Tropical Storm Lala is barreling toward the US, prompting officials to issue an urgent hurricane watch for parts of Hawaii’s Big Island.
The storm was less than 700 miles southeast of Hawaii on Thursday morning and moving west with sustained winds of 40mph, but forecasters warned it could strengthen into a Category 1 hurricane as it approaches the island chain.
Hurricane-force winds are possible within the watch area over the next 48 hours, with the most dangerous conditions expected from Friday evening into Saturday.
The National Weather Service (NWS) warned that some communities could endure wind gusts reaching 75mph, while up to 15 inches of rain could inundate parts of the Big Island.
Forecasters said the resulting flooding could be ‘devastating to catastrophic,’ potentially washing out roads, overwhelming rivers and leaving some homes uninhabitable.
The storm could also trigger deadly mudslides, widespread power outages and several tornadoes as it passes just miles from more populated parts of the state.
Officials urged residents to act immediately to protect their homes and complete preparations before conditions begin deteriorating.
The National Hurricane Center said: ‘Heavy rainfall associated with Tropical Storm Lala will begin to impact the Big Island Friday, spreading westward across the island chain during the weekend.’
‘This rainfall may produce life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in areas of steep terrain.’
Tropical Storm Lala (Pictured) is expected to make landfall in Hawaii as early as Friday, August 14
Spaghetti models project that Tropical Storm Lala will strike Hawaii’s Big Island, passing just south of the state’s more populated areas
More than one million people are spread out across the state, particularly in Honolulu, Waikiki, Kahului and Kihei.
Hawaii is in the peak of its summer travel season, with roughly 250,000 vacationers visiting beaches and other tourist attractions on any given day from June to mid-August.
While Hawaii’s Big Island is expected to take the brunt of the approaching storm, the vast majority of the state’s local population and tourist traffic are located on the smaller islands of Maui, Molokaʻi, Lanaʻi and Oʻahu.
These islands have not been placed under a hurricane watch at this time, but weather models show Lala will pass just miles from the shore, likely bringing high winds, heavy rain and rough surf to the entire region.
NHC projects that the smaller islands will see winds approaching 30 mph, with officials adding that long periods of heavy surf this weekend may cause coastal flooding and severe beach erosion on the Big Island and throughout the state.
AccuWeather forecasters have predicted that four to eight inches of rain will fall across the Big Island and Maui, Hawaii’s second-largest island and one of the state’s top tourist destinations.
Maui welcomed approximately 2.5 million visitors in 2025, drawing tourists to its world-class white and black sand beaches, luxury resorts, whale watching sites and iconic attractions such as the 64-mile-long highway known as the Road to Hāna.
Tropical Storm Lala may grow in strength to a Category 1 hurricane by Saturday, August 15
AccuWeather Lead Hurricane Expert Alex DaSilva warned that the oncoming storm closely resembles Hurricane Hone, which brought severe flooding and dangerous winds to the island paradise in 2024.
‘Despite never making landfall in Hawaii, Hone brought more than two feet of rain to portions of the Big Island, causing significant flooding, as well as winds in excess of 70 mph,’ DaSilva said in a statement.
AccuWeather’s worst-case scenario predicts that Lala could bring 24 inches of rain and hurricane-force winds of 85 mph to the Big Island.
Hawaii’s Big Island (Pictured) has been placed under a hurricane watch due to the approach of Tropical Storm Lala
Meteorologists noted that Lala’s path could still change, including moving farther south and away from the Hawaiian islands.
However, this would also likely turn Lala into a much larger hurricane as the storm soaks up more warm water from the Pacific.
Long-range forecasting experts have also warned that the 2026 Pacific hurricane season could be particularly active due to the emergence of a ‘super’ El Niño in June.
El Niño is a natural climate pattern in which the central and eastern Pacific surface temperatures become 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 from May 15 until November 30.
Between nine and 13 of those were projected to be hurricanes, and as many as eight were predicted to reach ‘major hurricane’ status at Category 3 or greater.
There have already been nine named storms in the Pacific this year, with Fausto and Genevieve becoming hurricanes. Lala would be the third if it reaches hurricane strength.
Fausto came closest to Hawaii in late July, nearly missing the state when it shifted north days before its projected landfall.
‘Hawaii has gone a long time without a direct hurricane landfall, but that should not lead to complacency,’ DaSilva explained in May.
‘Some islands were hit hard by flash flooding in March. People across Hawaii should prepare for an increased risk of tropical impacts this year.’
El Niño is also feared to result in an uptick of major storms that could threaten California, potentially even reaching major cities such as Los Angeles this summer.
‘That extra energy stored in the ocean can help storms strengthen faster, last longer and in some cases move farther north toward places like Baja California and far Southern California,’ DaSilva said.
