Tag: Hawaii

  • Storm Updates: Southern High Plains Flood Slight, Quiet Severe Day — Friday, September 25, 2026 (Morning)

    This is a live Friday morning snapshot of local storm-type events across the United States as of the morning of Friday, September 25, 2026. The organized desk is still water on the southern High Plains, not a national wind outbreak. The Storm Prediction Center 1300 UTC Day 1 Convective Outlook, valid 251300Z–261200Z, carries no severe thunderstorm areas. Summary language from Norman: organized severe thunderstorms are not expected today. The Weather Prediction Center 12Z Day 1 Excessive Rainfall Outlook, valid 12Z Friday through 12Z Saturday, holds a Slight Risk of excessive rainfall across portions of the southern High Plains — southeast New Mexico into the Texas Panhandle and parts of West Texas.

    These are county- and ZIP-scale thunderstorms and leftover runoff, not a U.S. mainland hurricane landfall. Restoration exposure this morning is water already in low crossings and buildings from last night’s New Mexico–west Texas MCS, plus isolated heavy rain if cells redevelop this afternoon. Conditions change fast. Verify with the National Weather Service for the specific county or ZIP before you roll.

    What is live this morning

    No tornado or severe thunderstorm watches are current. The SPC watch page, updated 1300 UTC Friday, states no watches are valid. The last issued convective watch on the board is Watch 674, already expired. Yesterday evening’s 0100 UTC Day 1 outlook had carried a Marginal Risk over parts of the Texas Panhandle; that window closed overnight. Today’s 1300 UTC package dropped categorical severe probabilities entirely.

    Overnight flash-flood warnings from Midland/Odessa, Albuquerque, and El Paso/Santa Teresa covered northwestern Eddy County, southwestern Chaves County, and central Otero County in New Mexico, plus southeastern El Paso County and parts of Hudspeth County in western Texas. Those products were valid into the predawn hours — Eddy and Chaves until 530 AM MDT, Otero until 730 AM MDT, El Paso extensions into 330–445 AM MDT. By this morning desk they have expired. That is the just-hit pile, not a live warning overlay.

    Hotspot 1 — Southeast New Mexico into the Texas Panhandle and West Texas

    This is today’s flood ticket, trimmed from Thursday’s Moderate. WPC’s 410 AM EDT Friday discussion keeps a Slight Risk from southeastern New Mexico to the southern Panhandle and extends it south into parts of West Texas, where 3-hour flash-flood guidance is under an inch. Overnight activity over eastern New Mexico and the Texas Panhandle can still produce additional flooding concerns into mid to late morning. Guidance then has storms diminishing as the shortwave and deeper moisture lift northeast. Afternoon cells over West Texas can still dump 1–2 inches locally on already wet ground.

    SPC’s Day 1 discussion notes a convectively modified disturbance over eastern New Mexico lifting toward the central High Plains, mid- and high-level clouds over western Oklahoma, and only a low-probability severe gust if a stronger storm develops late this afternoon in western Oklahoma. Southern New Mexico, in the wake of the early-day MCS, may see a couple of stronger cells with some hail risk, but confidence in a severe-caliber threat is low. That is why there is no categorical severe area this morning.

    Cities and counties to watch: Artesia, Hope, Lakewood, and Brantley Lake in Eddy County; Dunken and Elk in southwestern Chaves; Sacramento, Mayhill, and Weed in Otero; Tornillo, Hueco Tanks, and rural east-central El Paso and Hudspeth Counties. Streams named in overnight warning text include the Rio Penasco, Bluewater Creek, and Agua Chiquita Creek.

    Restoration read: water first. Extraction and drying on structures that took overnight runoff. Low-water crossings and rural roads in the Sacramento Mountains and Pecos Valley stay a drive-around, not a drive-through. Stage pumps where last night’s warnings sat. Do not treat this as a wind event.

