Tropical Storm Moke has formed in the Pacific Ocean and is expected to be the second intense cyclone to impact Hawaii in back-to-back weekends.
Moke reached tropical storm strength just before 5pm ET on Friday, with sustained winds of 45 mph and heavy rainfall which officials fear will lead to additional flooding and mudslides on Hawaii’s Big Island.
The state is still recovering from the impact of Hurricane Lala, which killed at least two people and destroyed more than 100 homes as it barreled over the island chain one week ago.
The National Hurricane Center warned in a statement: ‘Heavy rainfall associated with Moke will begin to impact the Big Island of Hawaii late Saturday night, with rain spreading westward across the remainder of the Hawaiian Islands Sunday into Monday.’
‘This rainfall may produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides for the windward and southeast Big Island, especially in steep terrain and over areas that were affected recently by Lala.’
A large portion of the Big Island, also known as Hawaiʻi Island, is projected to receive four to 12 inches of rain this weekend.
Tropical Storm Moke is expected to stay farther south, meaning its impact will likely be lighter than Hurricane Lala, which battered the entire state, including the more populated islands of Oahu, Maui and Kauai.
The last time two storms impacted Hawaii in the span of two weeks was a decade ago, when Tropical Storm Madeline and Hurricane Lester passed over the state in 2016.
Tropical Storm Moke formed in the Pacific Ocean on Friday, August 21
Hawaii was severely affected by flooding during Hurricane Lala last week (Pictured)
Although Tropical Storm Moke is not predicted to reach hurricane strength, meaning its winds will not exceed 74 mph, meteorologists noted that the cyclone is significantly larger than Lala.
Rain bands from the storm stretch for roughly 200 miles from the cyclone’s center, reaching the Hawaiian islands and major tourist destinations such as Honolulu, Waikiki, Kahului and Kihei.
AccuWeather lead hurricane expert Alex DaSilva said in a statement: ‘Given the intense rain impacts from Lala last weekend, this is a vulnerable region that needs to be prepared for more flooding.’
NHC added that ‘life-threatening surf and rip current conditions’ may also develop this weekend in portions of Hawaii.
A rip current is a strong, narrow channel of water that flows quickly away from the shore, often pulling swimmers out to sea.
They can be deadly even for strong swimmers as they sweep people into deeper water, exhausting them as they try to fight against the current instead of moving parallel to the shore to escape.
The damage from Hurricane Lala has been estimated at $3-5 billion. Governor Josh Green noted that many homes on the Big Island were completely washed away by the intense flooding and mudslides last weekend.
Tropical Storm Moke continues to track toward Hawaii but is expected to pass approximately 180 miles to the south of the Big Island Sunday afternoon.
Tropical Storm Moke is expected to produce as much as 15 inches of rain on Hawaii’s Big Island
At least two people were killed when Hurricane Lala struck Hawaii on August 15 (Pictured)
Meteorologists have been warning that the 2026 Pacific hurricane season could be particularly active due to the emergence of a ‘super’ El Nino in June.
El Nino is a natural climate pattern in which the central and eastern Pacific surface temperature becomes significantly warmer than average, flipping weather patterns worldwide.
Due to the significantly warmer water in the Pacific fueling tropical cyclone activity, forecasters with AccuWeather predicted there would be 17 to 22 named storms across the Pacific this year.
Between nine and 13 of those are projected to be hurricanes, and as many as eight are predicted to reach ‘major hurricane’ status at Category 3 or greater.
So far, ten named storms have already formed in the Pacific, and hurricane season does not end until November 30.
‘This year, sea-surface temperatures are again well above average, while El Nino is contributing to less-hostile winds across the Pacific basin,’ DaSilva added.
‘Those conditions are a major reason AccuWeather correctly predicted back in May that Hawaii faced an increased risk of direct tropical impacts.’
