Hawaii starts cleanup as Hurricane Lala leaves thousands without power
Hurricane Lala caused widespread destruction in Hawaii, leaving over 126,000 households without power with forecasters warning impacts may persist.
Just a week after powerful rainfall flooded parts of Hawaii’s Big Island, the National Hurricane Center warns another tropical system could bring up to 15 inches of rain as it passes just to the south on Aug. 23-24.
Tropical Depression Two-C has yet to become a tropical storm, but that’s expected to happen by Aug. 21, the hurricane center said. Whether it becomes a tropical storm or remains a tropical depression might have little effect on the overall amount of rain that falls this weekend and early next week as it moves westward near the islands.
The disturbance is forecast to produce 5 to 10 inches of rain, with isolated totals of up to 15 inches, across the Big Island, the hurricane center said. Across the remainder of the Hawaiian Islands, where Lala also delivered flooding rain on Aug. 15-16, rainfall totals of 1 to 3 inches, with maximum amounts of 5 inches, are expected.
“This rainfall may produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in steep terrain and over areas that were affected recently by Lala,” the hurricane center said in an update at 11 a.m. HST on Aug. 20.
At the time of the update, the storm was about 900 miles east-southeast of Hilo and moving west-northwestward at 15 mph. Its 35-mph winds were just below the 39-mph strength required for it to become a tropical storm.
At least 13,000 customers on the Big Island remained without electricity on Aug. 20, according to USA TODAY’s Outage Tracker. Utilities reported 16,884 outages statewide, about 4% of the state’s electrical customers.
Forecasters expect the disturbance to take a path similar to Hurricane Lala, but farther to the south. Its ultimate trajectory depends on the influence of a nearby ridge, which could turn it more westward later in the week, the hurricane center said. The storm is not expected to become a hurricane.
Though the potential track keeps the storm south of the Big Island, the National Weather Service in Honolulu said it’s still early in the forecast and the track could still shift to the north or south.
“Impacts from rain, wind, and surf can be experienced well outside the center of the storm so do not focus too much on the exact track,” the weather service said.
More storms in the Pacific
The hurricane center also is watching two other disturbances that could become storms in the Eastern Pacific.
One is a few hundred miles south of the southern coast of Mexico, and the other is several hundred miles south-southwest of the Mexican coast, the hurricane center said.
Hurricane Lala meanwhile was moving slowly northward on Aug. 20, with sustained winds of 90 mph.
Track the storms
Dinah Voyles Pulver, a national correspondent for USA TODAY, writes about violent weather, climate change and other news. Reach her at dpulver@usatoday.com or @dinahvp on Bluesky or X or dinahvp.77 on Signal.