Should You Cancel Your Trip to Hawaii? Hawaii Storm Update
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Information as of Friday, September 25th
Tropical Storm Nolo Update
The NOAA Hurricane Center, the best place for information on this storm, has issued a hurricane watch for the Island of Hawai’i (Big Island). Tropical Storm Nolo is expected to create hurricane conditions on the Big Island by Friday night.
High rainfall is expected across the islands. The Big Island is expected to get a 1- to 3-foot storm surge.
Rainfall estimates for the Hawaiian Islands:
- 15 ” to 20″ across the Big Island; higher elevations may get 35″
- Maui is expected to get 5″ to 10 ” with a maximum of 20″
- Kauai, Oahu, and the remaining islands are expected to get 1″ to 3″
- Flash flooding and mudslides are possible on Maui and the Big Island
Visitors on the islands should avoid the beaches and stay in or near their resort or vacation rental come Friday night.
We send our love to Maui and the Big Island and hope everyone stays safe during this storm.
Kauai Update from Hurricane Lowell
Kauai is open to visitors and welcomes them to help the recovery by supporting local businesses.
You can visit Kauai, but you may not have the trip you expect in Hawaii. You will find small parts of the island closed.
You may find closures, such as at the state parks (Koke’e, for example), and Napali Coast tours have not begun from Port Allen or Kikiaola Small Boat Harbors.
You will have a seamless vacation if you stay in or around the resort areas.
If you’re arriving in early October, you will get more of the Kauai vacation you are expecting.
“We are just coming out of Lowell, and messaging to visitors is maybe not how we feel on the island. We are open and very much want visitors on the island now as much as ever,” said Jon, the Director of Operations at Common Ground, on September 18th to us via email. Common Ground is a regenerative farm on Kauai’s North Shore that runs amazing farm-to-dinner experiences.
A Note About Our Kaua’i Wayfinder Itinerary: We have updated our Kaua’i Wayfinder Itinerary to reflect what is open on Kauai. The Quick Hits and excursion days reflect what is open on Kauai.
Details on Visiting Kauai in September and October, 2026
Hurricane Lowell caused the worst damage in Poipu, where surge water inundated homes and businesses along parts of the coast. The damage appears to have been worst on Ho’ona Road and Lawa’i Road, from Poipu Baby Beach to the Beach House Restaurant. This road has many oceanfront vacation rentals.
The East Side (Kapa’a Town) and the North Shore (Hanalei and Princeville) were not heavily damaged. According to local accounts, the island’s largest town, Kapa’a Town, is fully open and operating. Restaurants, stores, and other businesses are open. Princeville and Hanalei on the North Shore are taking longer to recover, with not all businesses open yet.
Kauai Travel Update is the Hawaii Tourism Authority’s official guidance for visitors. For more details from the state’s tourism office, if you have upcoming plans, see Hurricane Lowell.
In our experience tracking these storms and the recovery efforts, the islands recover fast. Especially the tourism infrastructure. This is reflected in the comment below from Kauai’s mayor.
There are no tropical storms in the Central Pacific right now. See the NOAA Hurricane Center for Pacific storm tracking.
On September 18th, Mayor Derek Kawakami encouraged visitors to participate in the Garden Isle’s recovery by supporting local businesses.
“Kaua‘i is welcoming visitors, and we are grateful for the support you bring to our local businesses and our economy. At the same time, our island is still in active recovery from Hurricane Lowell, and we are asking everyone who comes here to be part of that recovery. If you are here, the best way to help is to spend your money locally. Eat at our locally owned restaurants, shop at our boutiques and small shops, and book with local activity providers. Many of our small businesses are carrying this recovery on their own, and every dollar you spend with them makes a real difference.”
After past storms and the Lahaina Fire, local businesses and workers are eager to get back to work. Social media personalities may say the island is closed. Local sentiment often clashes with what people share on social media.