    Hotspot 2 — Western Oklahoma scatter

    SPC leaves the door cracked for a stronger storm or two late this afternoon over western Oklahoma under modest mid-level lapse rates and up to about 1500 J/kg MLCAPE, with a low-probability severe gust. Cloud cover from the departing MCS and tropical-origin moisture aloft will limit heating. This is not a watch candidate at 1300 UTC. Treat it as isolated outflow and lightning, not a Plains outbreak.

    Hotspot 3 — Hurricane Nolo, Big Island of Hawaii

    The National Hurricane Center and Central Pacific Hurricane Center are issuing advisories on Hurricane Nolo. As of the 200 AM HST Friday advisory, Nolo was near 15.8°N 155.6°W, moving north-northeast at 5 mph, with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph and a minimum pressure of 980 mb. Headline language: catastrophic and life-threatening flash flooding possible on the Big Island of Hawaii into the weekend. Local NWS Honolulu products own the island warning suite. This is a Hawaii County flood-and-wind desk, not a CONUS landfall. Fay and Gonzalo in the Atlantic and Odalys and Polo in the eastern Pacific are not U.S. mainland land threats this morning.

    Just hit

    SPC today’s storm reports for the 1200 UTC September 24 through 1159 UTC September 25 window show no tornado reports and no hail reports as of this desk. One preliminary wind report: 60 mph at Memphis in Hall County, Texas, at 1758 UTC Thursday, relayed by NWS Lubbock. That is yesterday afternoon’s High Plains Marginal, not a new overnight severe pile.

    The overnight work that did verify is water. NWS Midland issued a flash-flood warning for northwestern Eddy County until 530 AM MDT covering Artesia, Hope, Seven Rivers, Brantley Lake, Dayton, Lakewood, and Atoka. Albuquerque warned southwestern Chaves County until 530 AM MDT for Dunken and Elk, with considerable damage-threat language on the Rio Penasco and Bluewater Creek. El Paso/Santa Teresa warned central Otero County until 730 AM MDT for Sacramento, Mayhill, Weed, and several canyons, and separately warned pieces of El Paso and Hudspeth Counties where 1 to 3 inches had already fallen. Those warnings are expired this morning. Survey and extraction replace the warning overlay.

    Pulse table

    RegionMain threatsSPC / NWS / WPC levelStatus this morning
    SE NM / TX Panhandle / West TexasFlash flood, leftover runoff, isolated heavy rainWPC Slight excessive rainfallOvernight FFWs expired; Slight still live
    Western OK / southern NM cellsIsolated gust or hail, low confidenceSPC 1300 UTC: no categorical areaAfternoon scatter only
    Hall County, TX (Memphis)60 mph wind Thursday afternoonYesterday Marginal LSRJust-hit / closed
    Big Island, HawaiiFlash flood, tropical windHurricane Nolo, 85 mphLive Hawaii desk
    CONUS severe watchesNoneNo watches valid; last was 674Quiet

    What this means for restoration teams

    Friday is a Quiet Pulse on the severe side and a water desk on the southern High Plains. Overnight flash flooding in Eddy, Chaves, Otero, El Paso, and Hudspeth Counties is the work that already happened. Interior water starts a 24–48 hour mold clock. Photograph in daylight if it is safe. Do not drive flooded crossings in the Sacramento Mountains or the Pecos Valley.

    Western Oklahoma and southern New Mexico may still fire isolated strong cells this afternoon. Staff that as local lightning and a possible isolated gust or hail stone, not a regional wind swath. Hawaii County is a separate tropical-flood ticket under Nolo. Do not mix that crew map with the New Mexico overnight pile.

    What this is not

    This is not a regional derecho and not a U.S. mainland hurricane landfall. SPC has no Day 1 severe area. No convective watch is up. Thursday’s Moderate flood risk over southeast New Mexico has been stepped down to a Slight. The work this morning is leftover water and a trimmed rainfall overlay. That is the local-storm pattern this desk should staff.

