A pair of hurricanes off the US West Coast have millions bracing for dangerous flooding this weekend in several unlikely states.
Meteorologists are cautioning that the lingering elements of Hurricane Lorena are expected to cause flash floods, intense thunderstorms, and potential power outages in the Southwest by Saturday.
Regions including Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah are forecasted to receive heavy rainfall throughout the weekend and into Monday as the tropical storm makes its way into the US.
Lorena officially strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane early Wednesday morning before slamming into Mexico’s Baja Peninsula.
The hurricane has downgraded back to a tropical storm as it approaches the mainland, but whether Lorena will further diminish before arriving in America remains uncertain.
Alex DaSilva, the lead hurricane expert at AccuWeather, commented: ‘The extent of Lorena’s effects in Mexico and the US will largely depend on its path in the days ahead.’
Meanwhile, all of Hawaii could be bracing for a historic weather event as Hurricane Kiko continues to rampage through the Pacific Ocean.
Initially a Category 4 storm, it has the potential to escalate to a devastating Category 5 by the weekend, and it is slated to hit Hawaii’s Big Island by Tuesday.
Hurricane Lorena has weakened into a tropical storm, but the major weather event is set to bring floods to seven Southwestern states
Parts of Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Utah could all see flash flooding this weekend
The last major hurricane to strike Hawaii was in 1992, killing six people and causing billions in damage
Should Kiko maintain its strength in the next few days, it could become the first significant hurricane to hit Hawaii directly since Hurricane Iniki in September 1992.
That storm struck as a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 145 mph, almost 33 years to the day of Kiko’s projected landfall.
The 1992 hurricane resulted in six deaths, destroyed over 1,400 homes, and caused an estimated $3 billion in damage.
Unlike Lorena, a direct hit by Hurricane Kiko appears almost certain, with forecasters now warning of dangerous mudslides, torrential downpours, and flooding early next week.
The Category 4 hurricane has been barreling towards the Hawaiian Islands this week and is now projected to make landfall by Tuesday afternoon local time, roughly 8pm ET.
The latest spaghetti models of the hurricane have converged on the island state, with most tracks now predicting the major storm will hit the northeastern side of Hawaii’s Big Island before moving over Maui, Molokai, and Oahu.
AccuWeather warned that flash flooding, road washouts, and potentially deadly landslides in some areas of the state could been seen between Tuesday, September 9 and Wednesday, September 10.
Up to eight inches of rain have been forecasted for the eastern and northern regions of the Big Island and northern Maui, which receives between two and three million tourists each year.
Hurricane Lorena is a Category 4 storm and could reach Category 5 strength by the weekend. Hurricane Ian also reached Category 4 and devastated Southwest Florida in 2022 (Pictured: A community in Fort Myers Beach in the wake of Hurricane Ian)
Hurricane Ian hit Florida in September, 2022, damaging multiple communities and killing dozens (Pictured: A man in Fort Myers wading through flooding after the storm)
The latest spaghetti models of Hurricane Kiko strongly predict landfall in the Hawaiian Islands next week
Meteorologists have already said 2025 may go into the record books as the ‘worst flash flood year in modern US history.’
In July, AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jon Porter noted that weather experts had already seen a 70 percent jump in flash flood reports compared to the 10-year average.
‘Storms are being intensified by a warmer atmosphere and more moisture in the air. And we’re seeing the toll, city by city,’ Porter explained.
In the Pacific, the moisture from Lorena has already brought life-threatening flooding and widespread power outages to Mexico this week.
‘We urge people and businesses to have a way to get flash flood warnings at all times of the day and night and be prepared to move to higher ground, especially if you are in a low-lying area or near small streams or shallow rivers, as these areas can be particularly susceptible to rapidly rising water,’ Porter added in a statement Thursday.
As for Hurricane Kiko, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Thursday it’s still too soon to know how intense the storm will be when it passes over Hawaii, but meteorologists warned that the impact will be severe even if the storm weakens.
‘If Kiko continues toward Hawaii, even as a less intense tropical storm, it could still bring significant wind and rain to the islands next week,’ DaSilva said.
Weather experts also warned that Hurricane Kiko could cause flash floods and dangerous mudslides in some areas
Kiko was the 11th named system in the eastern Pacific this year, and the Pacific hurricane season still has three months left to go.
The season runs from May 15 until November 30, making it two weeks longer than the Atlantic hurricane season.
Previously, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) had predicted a ‘below-normal season’ for the eastern Pacific, with 12 to 18 named storms, five to 10 hurricanes, and up to five major hurricanes.
Lorena became the 12th named storm of the year when it formed near Mexico and spiraled east into the West Coast.