The Hawaii Tourism Authority provides this guidance to visitors with upcoming plans to Kaua’i:
If you plan to visit Kauaʻi, contact your accommodations directly to confirm conditions and available amenities, and check with providers to make sure your planned activities are available. Visitors should also understand that some areas of the island are still in recovery and restoration mode. Always check with your concierge or activity provider to ensure you are not entering an affected area.
Adjusting your plans, when appropriate, allows Kauaʻi to prioritize community needs while still enabling you to enjoy your Hawaiʻi vacation.
As the residents of Kauaʻi have long shared their aloha with visitors, we kindly ask that visitors embrace this same spirit — showing understanding, patience and respect for the process Kauaʻi’s communities are going through.
News reports make it clear that the damage is not as bad as Hurricane Iniki’s direct hit 33 years ago.
What’s Open, What’s Closed, What to Avoid
- Most hotels and restaurants are open on Kauaʻi
- Napali Coast Tours from the West Side are on hold as they repair Port Allen Harbor and Kikiaola Harbor.
- Kapaʻa Town, Waimea, and Lihuʻe are open. Hanalei Town is getting there.
- Lawaʻi Road runs along the coast west of Poipu to Spouting Horn. This is closed to non-residents.
- Wailua River State Park: River and designated landing/trailhead access are open. Individual kayakers may not access Fern Grotto. Hiking beyond the trailhead and access to Uluwehi Falls (Secret Falls) remain closed.
- Waimea Canyon State Park – Limited access has opened; trails, campgrounds, and shelters remain closed.
- Kōkeʻe Road remains closed until further notice.
- Avoid driving the Kuhio Highway west of Hanalei Town, it is open to local traffic only.
- Expect traffic on the North Shore as they continue power line repairs
- If you plan to visit Kauaʻi, contact your accommodations directly to confirm conditions and available amenities, and check with providers to make sure your planned activities are available.
- The islandwide Brown Water Advisory for Kauaʻi has been canceled; however, a Brown Water Advisory has been issued for various areas around the island.
- Travel with patience and aloha.
Hurricane Lowell Damage to Kauai
Here is a status of the damage to Kauai as of today, September 18th, 2026, from the Garden Isle newspaper.
- Power is restored for 91% of the island as of September 18.
- Mayor Derek Kawakami said that visitors and residents should avoid Wainiha and Ha‘ena areas in the wake of the hurricane, that is areas west of Hanalei Town.
- Traffic advisory: Utility crews are working along the side of the road to restore power to residents. The public is advised to slow down and use caution when driving near crews working on road shoulders. Please help keep them safe as they work day and night to restore power.
- Traffic delays continue as transmission line repairs push forward on the North Shore
- New assessment numbers show 10 homes destroyed and 64 with major damage.
- The total number of resident-submitted damage assessments has surpassed 620.
- Regular bus and paratransit service resumed today
From social media footage and news reports, like this article from Civil Beat, Erica and I understand that the West Side and South Shore of Kauai were hit hardest.
- Waimea Pier was destroyed
- The Sheraton Kauai’s first floors flooded, and the pool is full of sand
- Roads along the coast in Poipu have been heavily damaged
- Homes along the coast of Poipu’s Baby Beach were destroyed by coastal surge. Most of these homes were vacation rentals.
- The Beach House in Poipu was heavily damaged, and the road along this coastline leading to Spouting Horn Blowhole was damaged.
Brown Water Warnings After Rains: Rains flush mud, dirt, and sometimes waste into the ocean. Brown Water Warnings will be issued after the rains. You can check the ocean brown water status here.
With two tides a day and currents, the water usually clears up in about three days.
Support Local Businesses by Not Canceling Your Trip to Hawaii
We recommend changing your plans if you have a trip booked to Kauai in the next two weeks. The other islands are open and welcoming visitors.
My fear in writing this is that I’m coming off as insensitive to those whose homes were damaged by the storms. That is not my intent. There is nothing worse than losing your home, like those folks in Waialua on Oahu or the retired couple’s home in ‘Iao Valley on Maui in March, 2026 due to the Kona Low. The damages they’ve sustained have been devastating.