    Looking ahead

    The SPC 0600 UTC Day 2 Convective Outlook, valid 261200Z–271200Z Saturday, carries a Marginal Risk of severe thunderstorms for portions of the central and southern Plains. Summary: isolated hail and damaging winds may accompany a few strong to severe thunderstorms Saturday from parts of Kansas into western Texas and Oklahoma, including the Wichita-to-Lubbock corridor. Watch the afternoon Storm Tracker rather than treating Friday’s quiet severe map as the weekend map.

    Sources and how to verify

    Primary sources: NOAA Storm Prediction Center 1300 UTC Day 1 Convective Outlook for Friday, September 25, 2026; SPC current watch page (no watches valid; last issued Watch 674); SPC storm reports for 1200 UTC September 24 through 1159 UTC September 25; Weather Prediction Center Day 1 Excessive Rainfall Outlook discussion issued 410 AM EDT Friday; National Weather Service flash-flood warning text from Midland/Odessa, Albuquerque, and El Paso/Santa Teresa overnight; National Hurricane Center / Central Pacific Hurricane Center advisory on Hurricane Nolo at 200 AM HST Friday.

    Check weather.gov for the county warning, spc.noaa.gov for the outlook, watch, and LSRs, and WPC excessive rainfall for the flood overlay. Prior desk: Thursday afternoon, September 24 storm updates.

    Informational only — not an official weather warning. Follow local authorities and the National Weather Service. Turn around, don’t drown.

  • Storm Updates: New Mexico–Plains Flood Slight, Dakotas Hail Pulse — Thursday, September 24, 2026 (Morning)

    This is a live Thursday morning snapshot of local storm-type events across the United States as of the morning of Thursday, September 24, 2026. Overnight into this morning, the organized severe corridor from Wednesday’s western Dakotas Marginal Risk did verify on the Local Storm Report board — a brief tornado west of Hettinger and baseball-size hail near South Heart, North Dakota. Convective watches are not currently valid. The Storm Prediction Center 0600 UTC Day 1 Convective Outlook, valid 241200Z–251200Z, carries no categorical severe thunderstorm areas. Isolated stronger storms with hail or gusty winds remain possible late this afternoon and early evening from southeast Arizona and southern New Mexico into the Texas Panhandle and western Oklahoma and Kansas.

    The water desk is still the national headline, not wind. Weather Prediction Center short-range language this morning keeps a Slight Risk of excessive rainfall over portions of New Mexico into the south-central Plains, with a broader Marginal Risk from the Four Corners into the central Plains as leftover tropical moisture and embedded shortwaves keep training cells possible on already wet ground. These are county- and ZIP-scale thunderstorms and flash-flood pulses, not a U.S. mainland hurricane landfall. Restoration exposure today is leftover water in New Mexico and the southern High Plains, isolated hail and wind on the Dakotas just-hit pile, and a Hawaii watch for Tropical Storm Nolo well south of the Big Island.

    Conditions change fast. Verify with the National Weather Service for the specific county or ZIP before you roll.

    What is live this morning

    No Storm Prediction Center convective watches are currently valid. The most recently issued watch on the SPC board is Severe Thunderstorm Watch 674, a Sunday-night eastern Colorado and western Kansas product that expired days ago. Yesterday’s western Dakotas and southern Appalachians Marginal Risk is off the Day 1 map. The 0600 UTC discussion from Guyer and Thornton is plain: organized severe thunderstorms are unlikely today and tonight. The same discussion still flags pockets of moderate destabilization into peak heating across southeast Arizona, southern New Mexico, and the southern High Plains.

    The SPC overview hazard matrix later this morning lists Thursday as a Marginal severe day. Treat that as the later-cycle read against the published 0600 UTC text of “no severe thunderstorm areas forecast.” Either way, this is not a watch morning. Isolated hail or a damaging gust is the ceiling unless a new outlook or mesoscale discussion draws a tighter box this afternoon.

