Hurricane Lowell intensifies into monster Category 5 storm as multiple systems develop in Pacific

Lowell has strengthened into a powerful Category 5 hurricane as it joins a crowded field of tropical systems in the Pacific, some of which could affect Hawaii by the weekend.Right now in the Pacific, the main focus remains on newly upgraded Category 5 Hurricane Lowell and Category 4 Hurricane Karina as the monster storms churn in the Central Pacific.“There are no immediate threats, but that could certainly change,” the FOX Forecast Center said.Lowell officially strengthened into a major hurricane late Tuesday night.The storm just became a hurricane early Tuesday morning, and underwent rapid intensification at nighttime.

The National Hurricane Center announced that Lowell was upgraded to a Category 5 storm Wednesday evening.Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Marie continues to spin off the coast of Mexico, while the National Hurricane Center monitors a new area of low potential development nearby.Activity across the basin continues to boom, supercharged by an ongoing El Niño pattern that is fueling high activity across the Pacific.Category 4 Hurricane Karina continues to intensify over the open waters of the eastern Pacific, while Lowell churns as a major Category 5 storm.Both systems are tracking generally westward, and a major question remains regarding how they will interact with one another.Karina is currently being steered west by high pressure to its north.If this northern ridge strengthens, there is a chance it could force a slightly more southerly track toward Hawaii way down the line.Meanwhile, Lowell should maintain a westward path through the next couple of days, held on course by high pressure established to its north.Beyond that, the forecast becomes more complicated, with model guidance showing increasing disagreement on exactly when — and how sharply — the storm will turn west-northwest.Part of that uncertainty is tied directly to Hurricane Karina to the northeast, which could influence Lowell’s steering pattern later in the forecast.A closer inter...