While the Atlantic stayed eerily quiet as the Labor Day weekend began, three simultaneous hurricanes were churning across the central and eastern North Pacific – the first time this has happened there in 11 years. The most worrisome of the trio, Lowell, is expected to remain a major hurricane through the weekend as it carves out a tight northward turn and heads in the general direction of Hawaii. Update: As of 8 p.m. HST Sunday (2 a.m. EDT Monday), Lowell had completed its sharp right-hand turn and was beginning to accelerate north-northeast, now moving at 9 mph (15 km/h). Top sustained winds within Lowell’s expanding wind field remained at 120 mph (195 km/h). Models had nudged Lowell’s track slightly eastward on Sunday, and the latest track forecast from the National Hurricane Center showed Lowell passing around 100-150 mi (160-240 km) west of Kauai on Monday night. This will bring torrential rain squalls and high surf to all the major Hawaiian islands, as well as gale-force winds and the potential for hurricane-force winds at Kauai and Nihau, for which a hurricane watch was issued at 5 p.m. HST Sunday. Lowell was predicted to pass just west of the sparsely populated island of Niihau (which has less than 100 residents). By that point, Lowell will be weakening, though likely still a potent Category 2 or 3 storm. A tropical storm warning was in effect for Niihau and Kauai, and a hurricane warning was in effect for the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument from Nihoa to French Frigate Shoals.