    On the flood side, Wednesday’s Weather Prediction Center Day 1 Moderate Risk over the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles and central and eastern New Mexico has rolled off the valid window. Thursday language from WPC’s short-range public discussion is a step down: Slight Risk of excessive rainfall over portions of New Mexico into portions of the south-central Plains, Marginal Risk across much of the Four Corners into the central Plains. Soils are still saturated. Rates, not coverage, are the problem if a cell trains.

    Hotspot 1 — New Mexico into the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles and western Kansas

    This remains the water desk. Overnight, National Weather Service Dodge City issued a Flash Flood Warning for northwestern Grant, southeastern Hamilton, western Kearny, northeastern Morton, and eastern Stanton Counties in southwestern Kansas until 5:00 a.m. CDT. Radar-indicated totals of 2 to 3 inches were already on the ground at issuance, with another 1 to 2 inches possible. That warning is off the clock this morning. It is the signature of the same moisture plume that spent midweek over New Mexico.

    WPC still expects scattered showers and thunderstorms Thursday as large-scale forcing weakens but instability and embedded shortwave energy remain. Portions of New Mexico and Texas stay sensitive because of the multi-day rain. Localized 1-inch-per-hour rates on burn scars, arroyos, urban streets, and low water crossings are the first failures. A separate, lower-coverage pulse is possible in southeast Arizona under the same southwesterly mid-level flow.

    Restoration read: extraction and drying on buildings that took water Tuesday and Wednesday, plus a new poor-drainage ticket if a cell parks on a ZIP that already failed. Do not treat the whole Moderate-Risk footprint from yesterday as still live. Staff the county that still has a warning, not the outline from Wednesday afternoon.

    Hotspot 2 — Western North Dakota just-hit pile

    Wednesday afternoon’s western Dakotas Marginal Risk produced the overnight LSR pile. Preliminary Storm Prediction Center reports for the 1200 UTC September 23 through 1159 UTC September 24 window include:

    • A brief tornado around 2236 UTC about 3 miles south-southwest of Bucyrus in Adams County, North Dakota, based on social-media video and radar, west of Hettinger. NWS Bismarck logged the location as approximate.
    • Quarter-size hail (1.00 inch) at New England, Hettinger County, at 2307 UTC.
    • Half-dollar hail (1.25 inches) about 3 miles southeast of Belfield, Stark County, at 2340 UTC.
    • Baseball-size hail (2.75 inches) about 2 miles southwest of South Heart, Stark County, at 2345 UTC.

    Those are official preliminary LSRs, not social rumor. Hail that size breaks windows, dents siding, and wrecks HVAC fins. The tornado report is a one-minute touchdown, not a long-track event. Restoration work there is already a survey-and-tarp job, not a new watch.

    Hotspot 3 — Southern High Plains scatter plus leftover wind reports

    SPC’s Day 1 discussion leaves the door open for a few stronger, locally severe storms late this afternoon and early evening from southeast Arizona and southern New Mexico into the Texas Panhandle and western Oklahoma and Kansas. That is isolated hail and gusty outflow, not a Slight Risk corridor. Yesterday’s board also carries a 58 mph thunderstorm gust 4 miles southeast of Frederick in Tillman County, Oklahoma, at 2158 UTC, and a tree down in Van Wert, Polk County, Georgia, at 2000 UTC. Those are scatter, not a line.

    Farther east, an amplifying coastal low off the Mid-Atlantic and New England is a marine and coastal-flood story, not a convective watch. WPC flags coastal flooding, rip currents, and heavy rain along the East Coast into the weekend. That is a different desk from the New Mexico flood pulse.

    Tropical — Nolo south of Hawaii, not a mainland landfall

    Central Pacific Hurricane Center is issuing advisories on Tropical Storm Nolo. As of 2:00 a.m. HST Thursday, Nolo was about 285 miles south of South Point, Hawaii, and about 460 miles south-southeast of Honolulu, stationary, with maximum sustained winds near 50 mph and a minimum pressure of 999 mb. Official language: Nolo is forecast to intensify into a hurricane late today and could become a major hurricane by the weekend. That is a Hawaii County and offshore-waters problem, not a Gulf or East Coast landfall. Hurricane Polo and Hurricane Odalys remain in the eastern Pacific off Mexico. Tropical Storm Fay is in the open Atlantic well west-southwest of the Azores and is not a U.S. land threat.

