Utah family details extreme weather, chaos witnessed during Hurricane Lowell

KAPA'A, Hawaii — What was meant to be a fun family vacation to Hawaii became a distressing trip one Utah family will never forget.

Madison Currey, of Saratoga Springs, had been to Hawaii before, but she said she had never seen anything like what she and her family experienced during Hurricane Lowell.

Starting their trip just a few days before Lowell hit the Hawaiian Islands, and staying in Kauai, Currey and her family planned to celebrate her birthday in paradise. She said early reports showed Lowell moving away from the islands, so they weren't too worried early on. Then they noticed forecasts started showing the storm getting closer and closer.

Hurricane Lowell was the third storm in as many weeks to threaten the state, as El Niño supercharges the Pacific hurricane season, according to the Associated Press. In mid-August, Hurricane Lala deluged eastern Hawaii's Big Island with feet of rain, triggering severe flooding. Tropical Storm Moke came onto the scene not long after. It delivered some rain to the Big Island in late August, but as a much weaker storm, the impacts were less significant.

On Sunday, the Curreys decided they should start preparing for the worst.

"So, you know, we kind of started to worry a little bit," Currey said. "(We thought) we better go to Costco and get some things, just in case; even if we overbuy, we'd rather be prepared."

However, it seemed that everyone else had a similar idea. When the family got to Costco, Currey said they were met with "insane" lines and depleted shelves. Grateful for the supplies they could get at Costco, they moved on to the gas station to fill up their car. There, Currey said it was a two-hour wait.

"At that point, I was kind of like, 'This seems a little more serious than I anticipated. Am I taking this seriously? Do I know enough? Am I prepared?'" Currey said.

After gathering supplies, the family continued their trip as planned to the best of their ability. While a boat tour they had scheduled got canceled due to the weather, Currey said they were fortunate enough to schedule a helicopter tour in its place.

After the tour, they returned to the resort where they were staying. While at the pool, she said they saw what appeared to be a National Guard helicopter fly overhead.

"That was really the moment I was questioning, like, is this OK that we're staying here?" she said.

On Monday night, Currey said the storm became "much more intense." At around 9:30 p.m., the family became one of many on the island to lose power.

Related:

Hawaii's western islands hit by fierce winds from Hurricane Lowell, leaving extensive damage

Damaging winds and heavy rains from Hurricane Lowell pelted Hawaii's western islands Tuesday.

"There was nonstop heavy rain. The wind was strong," she said. "The wind was so loud, the rain was so loud. Between my husband and I, we probably slept like two hours."

On top of this, Currey said the storm kept setting off the resort's fire alarms.

"We'd get the kids to sleep, and then the alarm would go off," she said. "Each time we were like, 'Is this legitimate? Do we need to go out and see what's going on, or should we just stay here?'"

However, there is always a calm after the storm, and at around 6 a.m. on Tuesday, Currey said the weather began to calm down.

As they walked around the area outside of their resort, the Curreys said they didn't see any flooding, but they did see plenty of damaged infrastructure.

"Tons and tons of trees were down, and some shingles off the roofs and fences were down," Currey said. "We saw probably, like, six downed power lines within maybe an eight-mile area."

Now, still without power and told by emergency officials to conserve water, the Curreys are hoping their flight home on Wednesday doesn't get canceled. Overall, Currey said that she is feeling optimistic and grateful that her family is safe.

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