towards 63° at 8 km/h. The system had moved east from its first recorded position.

3. 30 August — Pressure falls as winds increase

   By 00:00 UTC on 30 August, Lowell's winds reached 83 km/h and pressure fell to 1,001 mb. Lowell was at 13.2°N, 137.6°W, moving towards 275° at 22 km/h. The next readings show pressure continuing down to 999 mb while the storm accelerated to as much as 27 km/h.

4. 1 September — Strengthens into a category 1 hurricane

   Lowell reached category 1 hurricane strength at 12:00 UTC on 1 September, with winds of 120 km/h, gusts of 138 km/h and pressure of 985 mb. Lowell was at 13.3°N, 148.9°W, moving towards 291° at 15 km/h. At 18:00 UTC, winds rose to 148 km/h and pressure fell to 977 mb.

5. 2 September — Reaches category 4 strength

   Lowell intensified from category 1 to category 3 and then category 4 hurricane strength in the recorded observations on 2 September. At 12:00 UTC, Lowell reached its strongest recorded wind speed of 241 km/h, with gusts of 277 km/h and pressure of 937 mb, at 13.4°N, 152.7°W.

6. 5 September — Reaches category 5 strength

   Lowell reached category 5 strength at 06:00 UTC on 5 September, with winds of 259 km/h, gusts of 298 km/h and pressure of 922 mb. The reading placed Lowell at 13.2, -161.7, moving west at 11 km/h. Category 5 is the darkest red track category in RainViewer's storm legend.

7. 5 September — Weakens to category 4

   Lowell weakened to category 4 at 12:00 UTC on 5 September. Winds fell to 241 km/h, gusts reached 277 km/h and pressure rose to 931 mb. The reading placed Lowell at 13.3, -162.3, moving at 11 km/h on a 280° heading.

8. 6 September — Weakens to category 3

   Lowell weakened to category 3 at 12:00 UTC on 6 September. Winds were 204 km/h, gusts were 235 km/h and pressure was 943 mb. The reading placed Lowell at 14.4, -163.8, moving at 9 km/h on a 324° heading.

9. 7 September — Weakens to category 2

   Lowell weakened to category 2 at 18:00 UTC on 7 September. Winds were 176 km/h, gusts were 202 km/h and pressure was 956 mb. The reading placed Lowell at 18.0, -162.2, moving at 22 km/h on a 34° heading.

10. September 8 — Weakens to a category 1 hurricane

    At 18:00 UTC, Lowell’s maximum sustained wind decreases to 130 km/h from 176 km/h six hours earlier, and gusts decrease to 150 km/h from 202 km/h. Central pressure rises to 972 mb. The reading places the storm 311 km NNW of Kalaheo, Hawaii, USA, with no recorded movement.

11. 9 September — Weakens into a tropical storm

    At 00:00 UTC on 9 September, Lowell’s wind speed fell to 111 km/h from 130 km/h six hours earlier, and the storm’s classification changed from a category 1 hurricane to a tropical storm. Pressure was 978 mb. The 06:00 UTC reading recorded 102 km/h winds.