    Just hit

    Wednesday’s live desk was still water over central and eastern New Mexico, with SPC trimmed to a western Dakotas Marginal. That Dakotas box verified overnight on hail and a brief tornado. The New Mexico Moderate flood risk has stepped down to Slight into the south-central Plains. Southwestern Kansas took a late-night flash-flood warning that expired at 5:00 a.m. CDT. No new convective watch fired overnight. Watch 674 is not today’s product.

    Pulse table

    RegionMain threatsSPC / NWS / WPC levelStatus this morning
    NM into TX/OK Panhandles and western KSFlash flood, training heavy rainWPC Slight excessive rainfallLive flood overlay; KS FFW expired 5 a.m. CDT
    SE AZ / southern NM / southern High PlainsIsolated hail, gusty wind, heavy rainSPC 0600 UTC: no categorical area; isolated stronger storms possibleAfternoon–evening scatter
    Western ND (Hettinger / Stark)Hail damage, brief tornadoYesterday Marginal; LSRs inJust-hit / survey
    Four Corners to central PlainsIsolated heavy rainWPC Marginal excessive rainfallDiurnal cells
    East Coast marine / New England coastCoastal flood, wind, heavy rainWPC / OPC coastal lowNot a convective watch
    Hawaii — NoloTropical storm to hurricane risk south of the islandsCPHC TS Nolo, 50 mphWatch Hawaii products, not mainland
    Atlantic / Gulf vs. U.S. mainlandNo landfalling hurricaneQuiet on the mainland coastQuiet

    What this means for restoration teams

    New Mexico and the southern High Plains are still a water week. Saturated ground plus another Slight Risk means the next training cell is a wet-drywall and crawlspace ticket, not a surprise. Photograph and extract what already flooded before you chase a new ZIP. Southwestern Kansas counties that sat under last night’s warning should be treated as just-hit poor-drainage work until local offices drop the flood language.

    Western North Dakota is a hail desk. Baseball stone southwest of South Heart is broken glass and bruised roofs. The Adams County tornado report is a narrow path. Staff it as a local damage survey. Do not read “tornado” on an LSR board as a regional event.

    If the later SPC cycle firms a Marginal box over the southern High Plains, the work is still isolated hail and outflow, not a watch. Stage tarps only where a warning is live. Hawaii shops should follow Central Pacific Hurricane Center products on Nolo, not this CONUS flood pulse.

    What this is not

    This is not a regional derecho and not a U.S. mainland hurricane landfall. Polo and Odalys are eastern Pacific storms off Mexico. Fay is mid-Atlantic open water. Nolo is a Central Pacific storm still south of the Big Island. The CONUS work this morning is leftover flood water, a North Dakota hail pile, and a quiet watch board.

    Looking ahead

    SPC Day 2, valid Friday, currently carries no severe thunderstorm areas. WPC still sees the moisture axis shifting east Friday into the south-central Plains and Midwest with another heavy-rain overlay possible. SPC Day 3 language returns a Marginal Risk later in the weekend as an upper trough works the central United States. Watch the afternoon Storm Tracker rather than assuming Thursday’s quiet watch board is the last line of the week.

    Sources and how to verify

    Primary sources: NOAA Storm Prediction Center 0600 UTC Day 1 Convective Outlook for Thursday, September 24, 2026; SPC current watches page (no watches valid as of 0705 UTC); SPC today’s storm reports for 20260923 1200 UTC–20260924 1159 UTC; Weather Prediction Center Day 1 Excessive Rainfall Outlook and short-range public discussion valid 12Z Thursday through 12Z Saturday; National Weather Service Dodge City flash-flood warning text for southwestern Kansas; Central Pacific Hurricane Center / National Hurricane Center public products on Tropical Storm Nolo as of 2:00 a.m. HST Thursday.

