HONOLULU (AP) — Tropical Storm Lala strengthened as it sent heavy rainfall and 70 mph (113 kph) wind gusts across the Big Island of Hawaii on Saturday, and forecasters said it could make landfall as a hurricane, throwing its top winds at volcanic slopes thousands of feet above sea level.
The National Hurricane Center issued a rare hurricane warning for the Big Island, which hasn't experienced a direct hurricane landfall in 155 years.
Forecasters said higher elevations could get as much as 25 inches (63.5 centimeters) of rain. That could cause life-threatening mudslides in a mountainous area where people live off the grid in improvised housing, and authorities urged them to find safe shelters quickly.
Even if the storm remains just shy of a hurricane, the NHC said wind speeds atop mountains and on the windward and leeward slopes “are often up to 30 percent stronger than the near-surface winds” indicated in its advisory.
“This is an enormous storm,” Gov. Josh Green said. Tropical storm force winds extended outward for as much as 220 miles (350 km), and were expected to hit the islands of Oahu and Kauai by Sunday morning.
Destructive flooding and even wildfires kicked up by the strong winds were possible in the islands.
Tropical storm warnings were in effect for Maui County, which includes the islands of Maui, Molokai, Lanai and Kahoolawe; and for Oahu and Kauai County, including Kauai and Niihau islands.
According to a University of Hawaii atmospheric scientist's research of newspaper accounts, a Category 3 hurricane hit the northeast corner of the island in 1871. The latest forecast has Lala striking "very close to the southern tip of the Big Island,” said Vanessa Almanza, a weather service meteorologist in Honolulu.
Officials and residents braced for Lala regardless of whether Hawaii takes a direct hit. Shelters were scheduled to open, and various events were canceled. “It doesn’t take landfall to create destruction,” Almanza said.
The hurricane center predicted 8 to 12 inches (20.3 to 30.5 centimeters) of rainfall totals across Maui and lower elevations of the Big Island, and 4 to 6 inches (10.2 to 15.2 centimeters) across the island chain.
The center also warned that the storm could cause “life-threatening flooding and mudslides, especially in areas of steep terrain,” along with a dangerous storm surge and ocean swells “likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.”
As of 8 a.m. in Hawaii, Tropical Storm Lala was located about 90 miles (145 kilometers) southeast of South Point, Hawaii and about 300 miles (485 kilometers) southeast of Honolulu, with maximum sustained winds strengthening to 70 mph (110 kph). Lala was moving toward the west-northwest at 12 mph (19 kph), the hurricane center said.
Officials urge taking the storm seriously
State Rep. Jeanné Kapela urged people to remain alert. The southern end of the island is remote and rural, with agriculture including coffee and cattle, but it's growing in population because of its affordability. Kapela was especially worried about people who live off the grid in unpermitted structures.
“If you feel now that your house doesn’t have a great roof or might not be able to withstand hurricane force winds, then first things first you go to a family or friend’s house and you kind of hunker down there,” she texted to The Associated Press. “We're hopeful the storm moves through quickly, but we're preparing for whatever comes.”
Many Hawaiians are still dealing with the aftermath of devastating flooding in March. Growers still recovering are worried about suffering more damage, according to Hawaii Farm Bureau director Brian Miyamoto.
Coffee farmer Bruce Corker said it was “sunny and beautiful” Friday in Holualoa, on the west side of the Big Island, and the island's only Costco seemed normal a day earlier, but the prospect of “streams overflowing and high winds” was worrisome.
Wildfire risks increase during windy weather
As winds ramped up across the islands, Almanza said dry and breezy conditions outside the storm would elevate fire concerns.
In 2023 the Maui town of Lahaina burned during extreme winds as a hurricane passed far to the south.
“Since the fire, everybody is way more aware of weather in general and our environment and things that are happening,” said Archie Kalepa of Lahaina, who is well known in the area for his surfing, paddling and other ocean skills and has been watching the storm closely.
Kauai, which is several islands northwest up the archipelago from the Big Island, is where Hurricane Iniki made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane in 1992 — an El Nino year like this one, when a warming of the Pacific near the equator increases Pacific hurricane activity and affects weather patterns across the globe.
“It did $3 billion worth of damage. It destroyed thousands of homes, and it did kill six people,” said Steven Businger, the professor who researched the 1871 hurricane. “We just can never know if a storm is going to turn.”
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Associated Press reporter Alexa St. John contributed from Detroit.