My goal is to give visitors the status of Hawaii as it relates to a vacation. Tour operators and luau entertainers continue to lose revenue from the storms even when they bounce back quickly.
Where to Find Information on What is Open in Hawaii
Here are the local news sources that we trust. I always recommend getting multiple opinions when trip planning, and “should you cancel your trip to Hawaii?” is no exception!
Erica and I have an unhealthy relationship with Hawaii. We dig into government websites, local news, books, and local residents’ YouTube videos to stay current on what it’s like to visit Hawaii.
These are the sources I refer to when checking my Hawaii itinerary or when a natural emergency occurs. We also have friends and tour operators on the islands who share their experience, as we no longer live on Maui.
Here are some of our trusted news sources for weather and local conditions.
- Hawaii News Now has the largest meteorological team, so I trust their forecasts for Oahu and the neighbor islands
- The Snorkel Store’s Snorkel Report is the best ocean condition report for Maui. Their report from soon after the March storms is below.
- The status of lifeguard beaches across Hawaii is found here: Hawaii Beach Safety
- Brown water advisories issued on each island
- Hawaii State Parks provides closure information in red at the top of its website. A great check to see if a park is closed, camping is closed, or if ‘Akaka Falls toilets are broken (yes, they are, but they have portable toilets)
- Haleakala and Volcanoes National Park also have closure information at the top of their websites
- Maui News Now for local news
- Big Island Now for local news
- Kauai’s Garden Island for local news
Visiting the Big Island After Hurricane Lala
Hurricane Lala came close to the Big Island in mid-August. Heavy damage occurred to the town of Na’alehu. Avoid traveling to the South Point of the Big Island in September.
The rest of the Big Island is open and welcoming visitors.
We left Oahu two days early because of Hurricane Lala. Erica and the rest of Hawai’i had tracked the storm closely in the days leading up to our arrival. We left early because flights were filling up and we were unsure how severe it would be.
The storm didn’t make landfall. But damage was done nonetheless.
The storm brought heavy rains and wind to Oahu, Maui, and Kauai. Trees and power lines were downed, but those islands fared well. Power has mostly been restored, and roads are open. The resort areas have power. Here are interactive island maps of power outages by HECO. Hawaiʻi Emergency Management is coordinating volunteers and posting county damage reports here.
As the storm skirted the southern portion of the archipelago, our dear friends on the Big Island took the brunt of Lala’s attack. Specifically, the southernmost city in America, Nāʻālehu Town, was devastated. Floodwaters ripped homes off their foundation, the town cemetery was uprooted, and two residents died.
Many of you know Nāʻālehu for the Punalu’u Bakery and Ka’u Coffee farms. Nāʻālehu is one of my favorite historical plantation towns on the island. We love to stop for malasadas, coffee, and food trucks on our way to Punalu’u Black Sand Beach and Volcanoes National Park.
We recommend avoiding Highway 11 through Nāʻālehu for the next month or longer as the town rebuilds and recovers. Route 11 is the southern route from Kona to Volcanoes National Park. The highway near town is currently closed in South Point to non-residents, and the county is recommending that people avoid Ka’u District in general.
We have updated our Big Island Wayfinder Itinerary to reflect this change.
We wish Nāʻālehu a fast recovery. Residents and restaurants have worked together over the past few weeks. Including Punalu’u Bakery opening a shipping container of sweet bread for residents.
Final Thoughts
Bad weather, folks in distress, and property damage don’t feel good when you have your dream vacation planned.
My goal with this article was to provide informational sources to help you make the best decision for your trip.
Local businesses and workers are happy to have visitors come to Hawaii. We hope you have an amazing fall and winter trip to the islands.
Feel free to email us with any specific questions about your trip. Erica and I are at aloha@thehawaiivacationguide.com.
