Hawaii braces for more of Tropical Storm Lala's winds and flooding rains
Lala, downgraded to a tropical storm after peaking as a Category 1 hurricane, continues to impact Hawaii with damaging winds and heavy rain on Sunday, with the effects spreading westward across the counties of Oahu and Kauai
After growing into a hurricane on Saturday, Lala weakened to a tropical storm on Sunday as it continues to impact other parts of Hawaii while pulling farther away from the Big Island.
The state declared a state of emergency on Friday to make sure the state has adequate resources for preparation and cleanup efforts.
As a hurricane, Lala passed near South Point on the Big Island before being downgraded earlier Sunday. While it did not make landfall, it brought devastating rains and flooding to the island chain, with the Big Island receiving the brunt of the effects.
A hurricane warning was dropped for the Big Island as a result of the weakening, and replaced with a tropical storm warning that also covers the rest of Hawaii’s populated islands.
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Lala will see additional weakening on Sunday and Monday as it passes south of the smaller, main Hawaiian Islands. Some restrengthening is possible by midweek, with a chance it could regain hurricane status as it tracks over open waters.
The well-defined eye of the storm came close to making landfall on the southern tip of Hawaii’s Big Island during the day Saturday.
Tropical Storm Lala’s impacts are baked in whether or not the very centre of the eye makes landfall on the Big Island. No full-fledged hurricanes have hit Hawaii since Iniki in 1992. The most recent tropical storm to make landfall here was Olivia in 2018.
The storm will continue moving west over the next couple of days. The core of the storm remains south of the smaller, main Hawaiian Islands and the easternmost sections of northwestern Hawaiian Islands through the next couple of days.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) expects tropical storm conditions to spread westward from Maui County to Oahu on Sunday morning, then reach Kauai County later on Sunday.
Additional rainfall amounts of 25-75 mm are forecast across windward portions of the the Big Island and windward Maui, with localized totals up to 890 mm possible on the former. Across the remainder of the island chain, total rainfall of 50-150 mm is expected.
Life-threatening flash flooding and landslides are possible.
Swells generated by Lala will continue to build westward across the exposed, windward waters today. Swells will also build over the exposed, leeward waters as Lala passes south of the islands.
Tropical impacts in Hawaii are common, with storms hundreds of kilometres away often causing high surf and strong winds. However, a tropical system moving this close to the islands is a rare feat.
Significant recent storms include Hurricane Douglas (2020), which narrowly missed Oahu, and Hurricane Olivia (2018), which made landfall in northwest Maui as a tropical storm.
Thumbnail courtesy of NOAA.