    Check weather.gov for the county warning, spc.noaa.gov for the outlook, watch, and LSRs, and WPC excessive rainfall for the flood overlay. Prior desk: Storm Updates: New Mexico Flood Moderate, Western Dakotas Marginal — Wednesday, September 23, 2026.

    Informational only — not an official weather warning. Follow local authorities and the National Weather Service. Turn around, don’t drown.

  • Storm Updates: Iowa–Nebraska Slight Risk, Kauai Flood Aftermath, Heat-Plus-Wind Cells — Tuesday, September 8, 2026

    This is a live Tuesday snapshot of local storm-type events across the United States as of the afternoon of Tuesday, September 8, 2026. The mainland pulse is convective: a Storm Prediction Center Slight Risk of severe thunderstorms from southeast Nebraska across parts of Iowa, mainly damaging wind, plus scattered high-based wind cells on the High Plains. The tropical story is not a U.S. Gulf or Atlantic landfall. It is residual water and outage work on Kauai after Hurricane Lowell passed west of the islands.

    These are the events that generate the restoration work crews actually see: wind-driven roof and siding failures, isolated hail, downed trees on service lines, interior flooding from stalling cells, and — in Hawaii — wind plus flash-flood cleanup after a close hurricane pass. Conditions change fast. Verify with the National Weather Service for the specific county or ZIP before you roll.

    What is live this afternoon

    The SPC Day 1 convective outlook holds a Slight Risk of severe thunderstorms this afternoon and evening from southeast Nebraska across parts of Iowa, including the Omaha–Council Bluffs–Des Moines corridor toward Ames and Waterloo. The headline threat is severe wind gusts. Isolated large hail and a low-end tornado chance remain in the language. A broader Marginal Risk covers parts of the upper Midwest and central Plains. High-based storms over eastern Colorado into western and central Kansas can also produce gusty, occasionally damaging wind.

    Heat is part of the same setup. Heat Advisories cover portions of southeastern Nebraska and southwestern Iowa, with heat-index values near or above 100–108°F. That matters for crew stamina and for how fast wet interiors go to mold if extraction waits overnight.

    No widespread convective watches were in effect at this writing. Expect local Severe Thunderstorm Warnings and Special Weather Statements if cells organize along the front after mid-afternoon.

    Hotspot 1 — Iowa and eastern Nebraska

    A baroclinic zone from southern Nebraska into central Iowa is the focus. Differential heating sharpens it through the day. Storms are expected to initiate along or just north of that boundary late afternoon into evening, with enough shear for supercell and then bowing structures. Damaging wind is the primary restoration exposure. Weak mid-level lapse rates should limit the hail problem compared with a classic Plains supercell day, but quarter-size hail is still in local Hazardous Weather Outlooks.

    NWS offices in the corridor are also flagging locally heavy rain and flash-flood potential tonight where storms train. That is interior water on the same streets that take the wind.

    Cities and counties to watch: Omaha, Council Bluffs, Lincoln fringe, Des Moines, Ames, Waterloo, and counties along and south of I-80 in eastern Nebraska and western/central Iowa.

    Restoration read: wind first — roofs, siding, trees, service drops — then water in the same ZIP if the line slows. Stage dehumidifiers and tarps before the front, not after the first LSR.

    Hotspot 2 — Hawaii: Hurricane Lowell aftermath on Kauai and Niihau

    Hurricane Lowell passed just west of Kauai and Niihau overnight into this morning. Coastal hurricane and tropical-storm warnings have been discontinued as the core moved north. Latest public advisories had the center well north-northwest of Lihue and weakening, with residual flash-flood risk still on the islands from additional heavy rain.

