Hurricane Lowell Knocks Out Power Across Kauai on September 8

Hurricane Lowell's damaging winds and heavy rains struck Hawaii's western islands on Tuesday, September 8, knocking out power to nearly all members of the Kauai island utility cooperative and bringing the threat of flash floods and mudslides across the state.

Kauai, home to 73,000 residents, bore the brunt of the storm. Fierce winds downed trees and caused widespread power outages across the island, with the Kauai utility cooperative reporting that nearly all of its members were without power early Tuesday. Across all of Hawaii, about 50,400 customers were without power as of 11 a.m. local time Tuesday, according to utility tracker PowerOutage.us.

Rainfall and coastal damage mounted rapidly. The small Kauai community of Hanalei had recorded the highest rainfall totals so far, with 17.76 inches of rain, per CBS News. Waves that crashed onto Kauai's southern coast tore apart a road along the coast and pushed piles of sand and lava rocks into a beachside park. Road crews were clearing sand and rocks from a major route along Oahu's western edge after floodwaters topped a coastal highway north of Honolulu.

The center of the storm passed west of the islands early Tuesday and was moving away, but tropical storm-force winds extended well beyond. At Lihue airport on Kauai, sustained winds measured just above 50 mph, with some wind gusts reaching 80 mph, according to the hurricane center. By late Tuesday morning local time, Lowell had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph and was moving north at 15 mph, centered about 230 miles northwest of Lihue.

Hurricane warnings for Kauai and Ni'ihau, which has fewer than 100 permanent residents, were no longer in place by Tuesday morning local time. A tropical storm warning was also lifted for Oahu, the state's most populated island with close to 1 million residents. However, flooding and mudslides will continue to be a risk through the day, according to Eric Blake of the National Hurricane Center.

Rainfall totals could reach up to 24 inches in some areas on Kauai, with Oahu, Maui and the Big Island also expecting large amounts of rain. The hurricane center said Lowell may produce areas of flooding for urban and low-lying regions, with significant flash flooding and mudslides possible across portions of the Big Island. Extensive damage across Kauai prompted crews to use heavy equipment to push trees and debris off the roads. About 300 people were staying in shelters on Kauai. Hawaii Gov. Josh Green closed schools and government offices on the three islands for Tuesday ahead of the storm. Last month, Tropical Storm Lala brushed past Hawaii and stirred up landslides, washing away about 100 homes and causing widespread power outages.