A rare hurricane landfall threat for Hawaii’s Big Island as Lala nears

HONOLULU (AP) — Tropical Storm Lala is expected to strengthen to a hurricane before reaching Hawaii’s Big Island this weekend, forecasters said Friday, bringing heavy rains that can cause destructive flooding and strong winds that can fuel wildfires.

The National Hurricane Center said Lala should be at hurricane strength by the time it approaches the Big Island early Saturday.

If it makes landfall there, it would be the first to do so since 1871. Back then, according to a professor’s research of newspaper accounts, a Category 3 hurricane hit the northern side of the island, said Vanessa Almanza, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Honolulu.

“First time since satellites,” Almanza said. “The latest forecast has it very close to the southern tip of the Big Island.”

A hurricane warning was issued for the Big Island, and a tropical storm warning was in effect for Maui County, which includes the islands of Maui, Molokai, Lanai and Kahoolawe.

Officials and residents braced for Lala regardless of whether Hawaii takes a direct hit.

“It doesn’t take landfall to create destruction,” Almanza said. “A lot of the impacts are felt outside of the hurricane.”

Some areas of the Big Island could see as much as 25 inches (63.5 centimeters) of rain, county officials said. Shelters were opened, and various events were canceled ahead of heavy rain expected later in the day.

State Rep. Jeanné Kapela, who represents communities in the southern part of the island, traveled there from Honolulu on Friday morning and called for people to be on alert.

“We’re encouraging residents to take this storm seriously, remain vigilant, and get somewhere safe before conditions deteriorate,” she said in a text message to The Associated Press as her flight took off. “We’re hopeful the storm moves through quickly, but we’re preparing for whatever comes.”

Kapela also noted that many parts of the state are still reeling from devastating flooding in March, saying, “We know how quickly heavy rain and flooding can impact our rural communities.”

As winds ramped up across the islands, there were no red flag warnings in place but Almanza said the dry and breezy conditions would still elevate fire concerns.

In 2023 the Maui town of Lahaina burned during extreme winds amid a hurricane passing far to the south of Hawaii.

As of late Friday morning, Tropical Storm Lala was located about 340 miles (545 kilometers) east-southeast of South Point, Hawaii, according to the National Hurricane Center. It had maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (95 kph) and was moving toward the west-northwest at 14 mph (22 kph).

The wind speed threshold for a Category 1 hurricane is 74 mph (46 kph).