    Impacts already on the ground: widespread power outages at the peak (on the order of 90 percent of Kauai customers in some tallies), damaging wind gusts near 80 mph on Kauai, high surf and coastal flooding, and mountain rainfall measured in the teens of inches in favored terrain. Hawaii issued a tornado watch for Kauai — the first of its kind for the state — during the closest approach.

    Restoration read: this is wind-plus-water cleanup, not a new landfall tonight. Priorities are tarps, wet interiors, electrical safety on outage blocks, and roads still closed by flood or debris. Confirm current county emergency status before treating yesterday’s warning as today’s ticket.

    Hotspot 3 — High Plains wind cells and scattered South-Central storms

    Hot, deeply mixed boundary-layer air over eastern Colorado into western and central Kansas favors high-based storms with gusty to damaging wind this afternoon and evening. Coverage should stay scattered. That is still enough for isolated roof and tree jobs.

    Farther south, Special Weather Statements and strong cells have been firing in parts of east Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi with 40 mph-class gusts and lightning — below severe criteria in most cases, but enough for local tree-limb and urban-flood work where a cell sits.

    Just hit — Monday into early Tuesday reports

    Preliminary SPC and NWS storm reports from September 7 into early September 8 included brief tornadoes near Hammond, Louisiana; south of Strawberry Lake in McLean County, North Dakota; and east-northeast of Spencer, Nebraska. Hail and wind reports ran through the northern and central Plains. Those are yesterday’s tickets. Today’s new work, if it comes, is the Iowa–Nebraska corridor plus residual Kauai flood and outage jobs.

    Pulse table

    RegionMain threatsSPC / NWS levelStatus this afternoon
    SE Nebraska / central-eastern IowaDamaging wind, isolated hail, low-end tornado, heavy rainSlightDeveloping afternoon–evening
    Eastern CO / western-central KSHigh-based damaging windMarginalPossible late day
    Kauai / Niihau / Hawaiian IslandsFlash flood residual, outages, surfWarnings dropped; flood risk remainsAftermath
    East TX / LA / MS cellsGusty wind, lightning, local heavy rainLocal SPS / strong stormsScattered
    Atlantic / Gulf vs. U.S. mainlandNo landfalling hurricaneQuiet on the mainland coastQuiet

    What this means for restoration teams

    Wind at 58–70 mph is roof, siding, gutter, and tree-on-structure work. Isolated hail is vehicle lots, skylights, and soft metal. Heavy rain on the same front is wet drywall and a 24–48 hour mold clock. Kauai is already in the outage-and-water phase.

    For teams in or near the Slight Risk: stage equipment before 5 p.m. local, not after the first warning. Property owners should photograph damage in daylight if it is safe, call the carrier, and get extraction started the same night if water is inside.

    What this is not

    This is not a regional derecho and not a U.S. mainland hurricane landfall. Lowell is moving away from Hawaii. The work tonight, if it comes on the Plains, will be scattered: a wind swath through an Iowa or Nebraska county, a flooded intersection where cells train, a hail report or two. That is the local-storm pattern this desk should staff.

    Looking ahead

    Wednesday’s Day 2 outlook shifts the better-organized severe threat east toward eastern Ohio into western New York. Later in the week, another system may support severe chances again on the central Plains. Watch the next Storm Tracker update rather than assuming today’s Slight Risk stays parked on I-80.

    Sources and how to verify

    Primary sources: NOAA Storm Prediction Center Day 1 Convective Outlook for Tuesday, September 8, 2026; SPC and NWS Local Storm Reports for September 7–8; National Weather Service Hazardous Weather Outlooks for Omaha, Des Moines, and neighboring offices; Central Pacific Hurricane Center / National Hurricane Center public advisories on Hurricane Lowell; and local NWS warning text.

    Check weather.gov for the county warning, spc.noaa.gov for the outlook and LSRs, and nhc.noaa.gov for Lowell. This desk will update when the evening reports close.

    Informational only — not an official weather warning. Follow local authorities and the National Weather Service. Turn around, don’t drown.