Hurricane Lala passed within about 30 miles of Hawaii’s Big Island on Saturday, unleashing damaging winds and torrential rain as forecasters warned that rainfall totals could reach 25 inches and trigger life-threatening flooding and mudslides.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Hurricane Lala swept just south of Hawaii’s Big Island on Saturday without making landfall, but the Category 1 storm brought damaging winds, widespread heavy rain and mounting flood concerns as more than 20,000 customers lost power and officials warned residents to remain prepared for dangerous conditions.
The center of Lala came within approximately 30 miles southwest of South Point during the afternoon after strengthening earlier Saturday into a hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph.
By Saturday evening, the National Hurricane Center warned that the Big Island would continue to experience severe weather overnight.
“Hurricane conditions will persist on the Big Island of Hawaii overnight, with the strongest winds expected in areas of higher terrain,” the National Hurricane Center said at 8 p.m. local time, or 0600 GMT Sunday.
Forecasters also warned that Hawaii’s coastline would face “large and dangerous waves.”
The most significant immediate threat was rainfall. Lala was forecast to dump between 10 and 20 inches of rain across parts of the Big Island, with isolated totals potentially reaching 25 inches.
Heavy rainfall “will produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in areas of steep terrain,” officials said.
Weather officials reported that “damaging winds and heavy rain” were spreading across the Big Island Saturday afternoon. More than 20,000 electricity customers had experienced power outages as the storm moved past the island.
Although the hurricane’s core remained offshore, the threat extended well beyond Hawaii County.
A tropical storm warning covered the state’s seven other major islands — Maui, Molokai, Kahoolawe, Lanai, Oahu, Kauai and Niihau — as Lala continued northwest through the central Pacific.
Forecasters said the hurricane was moving toward the northwest Saturday night, with that general track expected to continue through the overnight hours before conditions caused it to turn farther west.
“A gradual westward turn with an increase in forward speed is expected on Sunday, as the core of the storm remains south of the smaller main Hawaiian Islands and the easternmost Northwestern Hawaiian Islands through the early part of next week,” National Hurricane Center officials said.
Even islands that avoid Lala’s center could face hazardous ocean conditions.
Swells generated by the hurricane were expected to continue building through the weekend, producing potentially dangerous conditions for swimmers, surfers and boaters. Forecasters warned of “life-threatening surf and rip current conditions” along affected coastlines.
Gov. Josh Green declared a state of emergency as the storm approached, allowing state and county governments to mobilize additional resources for storm preparation and recovery.
“It’s a serious storm,” Green said.
The emergency proclamation was intended to ensure that Hawaii and its counties “have sufficient resources to clear debris, secure infrastructure, and take other measures to prepare,” the governor said.
Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi said Friday that city officials had already spent several days preparing for Lala and urged residents to make their own preparations before conditions deteriorated.
Hawaii’s emergency management agency advised residents to reduce potential storm damage by clearing gutters and drainage systems, moving valuables away from floors, sealing gaps around doors and removing tree branches that could threaten homes or other structures.
The hurricane follows another tropical system that threatened Hawaii only weeks earlier.
Hurricane Fausto approached the island chain last month before weakening and passing north of the state.
Hawaii has not been struck by a major hurricane — classified as Category 3, 4 or 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale — since Hurricane Iniki in 1992. Iniki killed at least six people and caused billions of dollars in damage.
Lala’s arrival comes as unusually warm Pacific conditions are also drawing increased attention from forecasters.
A powerful El Niño has developed in the central equatorial Pacific, where unusually warm sea-surface temperatures can alter weather patterns across a large portion of the globe.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has projected a 69% probability that the current El Niño will become a “historic event that would exceed the strength of previous El Nino events dating back to 1950” when it reaches its expected peak between October and December.
El Niño occurs when sea-surface temperatures across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific become unusually warm.
The natural climate cycle typically favors greater hurricane activity in the Pacific while tending to suppress hurricane development in the Atlantic.
Warmer ocean and atmospheric conditions associated with human-caused climate change can also amplify some impacts associated with El Niño because additional heat and moisture can provide more energy for extreme weather, including periods of intense rainfall and heat.
For Hawaii, the immediate concern remained Lala as the hurricane continued away from the Big Island Saturday night.
Despite avoiding a direct landfall, the storm’s close passage exposed Hawaii County to hurricane-force conditions, potentially extreme rainfall, dangerous surf and flooding, while the remainder of the island chain remained under tropical storm warnings as Lala continued its northwestward track.
Original article
Comments